Self-Sufficiency

Our church had a workshop on Self-Sufficiency last weekend. I had a table on Chickens.

Not everyone can keep chickens, but the more people who do, the more local food networks will improve. When more people are growing their own food, the community is safer from food disasters.

A food crisis doesn't necessarily have to invovle food at all. A strike in Southern California a few years back created problems, because the Teamsters Union supported the striking grocery clerks and refused to deliver to supermarkets where workers were on strike. An oil crisis could reduce diesel and gasoline, making it difficult to transport food.

Food itself could be affected. It could be contaminated and unsafe to eat, or simply not in adequate supply.

The best way to protect ourselves against food shortages is to support local food networks. That can mean buying eggs from your local producer if you aren't able to raise your own. If you are able to keep your own chickens and ducks, keep enough to share or sell some of the eggs.

For fruits and vegetables, purchase those you can't grow yourself from local producers. Keeping them in business keeps the community food-secure.

Many people who attended the workshop were very enthusiastic about chickens. Several already had their own and others had ordered some. The comment I heqar most frequently at church is, "I can't have them where I live." So I contacted most of the local government entities and asked them abou regulations on chickens in their communities. They were all helpful and well informed, because they've been getting a lot of inquiries about chickens.

I wrote up a brief summary of local laws to hand out to people. The people who approached me at the workshop didn't much need it, as they were already on board. But I'm sure it will be useful in the future.