Getting flack for killing our meaties -- and need some reassurance!

[Annabella]

Now I am shocked!!! I thought meat came on styrofoam packs covered in plastic from the cold section in supermarkets

The world's a funny place, when reality and truth offend.
Much better for children and adults alike to being grounded in reality I think.

 

[marymac]

Just tell them to go to McDonalds and keep buying their chicken mcnuggetts

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
I should!!! I am happy I posted this and really grateful for the support. I am in NE Ohio too, not too far from the Footbal Hall of Fame, are you close? Do you get any gripes from people?

 

[booker81]

I love the quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

We hunt and fish, and I do all of our processing. Hubby just doesn't wield a knife like I can, and he's learned to stay out of my way. I cut all the meat up, he gets to run the FoodSaver.

Apparently, that is just bizarre to folks. When asked "Do you *gulp* GUT the deer yourself?"I don't let them think I feel bad - I answer with a heck yeah!!

Now that I have chickens, the question is, "Are you *gulp* going to EAT them?" Heck yeah! Well, some of them. I don't need 5 roosters

Let them think you're weird or gross. I won't let them make me feel like what I'm doing is wrong or gross. It's right and natural. I eat meat. I prefer my meat to come from sources that are humane and/or natural (wild). I don't want to support inhumane animal husbandy. Nothing wrong with that! That's something I won't apologize for.

I'm proud of it.

I'm sure that most folks that work in the cubefarm with me think I'm insane however. I'm down with that

 

[ourflockof4]

We are in somewhat rural area in north central Ohio, but we don't get quite the same reaction as you do. We just started to raise our own meat birds recently and most people don't seem to mind. A lot of my freinds & family have raised meat birds as kids, or still do now. My wife was actually kind of suprised that some of the ladies she works with also raise their own. The biggest stigma that we have is that we butcher ourselves. One of the guys that I work with asked if he could buy some off of us, then he changed his mind when I told him we were going to butcher and not take to a proccesser. Some people just don't understand. They think factory farmed means it's safe.

Me and my wife aren't the type of people that take crap from anyone though, so if someone was bustin our chops for raising, and butchering our own meat I would tel them to rub a lamp. If it's close family and friend I would find a couple of good videos on factory farming and have them watch them. Then I would invite them over on proccessing day and let them see the difference. If that doesn't help them just ignore them, it's not worth your time, or your family not having good meat to worry about what they think.

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
Great quote. And so true, isn't it? I feel like I am talking to all the normal people on this website, and the wierdos are the ones who eat meat and criticize me for killing my own.

I would understand a staunch vegan having issue, but not my fellow omnivores. I am really beginning to agree, people are very ignorant about where their food really comes from. We have a Park Farms plant about 5 min. from us and every morning you can see a truck load of chickens hauled in. What does the town of Canton think happens to them. My sister, who is actually a little supportive, says they give each chicken something to put it to sleep before they kill it so they aren't scared. WHAT!!!!!!! Is she serious. This was her response when I told her how badly commercial chickens are treated and mine are better cared for and made sure not too suffer. She said, "they told me that when I asked someone who worked there?" IS that true? NO!!!!! So she believes they can kill theirs better and are better equipped to do it with "no suffering". Are people really this ignorant? I heard stories and read some on here about very ignorant comments made by people and now I am a believer. How ignorant can people be on something that is so common sense. For pity sakes, something has to die if we eat it, no matter where it comes from.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Just ignore them. One by-product of raising our own meaties is that kids are more conscious of wasting meat. Now that they see the animal that was killed for a meal, they seem a little regretful when they don't finish everything they've put on their plate.

Side note on stupid people. Years ago, one of my wife's friends was over as I was getting some radishes and such out of the garden. She wanted to try something from the garden, since she was a city girl, born and raised. Sampled a fresh radish and wanted to know how I "made it taste so good". I explained first, it was fresh, and second, I used a large load of cow manure on the garden as I got it ready for the growing season. "COW POOP, I'M EATING SOMETHING THAT GREW IN COW POOP??? THIS IS WHY I ONLY BUY MY FOOD FROM THE STORE", spitting the radish from her mouth. She never accepted anything offered from our garden ever again.

 

[cafe]

I admire what you are doing. We have four kids and my mom lives with us, so we buy most of our food -- especially meat -- from Sam's. It tastes pretty good, but I have no idea how it was raised or fed or slaughtered. I hope one day to be able to at least have a better idea where my meat came from and how it was raised -- I think it can be healthier and more ethical. I don't understand how people think that just because they didn't see something, that it didn't happen. It's just willful ignorance, IMO.

I live in town so I don't know if I'm ever going to raise meaties, but right now, I get people joking with me about when are we having fried chicken and stuff like that. No idea what would happen if I actually gave them a date.

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
We have run into that stigma. It is the new thing to believe if it comes from the store/factory it is cleaner and safer. Our schools here have passed a new rule that no homemade goodies are allowed at the class parties anymore. Only store bought, because they are cleaner. What!? Most of the moms/dads I know were very careful with the goodies they made because the last thing you want is someone to find a hair or something gross in your homemade treats. It would be embarrasing. But if it's made at a store, well not every employee cares. I used to work with some of the bakery staff. My goodness, I'd watch someone pick their nose and continue icing a cake without washing their hands. Why, they didn't really care if a customer they'd never know found anything disgusting in it. I have worked fast food too, I've seen people drop food on the floor and use it, or pick wedgies and then continue cooking as if their bodies have no germs. This is why I raise my own meat. Where do people get the idea coorperate America can do it better and safer? Just look around and the truth is right in front of you. Watch some of the cooks at restaurants for a little while, you will see the true lack of cleanliness many times over. I know there are great cooks and very clean, but come on, is society really this ignorant.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Quote:
We have run into that stigma. It is the new thing to believe if it comes from the store/factory it is cleaner and safer. Our schools here have passed a new rule that no homemade goodies are allowed at the class parties anymore. Only store bought, because they are cleaner. What!? Most of the moms/dads I know were very careful with the goodies they made because the last thing you want is someone to find a hair or something gross in your homemade treats. It would be embarrasing. But if it's made at a store, well not every employee cares. I used to work with some of the bakery staff. My goodness, I'd watch someone pick their nose and continue icing a cake without washing their hands. Why, they didn't really care if a customer they'd never know found anything disgusting in it. I have worked fast food too, I've seen people drop food on the floor and use it, or pick wedgies and then continue cooking as if their bodies have no germs. This is why I raise my own meat. Where do people get the idea coorperate America can do it better and safer? Just look around and the truth is right in front of you. Watch some of the cooks at restaurants for a little while, you will see the true lack of cleanliness many times over. I know there are great cooks and very clean, but come on, is society really this ignorant.

I think the school rules, at least from my experience, has more to do with exposing the school to potential lawsuits, rather than a cleanliness/safety issue. With the myriad of diagnosed allergies (I've never heard of a protein allergy until just lately), I see administrators taking a zero-tolerance for lawsuit exposure. Sad.