Earthlings the documentary, Sara Kate in Hot Springs, Pastured Cattle

I talked to Sara Kate on the phone last night, she's living in Hot Springs in the mts of NC. The population of Hot Springs is 640 people. She and Matt are working as cooks at Elmer's hostel on the Appalachian Trail. They're also living at the hostel. Sara Kate says she can see the trail from the kitchen window. Yesterday was their first day on the job. They made sauted tofu and a pie, among other things. I forgot what kind of pie, and what veggies or bread they made. I guess I wasn't listening very carefully. She sounded tired at 9:00 p.m. when she called. I was distracted by stuff going on here.

She has no computer, can only do email at the Hot Springs library which is open 16 hours a week.

I'll be visiting them when we do a presentation at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville on April 6 at 7:00. We'll be doing a panel at Mars Hill College on April 6 too, earlier in the day. And will be interviewed on WCQS radio in the late afternoon of April 4. Something at Warren Wilson College on April 5 I think. And a book signing at Earth Fare, and a pot luck on Friday April 7. I'll put it all on the calendar on the blog as soon as I get the times, and figure out how to put stuff on the calendar. Sara Kate and Matt and Elmer are arranging it all, since they're up there and I'm not. It's gonna be a busy four days. That's probably the last set of appearances we'll do for Veggie Revolution before the next book is finished in June. I can't do promotional stuff and write under a deadline at the same time, it's making me a basket case.

I hope to interview Scott Quaranda of the Dogwood Alliance while I'm in Asheville, on the subject of chip mills and deforestation in the Southeast. I want to interview somebody who actually works at a chip mill too, if I can find somebody to talk to me. We're hoping to go by Earthaven too if we have time, to see their earth-bag house.

This afternoon I'm going to Chapel Hill to interview Trip Overholt about his PV strawbale house with compost toilets and his biodiesel truck. Tomorrow I'll interview Gary Phillips in Silk Hope NC about his rammed earth house.

Yesterday I spent the day writing up an interview with Philip and Sheila Brooks about their pastured cattle business. They live in Union County, raise about 45 cows/steers at pasture. No corn, no hormones, no antibiotics. I liked the Brooks a lot. And their cows. I spent the day yesterday writing about how relatively well-off their cows are in comparison to feedlot cattle. Then when I was talking to Sara Kate she was telling me about the movie Earthlings. She told me to watch it. She said it's about the meat industry, has footage of the kosher slaughterhouses, footage of a pig being killed with a captive-bolt stunner. And so on. She said it was moving, jarring, effective. She says she wants to avoid all animal products now, unless she can see herself how the animal was raised. Like for example, Cassie and Natalie's pastured layers (hens). I need to see it. I need to watch that Wal-Mart documentary too. I want to watch Earthlings then rewrite my chapter about the cattle. Ken, who was kind enough to proof-read for me, said the cattle chapter was way too long anyway, needs drastic revision. Well. Things change. That's what it's all about, growing and learning. If I didn't learn anything from working on the books, then why bother? That's the point really.

So. I'm gonna look at the library or amazon for Earthlings and for the Wal-mart documentary, drink more coffee, run to my dresser drawer for a tiny square of chocolate, then work on revising my cattle chapter some, and finally head out of here for Chapel Hill and hope I don't run into a big snag on I-85. Which I usually do. Whoever you are who bothered to read this, I hope you have a good morning and a whole good day.
Adios
Sally