Being a chemical free grower I am exposed to a lot of sustainable events that most times do a really great job of promoting healthy eating habits as well as getting to know your food sources. If you really are concerned with what you eat you really should know where it was grown and with what methods. Over time I have became more and more conscious of what I eat and make better decisions most time on what really would be better choice for me. Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of times that I can be found in a drive thru lane somewhere trying to get something quick to eat when I am busy. Most times I do pay attention and read labels in hopes of spending my money to support something I believe in strongly. Which is humanely raised livestock.
This past week I attended this great event in Illinois that was similar to an all day farm dinner. Now I have been to farm dinners where you show up on farm to tables laid out and a feast being prepared that features all kinds of goodness that the host farm has produced but this event was different. Different in that first off the guests were all producers. Primarily made up of farmers both produce and livestock, microbreweries and distilleries, a small bakery and the top chefs from Chicago and surrounding areas. It was a very enlightening experience.
Enlightening as in this event began in the early morning and offered all involved ample opportunity to tell of their efforts to promote the concept of “know your farmer, know your food.” Really what’s better than going and seeing that actual environment where your dinner grew up? Being a vegetable grower I must admit I am absolutely fine with the concept of planting seeds and then harvesting when the plant produces. The idea of seeing baby piglets that will one day become bacon I admit kind of worried me. So I may have went into this event with mixed emotions. I guess in my mind I thought if I made the connection that the adorable pig was going to be my dinner that there was a strong possibility that I may choose not to eat pork at that meal.
So the itinerary to this event was to include the butchering of some livestock that would later be incorporated into the dinner meal. That seemed a bit past my comfort zone as well. However I was feeling adventurous so I figured I would go into this with a completely open mind. I mean really, the meat I already eat has to come from somewhere. I could only hope that it comes from somewhere the animals are not factory farmed where they never see the light of day. During introductions we went around the circle of fifty or so guests and everyone stated their names and a little bit about themselves and their business. I of course was so distracted about the upcoming events of the day that I broke into some tangent on how I would probably end up closing my eyes during the actual slaughter. A few of the attendees looked at me like I was crazy and the day moved on.
Next up we met Sam the butcher. He has been working at slaughterhouses for what sounded like forever and seems to really know his stuff. Ahead of time our host selected a hog as well as another farmer present brought in a lamb and turkey to be processed. We all marched out to a spot out in the field that was set up with a hand washing stations and everything needed for on farm processing, including the hog. Now I was already near a panic attack at this point at the idea of seeing a live animal die. But then the thought occurred to me that this was not for pleasure this was for purpose. This animal had been raised with the intentions to live it’s life and then finish it by being able to feed a bunch of people. This has been happening for thousands of years, yet I was scared by the very idea of knowing that all this happened in order for that bacon to make it to my breakfast table.
Before Sam did anything he looked at the group that was gathered to watch and carefully explained everything he was going to do and what would happen and the whys of everything as well. I for instance had no idea how animals are actually killed when they go to slaughter. I had no idea. I guess the idea that they just naturally died just on cue seemed to be a workable idea in my mind. But Sam explained that some places will shoot a bolt into their heads, others will electrocute and then there are people like him. He shot a single bullet into a certain spot into this hogs head and down it went. It turns out the bolt to the head or the electrocution may not actually kill the animal and just leave them incapacitated. Whereas the bullet to this specific spot kills them without suffering and they die quick. It is basically the most humane way for a slaughter. And you might not believe this but I willed myself to keep my eyes open. I figured I was already there I might as well experience it as it is.
After the hog goes down it is quickly hoisted up so that it can be bled out. This seemed to be important no matter how an animal reaches it’s fate if you plan on eating it. I also learned that a lot of hog blood is actually sold to the medical industry for a multitude of uses. After this stage the hog was then brought back down and placed on a rack to be broken down into different cuts. Sam continued with this calm way about himself that kept everyone else calm as well. He showed us all sorts of things that made it so there was nearly no waste by the time this hog was finished processing.
‘We continued with a farm tour as well as the processing of a turkey. They lamb managed to make a break for it and is now living amongst the cattle at my friends farm as has been made into the events mascot. All in all the most amazing thing to me throughout the day was the amount of respect that went into to processing these animals. They didn’t just grab the hog with a rope and drag it to some strange place. They walked it right to the pen where it was placed. On both sides of the hog stood a farmer to minimize any thrashing that would occur and to keep the animal safe throughout.
At the end of the day after new friends had been met we all sat down to an amazing potluck. It’s not every day that you can go to a potluck that involves celebrity grade chefs. I am so thankful for this opportunity that I had to attend this event. Since coming back home I have been making more of an effort of being more conscious of the meat I do eat. I would prefer that confined animal farming would be done away with so that animals were treated as animals and not just a commodity. However I also realize that free range farming costs significantly more and that the already high cost of food would continue to raise if this were to happen. And with that I leave you with the idea to ponder. Everyone is able to make their own choices in life, I cannot tell you what to eat or how to eat it. I can however share with you my own experience and maybe share a little bit of information that may help you if you are interested. Take it how you will and realize that not everyone is always going to agree with you.
