Earthday, Cats, Cows, and Dinner

Last week, I found out the cat food - the REALLY freakin' expensive cat food - I feed my girls was recalled. It's the same issue as the previous large-scale recall of pet food, although this time the chemical was found in a rice protein and not in wheat gluten. So much for being careful by relying on small batch, natural suppliers.

This morning, I was making my eggs and Mr. Zips commented on the "stuff" floating around in the yolks. While I was fishing said "stuff" out, I reminisced about the amazing eggs I used to get from my CSA in New Hampshire. And how I was hoping I could get eggs at my new local CSA.

Later, I was listening to NPR (shocked, I know) and they are doing a multi-part series on MA dairy farmers and how local farms are really struggling. In part, because of subsidies and price setting that the government, in my all-time favorite piece of legislation ever, passed, the Farm Bill.

And, it got me to thinking. About how Mr. Zips and I spend so much time discussing what we're going to do for dinner. Order in? Eat out? If we order in, I'm hyper conscious of the amount of "stuff" I've got to throw away. Plastic utensils (which I ask them not to include but they do anyway), containers, bags, etc. If we eat out, I know that my food is prepped in a kitchen where they're probably not composting the scraps, recycling the beer bottles, or washing off the lettuce to the best of their ability.

So, the right thing to do is cook my own food. But unfortunately, I get home at 8 p.m. and by then I'm too exhausted to turn on the oven. And, Mr. Zips, while wonderful, probably wouldn't know what to make for me if I asked him.

And, while I feel guilty about this, at least I read a post on Earth Day that made me feel a little better: Eat Air - A Vegan Food Log: Stop Global Warming.

When the CSA harvest is crap this year - as it may very well be (NorEasters after Easter) - maybe I'll think twice about not recycling or taking a Sunday drive instead of a Sunday cycle. Because the less I do to stop Climate Change, the more I'll have to spend for less at my local farm. Cuz ya just can't grow tomaters in torrential rains.

Hopefully if we all take little, small steps toward a positive change, they'll add up...