No Matter How You Crack It.

So, after my whole meat "awakening" in the pork post, a friend nudges me and asks:

"How about non-meat animal products like eggs or milk - do you follow the same premise that they shouldn't be wasted or are you a little more forgiving of forgetting they're in the fridge since they're 'renewable' resources?"

Cluck.
Good point.

Interesting questions. Since this "critter-consciousness" is new to me, I'm just beginning to look at things in a different way. I'm reading up on things like Oberweis Dairy - which, for me, is local. Looks like I can get milk that is hormone and antibiotic free and heated only to 173 (not cooked all the up to 185.) There is a lot of stuff about what's in their milk (and what's not) but not a lot about the animal treatment on their supplier's farms.

I'll keep reading. I am already a big fan of their shakes and I might start buying their milk.

In the past two months I've been really unhappy with the milk I've been buying at the store so this is a happy coincidence.

Eggs.
When I bake, I go through 'em like water.
When I don't, I waste a lot of them.
Well, I did.
Not sure I will anymore.

Yeah, they're a renewable resource. Well, for the chicken, not the egg. But, if I remember my edible education, courtesy of Alton Brown, correctly, I believe a chicken, er, hen, lays one egg about every day. That's a chicken in a...well, I'll just say "not nice" environment (sparing us from the gory details that we know about - or can easily Google search for). So, this chicken spends a week laying eggs. And if I toss half a dozen, it's a wasted week for that chicken. Just wasted. So, yeah, I think it will matter to me now.

Now, bear in mind that I did not expect November to be some kind of life-changing month for me. This is quite out of the blue...and I'm reeling from the bright sunlight. Another friend recommended starting at Local Harvest. And, following another suggestion, I have Omnivore's Dilemma on order at the library.

Nice Thanksgiving Day reading, eh?
But, ironically, I think it is.
*Shrug*
This is all so new.
I've been eating all my life, but never saw the chicken for the egg.