Scientifically Speaking Which Came First?

Today is National Poultry Day and that got me thinking...Which really did come first, the chicken or the egg? Thanks to Popular Science I got this answer:

Prior to that first true chicken zygote, there were only non-chickens. The zygote cell is the only place where DNA mutations could produce a new animal, and the zygote cell is housed in the chicken's egg. So, the egg must have come first.

Americans consume far more poultry meat over beef and pork and the U.S. poultry industry is the worlds largest producer of poultry and the second largest exporter. For those of us who aspire to eat more natural or locally, urban farming (including raising chicken) has become an important teaching tool in many communities to empower people to subsidize their food source from the local market place and gain a better understanding for food nutrition. 

The Importance of Urban Gardening  

This summer I will  be working with children from urban communities in Orlando to understand how important our food sources are. From Seed to Shelf,  we will be exploring how our food is grown, harvested produced and distributed. Integrated within those objectives will be lessons on nutrition and sustainability. Not only will students learn about how their food is grown and farmed, but they will become young inventors and entrepreneurs learning to take what they have grown through the process of inventing a new (or better product) and getting it to the marketplace. For years I have seen schools and communities grow amazing gardens, but what we create from those gardens are just as important as fruits and vegetables harvested. And think what we could teach if we raised chickens for eggs and goats or cow for milk. The children of today, even those living in the burbs have no idea how what goes in their mouths gets to their table. 

Several weeks ago I had a great time hanging out with Jan D'Atri and Chef Tess Bakeresse at the KFYI (Phoenix) studios. Chef Tess made delicious bread and I make homemade butter by simply using some physical science  and whipping cream. The ability to do this within minutes during the middle of a radio studio led us to the conversation of why whipping cream might work better than half-and -half (fat content) and what we can make with the bi-product of the butter. Buttermilk!!! Ricotta came up as another alternative, as Jan's mom used to make homemade butter when she was growing up in Italy. 

In today's world of instant gratification and gadgetry I'm so excited to take a deep breath, smell the urban air and work with kids that will benefit from taking a step back and going "old school". We forget to acknowledge how we are fed and why we need to eat. As we get our hands dirty and learn to innovate our own creations we can begin to identify what is best for us as consumers. We'll read labels, understand marketing buzz words (good and bad) and take what is out there and make it better. 

As the daughter of a grocer and hearing many stories of my dad's early days on the farm, I understand the importance of what we grow and how we place it upon store shelves for consumption. I want to instill in students the ability to think critically, develop their knowledge of food and nutrition all while carving the possibilities for their future.