Michelle Nelson鈥檚 apartment in east Vancouver played host to an unusual feature in the sitting room: a large rabbit hutch.聽
But these fluffy bunnies were not pets. Nelson gave them no names. She didn鈥檛 pet them and tried to encourage their natural behaviour. Nelson knew eventually, they would end up on the dinner table.
鈥淚t was an experiment for me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 care so much about animal welfare that I hadn鈥檛 eaten meat for a decade.鈥�
Nelson dreamed of owning a hobby farm, a place where she could grow her own food and raise her own farm animals. One day she thought, 鈥榃hy wait?鈥� Nelson wanted to explore what she could do in a small, urban space.聽
鈥淚 don鈥檛 mind being the 鈥榗razy person,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淎 lot of times when I start explaining to people what I am doing, they relate to the concept.鈥�
With a PhD in conservation biology and sustainable agriculture, Nelson started a process of trial and error. She looked at foraging in urban areas, growing aquatic vegetables in buckets and even raising and using insects for cooking. She documented her successes and compiled them into The Urban Homesteading Cookbook.
鈥淚 have a recipe in the book that uses insect flour to make dark and stormy cupcakes,鈥� Nelson says. 鈥淵ou would never tell there is insect flour in them. It has a bit of a nutty taste.鈥�
This weekend at 麻豆社国产Public Library, Nelson will share her stories with those interested. Even though some 麻豆社国产residents may live in dwellings with more space than a downtown Vancouver apartment, the methods of urban growing and microlivestock will be useful to them, Nelson says.聽
Within a small lot, one can host everything from aquaponics 鈥� creating a symbiotic environment that feeds plant life while supporting aquatic life 鈥� to beekeeping. For people living in spaces too small for chickens but still wishing for poultry, Nelson recommends keeping quail; the midsize birds produce eggs, the females don鈥檛 make noise and their pens are easy to clean, she notes.
鈥淵ou can potentially keep quail on an apartment patio,鈥� Nelson says.聽
While it may all sound a bit wacky to some, the reasoning behind microlivestock comes from a place of wanting to eat ethically, she says. Nelson seeks to create meals that are more sustainable and healthy, with meat from humanely treated animals. Even as a vegetarian, Nelson says she couldn鈥檛 escape unsustainable practices, noting soy beans often come from crops on deforested land.
鈥淚 definitely think there is a food shift going on,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople are more interested in things like farmers鈥� markets.鈥�
In her cookbook , Nelson shares methods she has learned about earth-wise consumption from her grandma鈥檚 homestead on the Sunshine Coast and provides ideas that stem from her educational background.聽
鈥淭here are lots of benefits to eating home-cooked meals, from the satisfaction of preparing it to cost saving and being able to make sustainable choices.鈥�
Having yearned for a small patch of land where she can keep goats, Nelson now lives on Bowen Island. Her friends are always excited to come over for dinner, knowing that whatever will be on the table is likely going to be something tasty and unexpected.聽
鈥淭hey totally love it. And we always give food as gifts,鈥� she says, adding they鈥檙e highly anticipated presents.
Nelson鈥檚 presentation at 麻豆社国产Public Library will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 6).
