Pat Foreman, Poultry Pioneer
Name: Pat Foreman
Occupation: Poultry Pioneer,
Place of Residence: Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
Poultry and Local Foods Background:
From a remarkable and diverse
background, Pat never expected to become associated so strongly with chickens. Her life has intertwined several professions, which all have
the thread of optimal health, sustainable agriculture and public service. Her
careers include pharmacist, international consulting and training, organic
farming, animal husbandry, green construction and professional writing.
Her duel
degrees from Purdue University in pharmacy, and animal science (genetics,
nutrition) created her life’s paradox. The nutrition taught in pharmacy school
began — and ended with — the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). Amazingly, the
RDA is only the minimal amount of a nutrient necessary to keep disease from
showing in humans!
On the
opposite side of the nutritional spectrum, her animal science studies taught
her how to formulate feed rations for optimal health, and then compliment the
nutrition with quality genetics and environment.
Even
today, Pat has yet to understand why there is so much known about nutrition for
livestock, and yet the RDA remains the standard medically recommended minimum
amount of nutrition for humans that only keeps disease from showing…for a
while. The RDA has nothing to do with optimal health.
Pat has kept poultry for about 25 years. She has experience
ranging from employing chickens to build topsoil for a community farm, to
co-owning and operating a small-scale farm with free range, organic layers,
broilers and turkeys. The commercial operation included managing breeder
flocks, incubating eggs, pasturing poultry, finished processing and direct
marketing.
Along the
way, Pat studied permaculture and soil science. She understands how
mineralized, living soils grow healthy plants that transfer nutrients up the
food chain…or not. Living soils produce healthy animals, vegetables, fruits,
nuts and people — and that is the focus of her interest in chickens because of
how chicken sill sets help create living soils and empower local agriculture.
Whereas
her life path might appear to be attention deficit, there is an intertwined
theme. Healthy soils, foods, non-toxic housing and sustainable environments
crate a healthy planet. To her, it is all the same subject; the gossamer web of
life.
She is the author of City Chicks, co-author of Chicken Tractor,
Day Range Poultry, Backyard Market Gardening and A Tiny Home to Call Your Own.
Pat is the developer of the Chickens and You Training Series
leading to the Master Backyard Chicken Keeper Certification (www.ChickensAndYou.com).
Current Projects:
• Founder of the The Gossamer Foundation, a 501(c)(3)
dedicated to Global Sustainability and Local Foods. Under the Gossamer
Foundation I’m working to develop:
• Chickens And YOU Training Series leading to the Master
Backyard Chicken Keeper Certification. The Primary Series contains 8 workshops.
Internet classes will be available starting February, 2013. www.ChickensAndYOU.com.
• Coop Corps™, a cross between
Habitat for Humanity and Heifer International, but Coop Corps is part of the Chicken Stimulus Package intended to help
enable and involve individuals, families, communities, schools, churches, and
other nonprofits learn how to keep and employ chickens in kitchen and
production gardens, thus helping folks become more local food self-sufficient.
There are individual as well as group Coop Corps projects
for organizations including schools, community gardens, congressional flocks,
group homes and other service organizations.
With every Coop Corps project, one more flock is on the path
to Occupy Backyards and help provide a healthy
local food supply that supports local self-reliance and emergency preparedness.
Coop Corps is a project of program of the Gossamer
Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to global sustainability and
local foods.
More Places to Find Pat on the Web:
Talk shows:
Pat loves to talk and has been
on many radio talk shows including NPR & BBC Spark, Civic Soapbox and the Kojo
Nnambi Talk Show.
http://www.jmu.edu/wmra/pgm/nsa110411.mp3
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-05-13/urban-chickens
http://www.jmu.edu/wmra/pgm/nsa110411.mp3
Pat is the former co-host of the
Chicken Whisperer Talk Show.
Pat is an experienced speaker, trainer and consultant.
Contact her through info@ChickensAndYOU.com for event information and
scheduling.
