Yes. It is that time of year again. The time for the Plonkers to exit stage right.
So John has backed the Black Mariah up to the barn door and I have begun to get the pigs familiar with running down the pretend corridor and jumping up into the trailer – by putting their food in there. Then they get to know the trailer and load into the trailer without anxiety. So far I have never had an animal panic. And I don’t intend to have that happen either.
It is important at this point to note that these pigs were bred for the family freezers. If I did not grow my own meat I would not eat meat here. When I am not milking my cow I do not drink milk, I eat very little butter and no ice cream at all. Off the farm I don’t eat meat that I cannot trace. And now that GE salmon has been approved in America, fish is falling off the menu too, so when I am not in my own house, I am (quite happily) a vegetarian. I tell you this only so you will see why I have chosen to grow my own meat. As well as the factory conditions these animals live in, it is the feed that these animals are fed that I find shocking.
Every year I send animals off to the abbatoir and every year I get attacked by certain groups of people for growing animals for meat. But I have an open farm, you can visit anytime and see the conditions my animals live in. You can work here or I will show you around. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I grow meat and milk the way it should be grown. Gently with dignity.
If we were all asked to look our dinner in the eye, (which I do and many of The Fellowship do) we simply would not eat as much meat. We would treat our dinner with respect. (I know that sounds weird but that it is how it should be). But we would eat LESS. And THAT would solve a lot of problems. In many ways. There would be no need for feed-lots or enormous hog sheds. And our backyard vegetable farms would be big vibrant spaces again. Modern man eats too much meat.
Of course this is just my opinion.
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
85 responses to “Stage Right”
“Gently with dignity”. I like that. The same goes for hunting. It’s for the meat, not for a human’s power over a wild creature. You’ve given your animals a pleasant life and done an enormous amount of educating your farmy people. Thank you.
I agree that education is the key.. and in a way that allows us to truly consider and think about how another person does it. We don’t have to agree, but it is good to know. c
I once had a ‘discussion’ about hunting… as the very same person who was against hunting was eating a steak….. Animals raised on a small farm have a wonderful life and are well cared for. Animals raised in huge enclosures suffer stress and disease – and are not allowed to move around freely. There’s a huge difference! If someone wants to be a vegan – that’s their business. If someone wants to be a vegetarian – that’s their business. If someone eats meat… that’s also their business – no matter how the animal has been raised. We are each responsible for our own actions. You have no need to defend yourself against those who don’t agree with your actions. You are, in fact, a shining example to all of us Cecilia!! ; o )
Thank you cecile – Yes live and let live! c
I have not spoken much on my blog about the fact that venison and wild hog are the mainstays for meat at our house. Early in my blog, I got a lot of questions about how could we be hunters after we raised Daisy deer? My neighbor blurted out how we would probably EAT her. I just don’t speak of it often. FD and I always thank the animal for giving its life for our nourishment… and I always say a word of thanks to the animal while I am preparing meals. We can no longer get clean chicken in our area so we will be raising broilers next year. You are correct also in the quantity of meat eaten. We are a meat-eating nation, which contributes so much to large feedlots, tremendous grain production which leads to water shortages everywhere. I suspect the Midwest will be a desert in decades to come… the water will be scant, and the land depleted of nutrients. How will corporations run their massive livestock operations then? What on earth will they call “meat” ?
It certainly is not sustainable – it will be interesting to see what happens where there is no fish and no water for livestock.. we are out growing ourselves i fear. c
I completely agree. I only eat meat that we have raised here. I need to know how an animal has lived and died if I am going to eat it – but this is just my view. The animals we can’t kill here we take to a tiny abattoir behind a butchers shop that only kills on Mondays and does meat for the shop and a few smallholders’ animals. I always wait right outside the door for our animals to be done as I need to know it has gone OK. I also know that we are really really lucky to have this as an option. And we don’t waste a bit of them. I collect the blood for black pudding, the dog eats the skin and bones, we eat the trotters and offal and we eat some of the meat, but sell a lot of it to people on the campsite so they can enjoy it as well. I agree we should all eat a lot less meat – we really only eat it a couple of times a week and for us that is more than enough.
We are SO lucky to have these small abbatoirs, there is nothing like this in New Zealand – well not that i have ever heard of anyway – but these little slaughter houses that only handle a few animals a day are a bonus for us and our animals. c
I’m surprised that you get a talking to when you slaughter. I don’t understand the motive. I’ve had a couple of discussions in the past with vegans wearing leather belts ( my new favorite band name ) about meat. I usually avoid the topic unless I’m confronted.
Though also many vegans do not use or eat anything from an animal – (including woolen socks) I have a number of friends who are vegan and they are very strict even with their wines! I love them and they love me so we balance each other which is nice.. But yes, i don’t want to get into arguments about it with anyone.. c
I don’t know how anybody could say a word against how you look after your animals and that they are for food. I eat meat and I try to buy organically farm assured meat, and I always buy organic milk and cheese and it is expensive, but I don’t buy crisps and biscuits ect so I save money by doing that. Those big trucks that you see on the motorways haunt me, when I see the animals all squashed up in them. I saw a big container lorry the other day, with hundreds of white chickens in it and their feathers where being sucked through the gaps in the side by the speed of the truck, horrid, poor things. Least your plonkers do not get stressed like the majority of animals grown for food do when they are dispatched, same with your chickens least they don’t have to have a terrifying ride.
It is a good equation, spending a little more in meat and a lot less on biscuits and sweets, and junk food. Even buying a coffee at starbucks on the way to work adds up to quite a bit.. c
Such a thoughtful post- we live in the upper regions of Northern California and yes we have local butchers and yes we buy our meat from local growers like you who give a damn about how their animals are treated and fed. They love their animals and treat them with respect. Bless you for what you do.
I would LOVE to have a nice local butcher – who knows his meat – we have a lot of meat cutters out here but ah well, there you are, hopefully the small businesses will come back to the midwest.. c
Bless you for raising your pork and the rest of your animals, it allows you eat clean and I totally understand and support the whole process, as you know, we are on the same path, and like you. I find myself shocked at the feed as much as how they are raised..
Yes you have a grand wee farm and you are not afraid of hard work! That commercial feed is deeply unsettling.. deeply unsettling.. c
We don’t eat much meat in my house. It’s expensive and not completely necessary. Anonymity leads people to thinking they can say whatever they want, and often they don’t know what they are talking about. Zoos regularly get letters from PETA. We received one such letter several years ago from someone who had never actually visited our zoo, complaining about features of an exhibit they had never seen. Their letter contained the words “I have heard…” several times. Their informant had flat-out lied to them, so they ended up looking like a horse’s behind. Folks like that are never going to change their opinion, no matter what. Sometimes that’s a comforting thought because it means it’s not about you at all.
When I was child i hated zoos until it was explained to me that zoos have programs to breed animals and study them and in fact SAVE some endangered species.. I think the back yard of a zoos must be so much more interesting that the public side. The age of the Victorian concrete zoo is past thank goodness.. c
I haven’t eaten meat or diary for over 30 years because of the ‘industry’. I could buy meat now, here where I live, organic, raised with love, from a local farmer, but I couldn’t stomach it I don’t think…it doesn’t appeal anyway, and I do very well eating just vegetables. I eat eggs now because I know the hens and what they eat, but don’t eat eggs outside my home. And had to laugh at Jean’s comment about vegans wearing leather, I know, I hear them rant about the sacredness of animals and they’re wearing leather shoes and belt, and usually a famous brand bush hat made from animal skin. I admire and respect the meat eaters like yourself and others who’ve commented who raise their beasts gently with love, or take wild food to sustain themselves with respect for the animal. There’ll always be haters and critics, often people who haven’t examined their own lives and philosophies, or choose not to, it’s easier to project their displeasure outwards to others. I think there are more like ‘us’ than the others.
Do you think that people who get a thrill from hating other peoples and their ways are unhappy? I think they must be so unhappy.. c
It would seem so 😦
I’ve been a vegetarian for quite a while now, but I have a HUGE amount of respect for people who raise their own animals and go to the ‘trouble’ to make sure they know where their meat is coming from. I like what you say about respecting your dinner. Now that I have my own chickens for eggs and bake my own bread, etc, I respect those things so much more than when I buy them from the store. Each egg is eagerly anticipated (though that’s easier to do in December, I think!), and I try to never waste a slice of bread. It’s good to have that connection.
Anna I am so humbled by the number of vegetarians who visit my farm pages. For you to comment on todays post with such support and compassion brings me to tears. Thank you so much.. c
Absolutely no criticism from me, just total respect. In Spain I did not actually have to slaughter the goats, lambs or chickens we ate but I butchered them knowing that had lived good lives and been fed naturally. In England it’s all about less meat but of traceable origin and organic. And as Anna says above, we learn respect for what we eat and don’t waste our precious food – meat, bread, eggs…whatever it is.
yes, you are right – working against waste is the key!.. c
Integrity touches every aspect of your life. It’s a chain, i.e., mineral goes into animal, animal sacrifices itself for the human to eat, a circle chain for sustenance. The industries out there have gulags for animals; and your farm is a beacon of hope.
gulag – an excellent word! c
Living in the Northwest, we were appalled to learn about the gmo salmon (frankinfish). Horrid!!
There is however an excellent guide that is put out by the MontereyBay Aquarium called the Seafood Watch. You can download the guide or they will send you the lists in the mail-free. They list every seafood that is the best choice to buy and the ones to avoid that are being overfished or not sustainable. The lists are by region..there is even one for the Midwest. It’s good to have them all when traveling.
I too am terribly worried about our precious marine life. Oh and just ignore those bubble headed, uninformed, haters C. You are an amazing inspiration and so much more to so many of us!
What an excellent resource.. I will look it up! thank you.. c
Being a city dweller and not a vegetarian, I am well familiar with the meat produced for mass consumption. It is simply not the same as it was when I was a kid… the pork, beef and chicken have almost no flavour any longer, certainly not what it once was. I do envy your situation and wish I was in the position to do the same. I doubt I will ever become a vegetarian, and I don’t know whether it is age creeping up on me or other reasons, but I do eat less and less meat than I once did. There are always those who look down on others, regardless of situations… just follow your heart. Sounds to me like you’re doing a great job! ~ Mame 🙂
I think women need less meat as they get older but why do men seem to need so much more meat. there has to be a physical reason don’t you think?
Interesting — I never had thought of this or even noted it. But according to this web site, and who knows if it’s accurate, men require about 56 grams of protein a day and women just 46 unless preggers… ( http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein ). Perhaps that has to do with muscle density. Now it did say ‘adult’ males and females but didn’t elaborate on age. Whether that generally increases or decreases due to age, I wouldn’t know.
When I had gastric bypass surgery years ago, I was told by the docs that the human body can’t digest more than ten grams of protein at a time. Wonder where the excess goes? Lots of love, Gayle