This morning, the kids and I drove out to Foothill Feed in Orange to stock up on feed for the chickens. We got 25 lbs of feed, 50 lbs of scratch, and 5 lbs of sunflower seeds -- $20.
On the way home, we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. Happy Meals for the kids and a combo for me -- $20.
Interesting coincidence. I'm not sure what conclusions to draw from this, but I know there is a profound truth in there somewhere.
I'd love to hear any ideas you may have... add your comments and join the discussion.
Vegetarians know the answer to your dilemma. Why feed an animal for a year and eat it once when you can eat the animals’ food for a month. If everyone ate the animal food, world hunger, terrorism, health care problems, and almost all environmental problems would be erased in one single shot. “Happy Meal”……. How ironic
ReplyDeleteYou just have to make the best choices you can as often as you can and not be militant about it. Sometimes organic is not the best choice depending on how far away it was grown. Sometimes you just have to buy a Happy Meal. It's okay. But, in the end, people need to educate themselves, read labels, and be choosy. I just read a new-ish book - kind of along the lines of "Omnivore's Dilemma" but a bit lighter - called "Eating for Beginners" by Melanie Rehak. It's a smart book, but a fun read.
ReplyDeleteYour food at Mickey D's wasn't actually that expensive. But a lot of very expensive Marketing, packaging, and overhead costs of McDonalds were purchased. Imagine the price if you made the same food from either processed grocery food or from scratch at the house.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Anonymous#2 -- I bet the actual cost of the "food" from McD was only a teeny proportion of the overall. So what I was actually paying for was the convenience (for me) and the enjoyment (for the kids). And what is that actually worth? We can get convenience and enjoyment in other ways.
ReplyDelete