Even though I love the Plow to Porch produce deliveries that I’ve been getting, there is nothing like a visit to the downtown Farmer’s Market on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. You go for all the great organic produce, but it always ends up being an interesting experience as well.
I loaded up on some beautiful apples for my apple pie, I decided on a half and half mixture of Granny Smith and Pink Lady. I also got celery, fennel, green beans, baby Yukon potatoes, walnuts and, of course, some fresh flowers.
As I was strolling down State Street, I noticed this amazing turkey strutting about. My first thought was that someone was selling fresh heritage turkeys! But no, this was someone’s pet and he was a show turkey, definitely not for eating. His owner brought him to the Farmer’s Market to get attention for a California ballot initiate that they were collecting signatures for, one that I was most interested in signing. Californians for Humane Farms is working on collecting 650,000 signatures to place a measure on the California ballot called the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. The act provides simply the most basic protection to farm animals: allowing them to turn around and extend their limbs. It’s aimed at preventing the three most inhumane practices of factory farms, namely veal crates, battery cages, and gestation crates. It seems to me that the initiative could go a little further, but I guess they have to start somewhere. All three of these practices have already been legislated against in the European Union.
So, I got my produce, I got my flowers and I got an education about factory farming practices. I am ready for Thanksgiving!
