Last night’s 2012 premiere screening of our little chicken movie at the Greenburgh Nature Center was a huge success. In addition to screening the short film, we had a great panel including a local mom who keeps chickens who shared her experiences, Eli from the film who provided some very funny stories about his flock and Kathy Moreau of Intergenerate, who heads up an amazing heritage egg co-op at the John Jay Homestead.

The room was filled with many folks who want to raise chickens in their yards. They also understand the importance of transforming our food system into something more local, diverse and resilient. Two audience members are so excited by the film and the presentation that they are setting up similar events in the near future for their communities.

So here’s the famous little film you’ve all been waiting for. For more enjoyment, click to bring the movie into full screen on your computer.

If the film doesn’t show up in your email, click here to watch

Chicken Flick from Carol Leicht on Vimeo.

I’m clearing out some of my books for the new year to make room for new books that are directly focused on my New Year’s resolutions.  As you already probably know, I’m quite the bookworm. I’m hoping that by sharing these titles with you at a reduced price, I can help create a win-win-win.

Win #1 Save trees! I’m not a huge fan of reading e-books on my phone or computer or Nook or whatever those other electronic book reading machines are. I like to hold a book in my hand and read it. But I feel bad about the trees that are cut down to make paper/books. By re-selling my books, more trees can be saved.

Win #2 Help wake the world up about environmental/ sustainability topics. When you’re done reading these books, I hope you’ll pass them on to others, including members of your town board or school board.

Win #3 The frugal piece. If bought at a bookstore or online at Amazon, you’ll pay way way more. You’ll save money, and I’ll save money too, since I bought most of these at a local bookstore at full price.

I first met Joan Gussow back at the turn of the century (1999), when I attended a workshop was teaching at Wainwright House. Meeting Joan changed my approach to nutrition and health. You can’t go wrong with these two books.

The Joan Gussow Collection

This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader . This book rocked my world back in 2001 when I first read it. This book remains incredibly relevant today. The story of Joan’s garden and home renovation is sprinkled with great recipes too. You’ll learn lots about the food system in this groundbreaking book.

Growing, Older: A Chronicle of Death, Life, and Vegetables.  Joan’s most recent book is about gardening, self-reliance, climate change. The essays in this book are wise words from one of my most favorite mentors.

Asking price: $14  A $28 savings off the original price.

A few years back, Joan Gussow facilitated a monthly reading group at Stone Barns with the theme: Food & Capitalism.  It was there that I first learned about the work of James Howard Kunstler. His book, The Long Emergency, was one of our required reads.  Once again, my world view was irreversibly changed. This guy is a colorful writer who will keep you entertained and will cause you to re-think many aspects of modern life.

The Kunstler Collection

The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape. This book is a colorful history of America’s evolution from Main Street to malls. Kunstler is no fan of suburbia, this book will change the way you look at where you live.

World Made by Hand. This novel takes place in the future in a post-petroleum Hudson Valley.

The Witch of Hebron.  A well written sequel to the World Made by Hand. He’s got another one coming out this summer, I can’t wait to read it. After reading World Made by Hand and The Witch of Hebron, you’ll want to too.

Asking price: $21  A $32 savings off original price.

Joel Salatin is a farmer in Virginia. I originally learned about him by attending a Weston A Price Foundation conference in Virginia. He’s quite a colorful character. Shortly afterwards, Michael Pollan discovered him while researching his book Ominvore’s Dilemma. Salatin was featured in the movies, Food Inc, and Fresh!

The Salatin Collection

Everything I Want to Do is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front. You’ll chuckle while reading this and you’ll get great insight on what is wrong with America’s food system.

Holy Cows & Hog Heaven: the Food Buyer’s Guide to Farm Friendly Food. Joel’s  wit and wisdom comes through in this short read on how to choose food that is good for people and the planet.

The Sheer Ecstasy of being a Lunatic Farmer. This book shares the inside scoop on being a sustainable farmer and eating sustainably too. Sounds a bit like Pollan, but more colorful.

Asking price: $21 Save $46 off original prices.

Contact me via email if you’re interested in any of these book collections! DrSuRu@me.com

If you’re local and want to suggest a barter instead of cash, I’m open to that too!

My dad was quite the bookworm. When growing up, our house was lined with bookshelves filled with books on a wide range of topics. Dad and I would hang out at the library on Thursday nights until closing time, we’d be the last two out with piles of books for the week. If he was alive today, he’d no doubt smile at my extensive collection.

Sadly, I don’t have kids that love to read like I do. Hubby enjoys a good book, but he’s a bit of a slow reader. Perhaps that’s because he reads in bed at night, I often look over to find him reading with his eyes closed. That must be why it takes so long to get through a book.

The Post Carbon Reader

This year, I did find someone who would appreciate a book for Christmas. My daughter’s biology teacher. He impressed me at back to school night with his  deep understanding of climate change and resource depletion. It turns out that he reads some of the same books and blogs that I do, namely James H. Kunstler’s Monday morning blog called, Clusterf*ck Nation ,about the tragic comedy of suburbia. Mr. Kunstler wrote The Long Emergency in 2005, an unsettling book about the predicaments we face as fossil fuels become more expensive and less available. His recent novels, A World Made by Hand and The Witch of Hebron take place in a post petroleum Hudson Valley.

I knew that without a doubt, this teacher would appreciate his own copy of The Post Carbon Reader. This book is a compilation of articles by some of the world’s most thinkers on the key problems that will shaping this years to come as the age of  fossil fuels comes to an end. Everything from renewable energy and urban agriculture to water and the concept of resilience. These complex, interconnected issues must be dealt with rapidly and effectively if we are to achieve a resilient future.

Sadly most town Green committees and Sustainability committees are not facing these somewhat scary facts. They are focusing on recycling, retrofitting  insulation and “green” light bulbs. In order to survive the future, we’ll need to be having some uncomfortable conversations that go beyond the “inconvenient truth”. Most of our politicians don’t dare talk about these points, no one would elect someone bold enough to tell the truth.

Hope I haven’t scared you too much! The Post Carbon Reader is a good book to check out.

In the meantime, this little boy opening a book for Christmas continues to make me laugh. Hope you like it!

If the video doesn’t show up, click here!

A sunny day at the beach + a good book = paradise

NaBloPoMo’s question of the day is:

Who is your favorite author?

I love spending a day or a week at the beach soaking up some vitamin D and reading a book by Carl Hiaasen.  Carl is a south Florida writer who is a reporter for the Miami Herald. This experience has given him an endless supply of outrageous characters because south Florida is a bit of a dysfunctional place to say the least. Deep in his heart, Mr.Hiaasen is an environmentalist who has sadly watched developers destroy much of Florida’s natural habitats. He finds ways to work these themes into his raunchy, fictional stories.

I’d love to tap into his genius and write a fictional rant. While not as obviously outrageous as south Florida, my suburban town has some dysfunctional,  wacky characters as well.

I hope to have my Hiaasen-like fictional blog post up by the end of the day. In the meantime, here’s a  link to his website where you can learn more about his books. Carl Hiaasen

Chicken Flick:

Backyard Chickens for All

will be one of 4 films featured at the Jacob Burns Film Center Media Arts Lab on Thursday June 16th at 5pm.

Please join us!

RSVP to Theresa Dawson  tdawson@burnsfilmcenter.org

This movie came about as a result of my participation in the Reel Change for Non-profits class at JBFC’s Media Arts Lab. This class helps non profit groups use film in their advocacy work. I partnered up with Nicola Coddington, a kindred spirit when it comes to environmental activism. She is the former executive director of Interfaith Power and Light, and is currently writing a book about how to accelerate positive social change, especially in the areas of climate change, energy, sustainable/local agriculture and water. She and I are both active members of Transition Westchester.

Originally, Nikki and I wanted to create a short film that would highlight what the Transition Towns movement was about: building resilient communities across the United States that are able to withstand severe energy, climate or economic shocks while creating a better quality of life in the process. But we soon realized that this was too big of a story to tell in under 5 minutes.

Instead, we decided to focus on one aspect of re-localizing food. Neither one of us are backyard chicken farmers, but we were well aware that urban and suburban chickens were a growing trend. The “chick(en) flick” was the result of our collective brainstorm.

Another student, Carol Leicht,  came to class all the way from Florida. In addition to being a nurse, Carol has been diligently working as a videographer for her church and was up here in NY to take all the classes that the Media Arts Lab had to offer. Carol was also keen on backyard chickens, she even had a short little chicken video on her iPhone! We were thrilled to partner up with her on this project. Her expertise on Final Cut Pro came in really handy, we learned loads from her!

The three of us put in many hours of filming and editing to make this 5 minute movie that will be used by many groups here in NY and across the country who are trying to convince town boards to change the zoning rules to allow backyard chickens.

How to get our point across in under 5 minutes? We could have bored you with facts and statistics on how industrial egg operations are harmful to human and planetary health. Instead, we told the story of 4 families who are successfully keeping chickens in their yards for healthy eggs and a deeper connection to nature. These examples of parents who want the best for their kids will no doubt convince viewers that backyard chicken keeping is a worthwhile activity.

One of the stars of our movie

If you can’t make it to the big premiere in Pleasantville this week,no worries. The Chicken Flick will be up on Vimeo or YouTube in a short while.

In the meantime, have a listen to this NPR piece on the growing trend of backyard chickens. What the Cluck?

PS: If you live in my town, Chappaqua, you need 10 acres to have backyard chickens! Considering all you need in Brooklyn is 10 square feet per chicken, this zoning seems incredibly unfair! Please consider signing the Chickens for Chappaqua petition. Click here for more info.

Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. A classic, must see movie.

On February 2nd, most people think about Punxsutawney Phil and whether he will see his shadow, I always think fondly of the movie Groundhog Day instead.

This 1993 comedy starring Bill Murray is worth watching again and again. Murray plays a weatherman stuck in a time loop. Its not just a comedy but a movie with some deep spiritual messages. Watch it again and you’ll see what I mean.

Sometimes I think we are all living a version of Groundhog Day – with the same behaviors, same choices, same mistakes – over and over and over again.  Remember what Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Diets, de-toxes and the USDA food pyramid all fall into this Groundhog Day category and fit the definition of insanity too.

It doesn’t have to be that way. You can dump the diet, you can skip the cleanse that is supposed to cure what ails you, you ignore the food pryamid and whatever the USDA is telling you about “healthy food”.

Today and the entire month of February, just do one simple thing. Change your snack habit for the month of February. Instead of processed, packaged snacks that contain ingredients you can’t pronounce, eat real food instead. You’ll be joining thousands who are participating in the #20ate day adventure. Click here to learn more.

I’m here to help with a recipe and/or snack suggestion for each of the 28 days.

Freshly cut carrots.

Today, may I suggest a simple carrot? I’m not talking about the kind that are shaved down into “baby carrot” shape and dipped in a chlorine solution and individually bagged. Instead, buy a 2 pound bag of organic carrots. Use a nice sharp knife and a cutting board. Set it up as a Zen meditation and cut yourself some carrot sticks. Toss those fresh carrot sticks into a container with some water and put in your fridge. Pop some into a ziploc bag or other container and take them with you for a mid day snack.

Chinese New Year starts tomorrow, 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit.  Enjoy those carrots!

You might not realize the connection between organization and health, but I am certain it exists.

Every time you need to scramble to find something, your body gets a quick hit of stress hormones. A cluttered desk or kitchen can cause your adrenal glands to pump out mini-doses of adrenaline and cortisol many times a day. This low level chronic stress plays havoc with your weight, your ability to focus, and your overall wellbeing.

Clutter is stuck energy. Clear your clutter and you’ll soon find that your energy flows better, life feels easier.

The end of the year is a great time to invest in clutter clearing. Get rid of clothes, papers, books, junk you no longer use. Use Freecycle, thrift shops and even recycling centers to make sure your clutter gets a new home instead of heading off to the incinerator or landfill.

One of the best books you’ll ever read on this topic is Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston.  Its a short, sweet book that will inspire you to start right now to move that stagnant energy.

The Rev. Billy

STOP the SHOPOCALYPSE!
Sho•po•ca•lypse [shah PAW kuh lips] n.
The end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption
and the fires of eternal debt!

This defnition was created by the Reverend Billy Talen of the Church of Stop Shopping. The Rev. Billy is a performance artist and activist who tours internationally with his Stop Shopping Choir

Ever since I dragged my family into New York City to see a screening of the Rev.Billy’s movie,  What Would Jesus Buy on Thanksgiving 2007, I’ve been convinced that we’d all be better off if we shopped a little less.

WWJB focuses on the issues of the commercialization of Christmas, over-consumption in American culture, problems with globalization, and the business practices of large corporations. His message is one you’re heard before: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. He and his choir deliver the message in an entertaining way.

Buy Nothing Day

Another meaningful action you can take is to participate in Buy Nothing Day. This international protest against consumerism started in Canada in 1992. There are lots of fun gatherings, shenanigans, and forms of protest. Here’s some examples from Wikipedia of Buy Nothing Day events:

• Credit card cut up: Participants stand in a shopping mall, shopping center, or store with a pair of scissors and a poster that advertises help for people who want to put an end to mounting debt and extortionate interest rates with one simple cut.
• Free, non-commercial street parties
• Sit-ins
• Zombie Walk: Participant ‘zombies’ wander around shopping malls or other consumer havens with a blank stare and marvel at the expressionless faces of the shoppers (their fellow zombies). When asked what they are doing participants describe Buy Nothing Day and explain its foundational principles.
• Whirl-mart: Participants silently steer their shopping carts around a shopping mall or store in a long, baffling conga line without putting anything in the carts or actually making any purchases.
• Public protests
• Wildcat General Strike: A strategy used for the 2009 Buy Nothing Day where participants not only do not buy anything for twenty-four hours but also keep their lights, televisions, computers and other non-essential appliances turned off, their cars parked, and their phones turned off or unplugged from sunrise to sunset.^[1]
• Buy Nothing Day hike: Rather than celebrating consumerism by shopping, participants celebrate the earth and nature.^[4]
• Buy Nothing Critical Mass: As the monthly Critical Mass bike ride often falls on this day or near, rides in some cities acknowledge and celebrate Buy Nothing Day.
• Buy Nothing Day paddle along the San Francisco waterfront. This event is promoted by the Bay Area Sea Kayakers (www.bask.org) to kayak along the notoriously consumptive San Francisco waterfront. We paddle, we buy nothing, and we have fun.
• The biggest Buy Nothing Day activities are the Winter Coat Exchanges that started in Rhode Island and now have locations in Rhode Island, Kentucky, Utah and Oregon in which coats are collected from anyone who wants to donate, and anyone who needs a winter coat is welcome to take one. (www.ProsperityForRI.org) has more information and flyers
• Buy Nothing from ShopNothing.com, literally.

I’m heading off to NYC, not to shop, but to participate in a Whirl at Bed Bath & Beyond and then see the Rev. Billy’s parade of angels up near Columbus Circle.

Tonight, I attended a screening of this film that highlights the dark side of our over-achieving communities.  I live in a highly competitive town where kids are under played and over scheduled. Most are tutored and just about everyone is on some sort of travel team for sports- regular ol’ AYSO soccer is just not good enough!  High school is one big race to the “best” college, parents cough up mega bucks for SAT classes, college advisers and community service opportunities that will make their kid look good on applications. Kids take multiple AP courses and have no scheduled lunch period so they can squeeze it all in. The movie portrayed my community very accurately with success being defined by what college you go to along with an overemphasis on making money. Two of my daughters have been through this high stress high school and I’m just not certain I can muster up enough energy to put my third one through this gauntlet. Stop the merry go round, I want to get off!

The message in this movie is less homework and more family dinners. It will take some swimming upstream and there is no easy fix. How to get off this treadmill and raise a happy, motivated and creative human being? How do we re-define success and make happiness as important a metric as math scores?

This is one reason I’m taking my daughter out of school for a week long illegal absence and bringing her with me and my husband for Italy.  I hope she’ll learn more in 5 days visiting Rome and Florence than she will in 5 days of middle school.

Why would I take my kid out of school to go to Italy in the middle of October?  I have a good excuse! I was selected by Slow Food USA to be a  US delegate to this year’s Terra Madre event in Turin, Italy. Terra Madre is an international conference of over 7,000 food producers, cooks, educators and activists. Every four years, network delegates come together to discus global food sustainability issues.  My hubby, who is a whiz at playing the frequent flyer game, came up with two free round trip tix for himself and my daughter  so we decided she could play hookey and come with us on an Italian adventure.

If you have kids in school, even if they’re only in elementary school, this movie is worth your time. Hopefully you can set up a screening in your school district and have a meaningful community wide conversation afterward.

Foam pumpkins: made in China

The first week of the free Halloween Costume Swap at my local farmer’s market was a great success. All of the costumes that I started the day with were quickly gone and replaced by many others. Word had gotten out via Patch, New Castle NOW, Facebook and even Twitter.  Some of the PTAs were able to get an anoucement into  their weekly news briefs. Both parents and kids visited the tent happy to swap their Halloween gear in exchange for pre-owned costumes for this year.

Many were thrilled at the prospects of not having to visit Target or Party City for this year’s costume. Most parents are pressed for both time and money these days.  There’s a deeper and darker issue that not so many parents here in our comfortable suburban hamlet are not fully aware of: the environmental impact of all of these cheaply made costumes and goodies is huge.

Halloween is now our second biggest consumer event, only the Christmas season is bigger. We spend millions of dollars on plastic wrapped polyester costumes, cheap plastic decorations and so much more. When it comes down to waste, Halloween is a big mess. Most of our goodies end up in the landfill or, here in Westchester, incinerated in Peekskill.  Most of the products we buy are made from petroleum and manufactured thousands of miles away in China. Our disposable culture is catching up to us as cheap oil and space in the landfills starts to run low.

I’m reminded of a movie that I borrowed from the Westchester Library System called Mardi Gras: Made in China.  The movie followed the life-cycle of Mardi Gras beads from a small factory in Fuzhou, China, to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Here’s the trailer, you definitely don’t want your kids seeing this.

This is why we really must seriously consider the 3 Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle every day and every holiday.  There’s just gotta be a better way.

The Halloween Costume Swap will continue at Chappaqua’s TABLE Farm Market every Saturday in October at the Chappaqua Train Station from 10am to 1pm. Spend your money on fresh veggies instead of Halloween costumes! See you there.