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

[Dust Bunny]

Oh, ya also my best friend is a hard core vegan, she wont even eat honey! but she supports ethical hunters and people who raise their own meat!

 

[Southerngirl]

You should be very proud that you know how to raise your own food and PROCESS it! This is the reason we raise our own meat too because if anything ever happened I am NOT depending on the government to offer me and my family support in a timely manner. Take a good look around you at work or the store. How many people could honestly take care of themselves and process their own food? You are doing what the majority of people are on these self sufficient blogs; we are raising our own food in a clean environment, with love and care and they are processed quickly and humanely. Great job! If others don't understand thats ok too, at least you will not be going hungry.

 

[Tylt33]

There's another issue at hand that is being overlooked. It's not so much of the "Don't you know where the meat comes from?" issue, it's the fact that some people are not able to understand that you're killing a production animal rather than the family's beloved pet. Attachment/bonding is different from person to person; to some I'm sure slaughtering a chicken for meat is akin to slaughtering a family member; it seems cruel and unnatural. They personalize it and view it as if they woke up one morning and decided to slaughter their pet cat/dog for the night's dinner, and aren't able to separate their own views from the those of others.

I raise chickens, as pets, as family members. I love my chickens. I also love to eat chicken. Would I slaughter my chickens? Heck no. Do I want people to keep slaughtering chickens? Heck yes. Do I think my views on the world should be imposed on others? Heck no. If we went by what a majority of the world's population thought, we wouldn't eat cows (thanks to India), and we'd be likely to consume cats, dogs, and other animals thanks to the Asian countries. It may seem wrong to us, but everyone is entitled to their own world view and actions, just as you are entitled to keep slaughtering your chickens.

Should people impose their views on others? Probably not. Will people always do so? Of course.

 

[lacasitarojafarm]

Though my daughter, at 4, used to love to watch so I let her. I thought it was good for her to know where her food came from.
Once when we were walking through a dept store by a display of fur coats, my daughter stopped and touched one of the coats. She looked up at me and said, "These feel just like bunny rabbits!" 2 elderly women were standing nearby and they both went "awwww". My daughter asked me, "Are they made from bunnies Mommy?" (both elderly women melted) and when I replied "Yes they are from bunnies", she looked at me with those big, gorgeous, blue eyes and said, "Boy I wish I had the meat!" at which point the elderly women looked horrified, I laughed, and then decided it was time we left the store.
What can I say? I make a mean BBQ rabbit!

I laughed too as my daughter would say the same thing but about rabbit tacos! I feel the same way. I have a 3 month old, a 3 yo and a 7 yo and when we process and animal there *is* a slaughter party as with it's pig there's chicharron (skin cracklings) to eat and lard to collect for tortillas and tamales (we only use a little and it's better than Crisco) and when we kill a goat there's tenderloin to roast immeidatley for tacos. Everyone comes over and there's food to eat cooked outdoors and then everyone eats their fill and takes home a nice package of fresh, no hormone, no antibiotic, humanely raised and quickly slaughtered pork, goat, beef, chicken. Everyone wins.

When it's chickens the kids pick up the feathers that go flying and generally play in the area and make nuisances of themselves.

I got into farming vegetables and animal husbandry so that my daughters would have a good work eithic and healthy food and know where the food comes from and the work and effort that goes into it. If we are going to eat meat that means killing too....

The concept of pets is also somewhat new as a pet is a luxury most people did not have in their homes of origin so this may be the first or second generation with a pet cat or dog. At home pets are either work animals or food.​

 

[SunnyDawn]

Yes! I agree. Lard is much better for you than crisco! With all the info out there on how bad trans fats are for you how can people still think shortening and margarine are better for you? I'd rather come to your parties anyday! Usually I just don't eat much at most potlucks/restaurants since I don't know where the food came from. I much prefer eating food that I know was fed and cared for by responsible, small farmers/individuals.

These days I live in the city and folks are mostly clueless about their food.

 

[Dora'smom]

You don't need to make any excuses for what you do. Growing and processing your own is much healthier and yields a more flavorful product than the poor little critters that grow on the factory farms. You certainly can tell them that you do what you do because you want your family to eat healthy food from animals that were treated well and lived good lives until their day came. You can tell them that what you produce is better nutritionally, and that if the economy goes down further, they will wish they knew what you know. There is such a huge disconnect from the reality of food production. Luckily, more and more people are learning, and growing their own veggies, fruit, and sometimes poultry and eggs. You can make a few choice comments about what you produce and why, and possibly turn someone's head around enough to think a bit deeper about it. I guess I feel each instance could be an opportunity.
I never considered raising meaties, but after talking to several people, may take that on this fall. I won't process, myself, as we live in a suburban neighborhood with chain link fence, but I think we might grow our own, so. . . my point is. . . someone helped me change.

 

[Amyable]

Lots of very, very good comments here.
Another thing to ask your badgering friends/relatives is this: Why are you giving me a hard time about raising then dispatching these animals humanely??? To do so would imply they condone the practices of CAFO's and factory farming methods. If they could get past their emotions and really think about it, they would see what a smart and ethical thing you are doing.

 

[Bucky182]

You basically have one major problem. You live in an area where farming is not the major way of life. These people do no associate the meat they buy in the grocery store that is all nicely wrapped in plastic wrap and cut to the correct size as something that once lived and breathed. They totally have disasociated themselves from the life cycle. These are the same people who will tell you hunting is wrong and cruel while they eat thier cheeseburgers and fries totally unaware (or blisfully ignorante) of where thier own meat comes from. This is a major problem in the United States as the majority of people are totally removed from thier agrairian roots.

I would guess that the majority of these people do not own or have never lived on a farm. Thier idea of food is something from a grocery store and they have no clue where it comes from or how they got it. The problem is they are uneducated, and normally unwilling to learn.

 

[harleyjo]

This has been my first expericence with raising meat birds. I am in the middle of the first processing. 15 are done and 13 more to go. I will admit at this point in time I can't do the deed. I am there for the rest of it with no problem. I didn't get attached to them and made sure they were well taken care of.

We have eaten one of them and the meat was superior to what I have gotten from the groc. store. I think we should all be proud of ourselves. I really think we as a nation would be better off if more people went back to basics.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

People have asked me "Why do you kill your chickens for eating?"

I tell them "Because when I don't they keep getting up and running off the plate!"