Food Revival

I don't know if you remember, but a few months ago I posted an article about my all-time favorite "go-to" Barefoot Contessa recipe for chicken. It's super simple and absolutely delicious. Heck, I even made a video about it.

Confession: I made this video prior to bringing Food, Inc to Birmingham, Alabama. And now that I've seen the movie 5 times, I've struggled with what to do with my video. See a great explanation as to what Food, Inc exposed by visiting either Food, Inc website or Ethicurean's post. You see, at the time of the taping, I was having some funding issues (aka figuring out my life after a layoff). I felt like the best choice (at the time) was to visit Sam's and purchase a pack of All Natural Chicken from a company I won't name here. If you watch my video (posted below), you will see that even at the time–prior to seeing the movie– I knew deep down that something was strange. How could an all-natural chicken be this HUGE? I always purchase bone-in chicken breasts for this particular recipe, but once I saw the chicken in front of me, I began questioning if this could be for real.

Now that I've seen the movie, I know more about where those chickens came from and I also know that there is no way a chicken breast should be as big as the ones I used in my movie. So, I'm left with a question: Do I remove the movie I made so that nobody can ever question my feelings about the matter or do I leave it and talk about it? I decided to talk.

Plenty of folks don't eat meat due to ethical, spiritual, and moral reasons. For me, it has been a little tricky to live in the sustainable food world and continue to eat meat on a regular basis. Prior to seeing Food, Inc I bought 3-4 different kinds of meat each week. Since watching the film, I've had a hard time buying meat at all. Partly because of the treatment of factory workers, some elements of animal cruelty (look, I totally get that in order to eat meat, you have to kill the animal but I'm not down with participating in some of the stuff I've seen), but mostly I'm cutting down because I'm absolutely embarrassed at my own consumption levels. Meat with every meal? Why? Just because I can?

Case study: I was out of town last weekend, which means I missed the Farmers' Market and I was so rushed once I got back that I didn't have a chance to go by Whole Foods Market as this is where I usually purchase my meat each week. I did what most folks do– I went to my local supermarket (Publix). I wanted to make a big 'ol vat of chicken salad for the week. All I needed was the chicken. So, I scanned the meat counter and decided on the Greenwise Market Chicken (Publix's version of an organic brand). I felt only okay about it at this point and began reading all of the labels. I couldn't quite find where these chickens were kept. Were they free-range or in chicken houses? Off to my right I notice the meat department manager restocking the area closest to me.

"Sir, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?" I asked somewhat timidly as I secretly hoped he wouldn't think I was some PETA person. No offense, PETA people but you folks take it to another level and that just ain't me.

"Absolutely," he said. (Publix employees are so nice, btw)

"Are these Greenwise Market chickens raised in chicken houses or are they free range?"

The answer? You probably already guessed it: Chicken Houses. He went on to tell me that the only free range birds he has ever seen in Publix are some of the turkeys they sell around the holidays.

So as I pulled the chicken from my buggy (that's what we Southerners call it) and returned the chicken back to its shelf, I remembered Food, Inc's message: "Use your food dollars wisely." I could have bought that stinkin' chicken and been fine. But, not really. Sure, the movie exposed some of the companies contributing to our overall downward food production spiral, but what it really taught me was my own role in the way things work. I'm proud that I walked out of the store having not purchased the chicken even though my weekly menu quickly became a moot point. We adapted: Mike and I have been dining on spaghetti made with fresh roasted tomatoes and homemade pesto and we've enjoyed pimento cheese for lunch. We've seriously changed our eating habits for the better and we are spending our food dollars on the items we want to stick around.

And if you decide to watch my chicken video again, please forgive me for not following my gut. I knew better and I should have trusted that instinct. And for you folks worried that I'm moving towards a vegan diet, have no fear. I still love fried chicken and my bacon. I'm just choosing to eat less of it and when I do eat it, I'm eating the best kind I can find. I deserve it. And so do you.