I read, with no small amount of satisfaction (and barely restrained operatic caterwauling), that my local city council has seen fit to entertain the idea of allowing chickens and bees within the limits of my fair “wee burg”.
As I’m sure many are aware, urban agriculture, and all of its associated bits and pieces, has been prominent in various news forums over the last few years.
I do not profess to speak for others; but for me, I like the idea of seeing the full life cycle of the food that I consume. It is my belief that when one is intimately aware of, and connected to, the cycle of life and death that animals and plants undergo to give us sustenance, one tends to view such things from (dare I say?) a more spiritual perspective.
It becomes far too easy to distance oneself from the gifts of Mother Earth when vegetables, fruits, and other edibles are grown, raised, and processed many miles from one’s plate; it becomes far too easy to devalue the work needed to procure such items for our consumption, when we can just “toodle over to the store” and load up our grocery cart with items from the other side of the planet.
For myself, the idea that I will be responsible for the safety, health, and well-being of a couple of feathered; or in the case of bees, a few thousand, furry individuals fills me with awe and humility in equal parts.
I am like a new parent, researching online for the “perfect” chicken coop, the “perfect” bee hive; what kind of chicken “girls” should I get? What kind of bee should I welcome to my garden? How many kinds of honeybees are there, anyway? What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t like them? Do I give them names? ( Bee #1, Bee #2, Bee #3, Bee #…. Damn! Bee #1, Bee #2, Bee #…. STOP MOVING!)
I must say that I am blessed to have close, dear friends that already have chickens and bees, so I shall be availing myself of their expertise; and I’m sure, affording them many opportunities to have a few good laughs at my expense.

As time progresses, I hope to be able to grow even more of my own food, procure lovely farm fresh eggs from the “back 40” (uh huh… 40 feet from my back door), enjoy a little honey from my own hive in my tea.  All while swinging in a hammock in the back yard, reading a good book…..

Quite recently, a dear friend whom I have had many discussions on topics related to GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), organic gardening practises, and the like, sent me a news link in regards to organic foods containing pesticides and chemical residues.

(link is available here:  http://tidechange.ca/2014/02/05/ubiquitous-toxins-and-uncomfortable-questions-by-ray-grigg )

This is a very sobering report, and brings home the fact that things that happen “over there” do very much affect goings on “over here”.  As someone who quite enjoys growing some veggies and spending some quality time communing with the earth worms and other assorted critters of the natural world (save Bambi who spends much time on the other side of the fence casting an eye on what she deems to be her personal salad bar), I am quite conscious of what goes into my garden soil ultimately ends up in me and my loved ones.

At this point it may be tempting to simply throw up our hands and say “We’re Doomed!”, or as one person so colourfully put it: F.I.N.E.!(Fuck, It Never Ends!) I suggest that this is simply a reminder that we must be even more diligent over matters that pertain to our health, both personally and that of Mother Earth.

If you choose not to (or are unable to) grow your own veggies and fruits, check out a local farmer’s market and talk to the purveyors about their products.  Ask them: How do you grow your products? Do you use pesticides/herbicides? Do you use organic, open pollinated seed?  Ask a million questions; a good farmer will be proud of his/her product and will be happy to answer your questions.  But please, do not ask them “Why is your product so expensive?”  Keep firmly in mind the farmer has a much higher overhead cost than big box stores that ship in 20,000 cardboard-hard, and equally flavourful tomatoes from “Le Mexico” at a time.

If you are growing your own food, cast a critical eye over all of the inputs that you are adding to your soil for fertility.  I personally eschew all manner of manufactured (ie: chemical) fertilizers; as a person who has taken Organic Master Gardener training, I firmly believe that organic inputs such as leaves and compost are much safer and healthier for the soil.

I am aware that some people like to use fish and/or fish offal buried in the garden to boost soil fertility.  With the devastation in Fukishima, radioactive wastewater was washed out to sea and is now in our waters, in which our fishies are swimming in. (Remember: “over there/ over here”?)  Take a moment to think about where the fish came from.

While we may not be able to live in a completely toxin-free existence (and living in a hermetically sealed bubble is troublesome and the epitome of anti-social behaviour), we can endeavour to do the very best that we can; educate ourselves, ask questions, and be prepared for some uncomfortable answers.

As I sit in my office (affectionately known as “The Bullshit Corner”), I quite often find myself pondering deep, meaningful things (along with a few nonsensical things that give me the giggles, but that’s a topic for another day); lately, I have been reflecting on a documentary that I saw on CBC’s “the fifth estate” called “Made In Bangladesh”.

In this documentary, the “fifth estate” crew interviews a former clothing designer for a national big box store after the collapse of the Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh in which 1,127 people perished.

The designer spoke of an executive meeting that was called just shortly after this tragedy, in which the main topic was how were they going to fill the clothing order now that the manufacturing plant was no more. “Nothing was said of the over 1,100 people who lost their lives…nothing!”

I must confess that it was extremely difficult to watch a full grown man struggle not to cry on national television. This brought home to me that we, in the so-called “first world” countries have become so used to consuming products with nary a thought of how said product comes into being in the first place.

At this point, I took it upon myself to have a gander in my closet and look at the country of manufacture tags; I was quite chagrinned to find an abundance of “Made In China” and “Made In Bangladesh” tags, but not a single “Made In Canada” tag.

Being that we live in a climate that enjoys prolonged periods of cold and wet, outright boycott of all things of Bangladeshi manufacture would cause periods of nakedness until the leaves come forth in the Spring in abundance enough to cover the “naughty bits”.  That is, if said “naughty bits” don’t freeze and fall off in the winter.

I propose that we do, as many investment advisers suggest, diversify, diversify, diversify!

In many larger metropolitan centers, there are quite often a variety of consignment shops and second hand stores that have a good selection of quality clothing for men and women. Here, in this “wee burg” that I live in, a quick perusal of the local second hand/consignment shops reveals a plethora of polyester offerings in patterns and colours that would blind airline pilots flying overhead; the one shop that has good quality offerings is located inside a church building, so be prepared for offerings of the religious variety as well as the raiment variety.

For the well-tailored male, I offer the following “Made In Canada” sources:

Harry Rosen, Tilley, Dion Neckwear, Braemore, Caulfield Apparel, Jack Victor, Lipson Shirtmakers, Samuelsohn Suits, Coppley, Phillipe Dubuc, Philip Sparks, Yenting Chen, and Stanfields.

Now, keeping in mind that many of the above sources do have some prices that are North of “Breathtaking”, I posit that we should look at this as “investment shopping”.  Yes, you may purchase a coat or suit for several hundred dollars, but that money: a) supports a Canadian business, in Canada; and b) at those prices, you are buying quality, not quantity.  I further posit that we would then take greater care of such garments, and keep them for longer.

Also, keep in mind that if you have garments that are in need of small repairs, such as a broken zipper or missing buttons, most local drycleaners have a tailor or seamstress on hand.  I took in several coats that had broken zippers and one winter coat that had some buttons fall off, and had the whole works repaired for a small sum of $75.00 which is much cheaper than replacing said items.

It is time for us to reassess the desire to wear the latest “it” fashion of the moment, and take the long view in all matters of life.  It is cheaper in the long run and looks better.