I'm from Cambria, California, the Central Coast. I joined SEJ in 2001 when I was reporting on golf course maintenance and poultry was an avocation. Since then, Voyageur Press has seen the wisdom of publishing my book on chickens, How to Raise Chickens. It has been well received -- I'm big in Tractor Supply's books section --so they asked me to write another on poultry. How to Raise Poultry, with chapters on ducks, geese, swans, turkeys, guineafowl, game birds, ratites (ostriches, emus and rheas), and, of course, chickens, will be available in April 2009. My blog is http://poultrybookstore.blogspot.com.
Being involved with poultry has led me into so many environmental areas: agricultural practices of all kinds sustainable and industrial, herbicide and pesticide use, watershed management, water and air quality issues, humane farm animal treatment, food-borne illness, food quality, global hunger and saving the world.
California's coastline is as irresitible to me as it is to the Northern Elephant Seals that make the Piedras Blancas beach their rookery. Being a docent teaching the public about them has been a great way for me to learn the natural history and stay involved with ocean issues.
Fred First will be reporting on the Healthy Food Shed tour, for which Dan Sullivan, Joe Davis and I were the organizers. I'll post on the Network Lunch, Food Safety vs. Food Security: Government Animal Tracking, and Beat Dinner Kristen Choo and I organized, Whither Journalism: Emerging Directions.
SEJ's annual conference is the high point of my professional year -- even better than Cooking with Traditional Chickens, although the food was great! I'm grateful for this blog, to help me learn what happened at all the great tours, lunches, dinners and sessions I won't be able to attend. Thanks, Amy and Lisa!
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