Waxing Philosophical, with an Appreciation

Yesterday's New York Times had a fun article on the increase of "green disputes" among couples where one person might be more earth-sensitive than the other. The issue of food figures prominently, and one woman is pictured in her garden and with her chickens. Yes, raising her own chickens. We've seen quite a bit of this locally recently, with several towns taking up debate about the legality of raising chickens in our own backyards. Which further begs the question of where the American public is headed in its relationship with food; will our meals in another decade or so consist entirely of takeout or come from the backyard coop? This further brought to mind a great article by Michael Pollan that was published last year in the Times, Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch, in which he chronicles America's fascination with culinary prowess, while actually cooking less and less from scratch at home. On page three of the article, he gets to the chicken issue, quoting these comments from a food-marketing researcher:

“Here’s an analogy,” Balzer said. “A hundred years ago, chicken for dinner meant going out and catching, killing, plucking and gutting a chicken. Do you know anybody who still does that? It would be considered crazy! Well, that’s exactly how cooking will seem to your grandchildren: something people used to do when they had no other choice. Get over it.”

A depressing observation regarding the future of cooking, but I wonder how this resurgence of backyard chicken coops fits into the picture. Perhaps they are for eggs only, and Clucky gets a proper burial in a shoebox after a long and happy life. Which brings me to the appreciation part, as these articles reminded me of my dear, departed friend, Aldea Dimmitt, who lived her 88 years simply, in a house no larger than a small garage. Aldea raised her own chickens, and yes, she knew how to dispatch them and turn them into Sunday dinner. Not a skill I'd ever want to acquire, but here's a toast to her memory.