Chicken-ness

Is this not the most beautiful rooster you've ever seen?  We met him at HausBar Farms in Austin during the TOFGA conference in February.  I've been looking at him for several days as he's now the screensaver on my phone and I had to share.

I keep thinking about Joel Salatin's comment about letting a chicken express its' "chicken-ness" and this just says it all:

American Meat

Last night I went with some friends to a screening of the movie American Meat.  When I told him where I was going, my husband looked at my son and said "Mom's going to take something away from us when she comes back".  I had a chuckle.

If you've seen Food Inc., you can understand that response.  I didn't eat a hamburger for a year and half after seeing that movie...until Elevation Burger came to Dallas and I could know what was in my food.

American Meat is a different kind of foodie documentary.  It didn't give me that visceral response that other films have; in fact, I really enjoyed it!  It was nice to see footage of Joel Salatin in more of a business mentor role - he mentions that his family farm is going to gross over $1 million...yes, a family farm.  It can be done, if it's done right.

Chipotle's story is included in this film; you might remember the amazing commercial they aired:

There's a great market there for our small sustainable farmers...something to look into.

This film gave me a glimpse into how farmers are operating their hog farms and chicken barns...and how they feel about it and why they do what they do.  And it gave me a feeling of hope, that we really can change things.  Even if it takes awhile.