What an adventure we had today! It was the UW Science Fair and while most of it I was pretty sure would be too old for Sam and Avery the Cattle Milking Demonstration did catch my eye.
Wasn't I just asking on Facebook about finding a working farm with big animals in our area that we could visit? Love the timing!
OH! Before I move on to pictures from today I know you are all anxiously awaiting the results of the PlayOutdoors Deuter Backpack Giveaway. The winner has 24 hours to email me with an address so that I can send the information on to PlayOutdoors to get your backpack to you.
And the winner is.....comment number 123......TAMI S.! Yay!
Okay, now back to today's adventure.
Not the most pleasant picture but I wanted to show what we were really there to see!
After the cows we walked to the UW greenhouse and had a good time walking through their conservatory and student greenhouses.
The BIG hit from the greenhouses were the plants we were allowed to eat off of! Sam hunted and hunted with one of the workers for the last of the beans for her to pick and enjoy. She did share ONE with her daddy.
This made Chris and I even more excited to see how she will react when we are picking and eating food from our own yard!
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The Nitty Gritty!
Both girls were very captivated by the cows. I think they could have stood there watching them walk in, get milked and walk out for hours. It was really a neat process. By very limited farming experience means I have no idea of machines like these and set ups like there are commonly used but the cows were pushing there way to get into line to get milked and didn't seem to mind the process at all (both of which surprised me having been through nursing and not been a huge fan!).
But this experience did get me thinking... When do children learn where there food comes from? Do schools still do field trips to farms to see how beef, pork and chicken are raised? How grain is processed and mass amounts of vegeatables are grown? But, what they would see at a local family farm would not be the REAL situation for probably a majority of the food they would actually eat. With my environmental studies degree I have read and research the food industries; I KNOW where my food comes from, what has been done to it and what it really looks like (most of which is why I choose to eat the way I do!). But I learned all that in college and because I chose to. How do other people learn this stuff? And is it okay that there are some people that don't know?
I truly feel that more people really knew, I mean really knew, what happened to their food before it hit their table they might choose different options. And how do we reach those people that are okay with the "ignorance is bliss" mentality?
that greenhouse is awesome!!!! Your girls are going to love having a garden what are you planting veggie wise?
the dairy farm looks like a lot of fun.
Posted by: Nature Trails and Nature Tales | 04/02/2011 at 06:27 PM
I read the Omnivore's Dilemma: Young Reader's Edition to my girls before bed a couple of months back. Odd bedtime reading, I know, but they asked for it every night. They learned soooo much about where food comes from, industrial, organic, and local, sustainable. The funny thing is they had very different reactions, 7 yo thinks going back to being vegetarian is a pretty good idea, and 4 yo thinks she wouldn't mind killing a chicken herself..., but they both LOVE to forage and pick their own garden food! (Don't worry there will be no 4 yo chicken-killing, but we will be getting some soon for eggs ;)
~Nikole
Posted by: Nikole | 04/02/2011 at 08:23 PM
*that was my response to the Nitty Gritty
It also looks like a great day for experiences, and those purple beans look extra yummy!
Posted by: Nikole | 04/02/2011 at 08:26 PM
People who are interested know this stuff -- it's pretty easy to find the information if you are interested and looking even half-heartedly. If you are not, well, I don't think there is a way to reach those people. Better to reach the folks who make policy (government in the pocket of industry, anyone?) so the system changes. We shouldn't have to work around the system to get decent food, the system should be forced to provide it.
I know, I'm dreaming. Your farm day looked great. I'll have to find something similar here this summer.
Posted by: Frances | 04/02/2011 at 10:41 PM
That looks like a fun day! As far as students learning where food comes from? I don't think they do in schools around here. My second grader is going on a dairy farm field trip, but they really don't get too in-depth and dairy is only one small part of the big picture.
Posted by: Karen | 04/03/2011 at 09:08 AM
So many schools don't teach anything about farming, food production, etc. Which I think is sad considering the state we come from. If you are interested in your girls actually seeing something bigger then a garden I would check into CSA's in your area. I know ours has field days where they invite anyone to come in a help (often you can get a share for reduced cost if you volunteer on a regular basis). That doesn't really involve dairy most times, but I'm sure local farms might let you visit. I know my parents tooks us to both organic, free range farms and an industrial farm when we were younger (probably older then Sam though)and let us compare the differences between the two.
Posted by: Jen | 04/04/2011 at 07:21 AM