If This Guy Had His Way, We’d All Have Pet Chickens

For Christmas Woody’s brother and his girlfriend bought us tickets to see Joel Salatin speak at the 92nd St Y. You might know of Joel Salatin from his appearance in the documentary “Food, Inc.” or from Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. His latest book, Folks, This Ain't Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World, was released last October.

From first reading about him in Pollan’s book and then seeing him in the documentary, I knew we were going to be in for an interesting evening! If you don’t know him, Salatin is a farmer and owns Polyface Farms, a “family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.” (That’s a mouthful!) It’s pretty fantastic, enlightening and a bit confusing to hear him speak about his farm. Fantastic because he is so enthusiastic about what they are doing. Enlightening because he speaks truthfully about the industry, has incredible ideas and has created a farm that honors the earth, natural processes and treats animals well. And confusing because he’d go off on tangents spewing terms that almost sounded like a foreign language!

Salatin admitted that the farm is continually evolving and that they aren’t as self-sustainable as they’d ultimately like to be. Currently, they have to purchase grain from neighboring farms as their soil isn’t able to support it. They understand they’re not perfect, but they are always looking to improve their processes and offerings. Overall, it was a pretty entertaining to hear him interviewed by Dan Barber (chef and co-owner of New York's Blue Hill restaurant and Blue Hill at Stone Barns).

Just a few takeaways from the evening:

• Farmer’s farm because they don’t like people (it’s okay for me to write this because I have farmers in my family!)
• Beef (and giraffe) that are raised properly, are better choices of meat than chicken.
• There is a great organization called the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund which supports farmers when faced with overstepping from the government.
• Everyone should have chickens at home rather than dogs. This way you’ll never have to pay for eggs again, thus doing away with large factory farms producing eggs, and they eat kitchen scraps which will greatly reduce the amount of waste in landfills! If you’re wondering, he did suggest that even us New Yorkers get chickens!
• Like the rise of ‘rock star chefs’, he hopes to see the rise of ‘rock star farmers’

I highly recommend that if you have an opportunity to see Joel Salatin speak, you should go! I’ve added his book to my list of must reads.

• What do you think of the idea of having chickens in your home? (I’m kind of intrigued by the idea!)
• Do you pay attention to how the meat, dairy and eggs you eat are produced?

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Today’s workout -

• 3x10 cable push downs
• 2x15 weighted side bends (ea. side)
• 2x15 upright row
• 30min elliptical
• 2x40sec plank
• 1x30sec side plank (ea. side)
• 100 ab exercises
• 2x15 back extensinon
• 3x10 bridges

(image from Polyface Farms)

Quick Tips for Going Green

No, not Spartan Green (although I can give you tips for that, too). Ever wonder if there's any other simple things you can do to help the environment? Or save a few dollars? Here are a few quick ideas.

1. Remember what you're parents told you when you were young: turn the lights off when you leave the room.

2. To save a few dollars and electricity, close your blinds and turn off your air conditioner when you leave for work.

3. Choose compact fluorescent lighbulbs (cfls) instead of traditional ones. They use 25% less electricity and can last 10 times longer.

4. Recycle newspapers (they're great for soaking up water in wet sneakers) and magazines. I will often take magazines I'm done with to the gym and leave them on the stand for others to read. They're usually gone within a few minutes.

5. Unplug appliances and other equipment when they're not in use. They use energy even when they're not on!

6. If you're looking to buy new appliances, look for those with Energy Star certification, which use 10 to 50% less electricity.

7. Charge your phone and iPods during the day rather than leaving them plugged in all night.

 8. Try walking more to your destination rather than jumping in the car for a quick errand. Or, take public transportation.

9. Sign-up for email statements from your bank, credit cards and for your other bills.

10. Use reusable glass jars and containers to store dry goods and leftovers instead of plastic bags and containers. Not only is it good for the environment but better for your health, too!

11. Take reusable bags with you when you go shopping. To make sure you don't forget, keep one in your purse or a few in your car so you won't be caught without one!

12. Skip the over-priced bottled (tap) water from the store and keep your own reusable water bottle on hand! TapIt Water helps you find stores and restaurants where you can re-fill your bottle! (And not just in NYC)

What is your favorite green tip?
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workout stats -
1.5mile walk to Bryant Park
Salutation Nation Yoga Class!

The Many Ways to be "Spartan Green"

We are taking our annual fall trip back to East Lansing for a Michigan State Football game this weekend! I've been going to campus for events, classes, games, or to visit my Dad's office, since I was a baby. My amazing husband and I met, fell in love, and got married at Michigan State. MSU is part of my heart and soul. We bleed green and can’t wait to go back.

We have certain restaurants we have to go to (Lou & Harry’s), friends to visit with, and the Student Book Store to stop by to load up on new MSU gear (this year I'm in search of a dry-fit tank I can wear for the marathon). A large project my Dad has been working on for years is being dedicated on Friday and we get to go to the ceremony. It is also his Birthday so we're excited to be able to celebrate with him.

This year we are going back for the Homecoming Weekend and the theme is “We’ve Always Been Green!” For several years now MSU has been working hard to be more ‘green’ than it already is (our colors are green and white). The administration has made a concentrated effort to reduce energy usage while increasing sustainability, conservation, and recycling efforts. They have asked students, faculty, and staff to participate. The most recent issue of the alumni magazine focuses on the sustainability efforts being put into practice and researched on an academic level.

MSU is a large school. There are 579 buildings, 5200 acres (I don’t think that includes land in other parts of the state), and approximately 58,000 students, staff, and faculty. Campus uses 1.3 billion gallons of water per year and operates over 2000 vehicles. Last year, several departments worked together to consolidate evening classes into fewer buildings in order to cut down on energy use. They determined that approximately 211 electrical megawatt hours fewer were consumed and the university saved $16,904.00. Not only did it save energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but it also saved money, which is extremely important.

This past summer MSU opened a new recycling facility which will have the ability to triple the amount of recycled materials from campus. They purchased 53 Ford Fusion Hybrids that get 41 miles per gallon in the city. The custodial department uses chemical free cleaners in the buildings. A Doctoral student created a way to use glass in cement. MSU Bikes rents and repairs bikes for students, faculty, and staff, while promoting an environmentally friendly way to get around the large campus. Back to Homecoming, the university is providing tips on how organizations can ‘green’ their parade float by using bikes or people to pull floats instead of trucks, use eco-friendly products to decorate, and purchasing local products or using items from the Surplus Store to reduce the carbon footprint.

Faculty members are also doing their part to research new techniques and alternatives to reduce our environmental impact. One professor has patented a way to reduce the production costs of processing gasoline. Others have determined a way to capitalize on unused land in areas of the state to grow crops to produce biofuels in an economically sustainable way.

This is just the beginning. The “Be Spartan Green” campaign focuses on the R’s: Reduce, Reuse/Recycle, Research/Reeducate, Redesign, and Rethink. It’s fantastic to see a world class University taking these forward thinking steps that take advantage of all the assets and talent they have available. Hopefully this is just one example of countless others like it. I can’t wait to get back there and celebrate Spartan Football with thousands of other Spartans this weekend!

Be Spartan Green