You said this, and it got me thinking…
You say,
“I could never raise my own animals for meat.”
“Butchery? You must be so strong!”
“How can you eat an animal that you knew??”
My response:
“How could you not?”
These comments, as well meaning as they may be, come across like:
- You see what I do as a horrific act
- My heart must be hardened
- Like I lack compassion for animals
- It requires such a monstrous effort to take a life
In reality, it’s the opposite. Hear me out.
It’s far more compassionate to deeply know and respect the animal –
It makes a difference when you are thankful for an animal’s individual life, rather than blindly grabbing a limp piece of meat, set on Styrofoam, from the grocery store.
There’s a reason why over a third of our most loyal customers are folks who used to be vegan.
They understand what makes us different. They’re seeking a deep connection to their food.
Consider this – getting to raise an animal, watching them move to fresh pasture daily, frolicking through the forest, breathing fresh air and positively impacting the ecosystem… that’s beautiful.
Over 96% of pigs in the U.S. are raised indoors.
And over 99% of chickens live the same confinement life, never allowed to see the outside or experience natural light.
As a culture, we’ve outsourced animal production to giant metal buildings, hidden away from society, and in turn, we’ve outsourced the responsibility of death as well.
So yes – it surprises me when people are shocked that I raise animals for meat, while they continue their disconnected weekly grocery runs, picking up disembodied cuts wrapped in soggy plastic.
Supporting local farmers connects you to the created world – to life – in ways that are intangible and hard to describe.
Maybe the lack of compassion lies in the folks who are the most disconnected to where their food comes from.
Raising animals for meat is an eye opening and life changing experience that will leave you appreciating where your food comes from more than ever before.
Heavy thoughts for the end of your week, I know.
If you’re interested in participating in one of our chicken processing days to experience a real farm to table butchery, be sure to subscribe to our local newsletter, where tickets to our community processing days will become available in 2024.
People are surprised to learn that processing days are some of our favorite days on the farm, and we’d love to have you out to enjoy a beautiful, lifechanging day on pasture for yourself.
