As well as teaching us both the ecological and business aspects of farming, Jill is a wonderful teacher of all things homesteadable (if I might coin a word). This week she taught us how to make cheese and went through the steps to make Chévre during our lunch break. Mary, who lives up the street, has milking goats and brings Jill several gallons a day. Some of the milk she turns into cheese and sells during CSA pick-up. Goat cheese, I am coming to find out, is absolutely delicious!
I am talking of cheese now because as some of you know (or perhaps all of you) I was vegan for nearly three years, meaning if it came from a face or once had one, I wouldn't eat it. My reason for living a vegan lifestyle was based on the factory-farm system by which nearly all of our meat, cheese, and milk is produced. I have a strong belief that the ethical choices we make should be rooted in the deepest responsibility we can summon. I for one could not trust the sources of the animal-based food I was eating so I gave it up entirely.
However, in my abhorence of all things animal based I did not lose sight of the collective, culinary creativity that brings us all together. Food is the reason we gather and gather happily. In just two short weeks here I have begun to discover the root of food, its original place in the human experince. Eating fresh eggs in the morning knowing that hours before I had collected them and cleaned them myself. Eating cheese made from goats less than a mile away, crafted right before me. Picking and washing fresh greens from the greenhouse. Eating what is in bounty and what has made it through the winter in the cellar.The season's giving is the heart of good food, it is the heart of slow food and leads us on a path to rediscover our connection to place by way of our stomach and tongue.
The father of deep ecology and author Arne Naess writes in Ecology, Community, and Lifestyle that we should all strive to create our own ecosophy. He explains that ecosophy is "a philosophical world-view or system inspired by the conditions of life in the ecosphere." What Naess is asking of each of us is to create a world view of ourselves based on how we interact, and choose to interact, with the living world. Ecosophy differs from a personal philosophy because it is rooted in action and not thought, in the actions we choose to take regarding the earth, others, and ourselves.
Though I read the above book nearly two years ago, I am still in the process of creating my own ecosophy. It is not an easy goal to complete, but the steps to get there are simple. I have decided to base my life around the creation of whole foods and sharing them with others. That is why I strive to be a farmer.
An ecosophy is always a work in progress, it is never complete. While I will use these writings throughout the next several months to elucidate the underpinnings of my ecosophy I am curious to know what you all believe to be your ecosophical base. Do you buy local and organic produce from the farmer's market? Do you recycle and consume less? Do you belong to a CSA or grow beans in your backyard? Do you cook homemade food for others and welcome them into your home with a warm oven and a warm heart? If you have a moment leave a comment for me and for others about what your ecosophy is and how you strive to fulfill it.
We use nature to give us food, and food it goes without saying, is warming, inviting, and nurturing. Though the spectrum of flavors and textures nature gives us is overwhelming, sometimes all it takes is a little goat cheese to focus our eyes on the horizon.
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