OH! I could NEVER do that!
Things I could NEVER do.
Some call this the UNBucket list.
Here are 10 things I could never do:
- Sky dive.
- Bungee Jump.
- Have an affair.
- Wear stiletto heels… I sprang the same ankle 3 times & I’m pretty sure if I attempted to wear 6-inch heels we would be at the emergency room for #4
- Post a picture of myself in a bikini on social anything.
- Get a tattoo. I know it’s pretty cool these days & everyone is doing it. I’m not judging, it’s just not me. I can’t think of anything I want permanently plastered on my body.
- Do recreational drugs.
- Go to a nude beach – see #5.
- Run a marathon – see #4
- Attempt Natural childbirth. Not that I’m planning on having any more children, but if I was to have a fluke pregnancy, you can bet that when I go into labor I’m gonna say, “yes” to everything the hospital offers me. I take back #7…. I will gladly do drugs if I am in the process of giving birth & they are offered to me by my doctor. Yes, please.
Sorry if you are disappointed in me. Sorry if you like stilettos or tattoos.
The reason I even brought up my UnBucket list is because of a conversation I had recently.
I met a nice lady. She lives on a farm. She raises chickens. She is getting pigs.
I naturally put 2 and 2 together and assumed that her pigs were food. After all, this is why God made pigs, right?
Well…. no… I learned pretty quickly (and abruptly) that her pigs are not food.
She responded to my assumption that she was bringing home a litter of piggies so she could eat bacon with shock and horror.
“OH! I COULD NEVER DO THAT!”
She went on to explain that she could never eat an animal she raised. Not a chicken. Not a pig. Not a cow. Definitely not a rabbit. No way. No animals she raised.
She was eating a cheeseburger, by the way.
As she learned the horrors of my lifestyle choice to raise my own food her face continued to devolve.
Really. She looked at me like I was Dr. Kevorkian.
As the conversation continued my mind went sailing… I couldn’t help but think of all the animal-lovers who would NEVER eat an animal they raised…….
BUT they will happily purchase their pork chops in cute little plastic-wrapped packages from Costco.
Arg.
If you know me – you either should leave or brace yourself because this just gets my goat.
She thought I was the cruel one.
She was confused and somewhat offended that someone could raise an animal, care for it, and then eat it.
Anyone who has raised animals for food knows that we are not mean. On the contrary, we are probably providing the animals we raise with the best lives possible.
THE WAY I SEE IT:
It really is loving, kind, compassionate, gentle and considerate to raise animals for food.
Really.
Meat sold at supermarkets commercially live terrible lives.
Do these people ever even consider how the animal was raised that they are eating?
Do they know how it was treated?
Do they know the conditions of its death?
Do they know how the animal was handled, fed, killed and processed?
What about the conditions of it’s living quarters? What about the sheer size (think tiny) of where it was housed? Then there’s the number of animals that were crammed into those living quarters. What else the animal was exposed to? What about mortality? How many of its roommates died because of living conditions?
Not to mention antibiotic-laced feed, hormones or drugs it may have been given to prevent infection (that often comes from cramped, less-than-ideal living situations and low quality diet).
Would they still want to eat it if they knew?
I realize that most people don’t give too much thought to how animals being raised for food are actually raised. If you would like a glimpse…. go to google and type in CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation). Then go to “images.” Your eyes will be opened. Poor poor animals.
Sidenote: If you operate a CAFO with happy grazing animals who are not confined to buildings and concrete- great job. Unfortunately, most CAFO’s are not places I would want to live (or work).
Every time we buy food we are voting.
When we buy the commercially raised meat we are voting to put another pig in a concrete building and feed it corn.
When we buy pastured meats or free-range eggs we are voting for free animals.
I don’t think it’s cruel to raise your own meat.
Those of us who do are loving, kind and care about the quality of life of our animals. We care that they die a humane death.
This equates to not only, happy animals but some of the healthiest meat one can eat. Animals who are raised on pasture in the sunshine cannot even be compared nutritionally to their CAFO ( and feedlot) counterparts.
People who eat pastured meats have diets higher in good fats not to mention CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) – which is a miracle food. Just a few of the benefits of eating pastured meat and dairy include: Lower risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease (source), Lower (bad) cholesterol, Improved metabolism (increased levels of fat burning) and Healthier immune systems.
It’s not just your health that is improved if animals are raised in pastures. The animals are healthier, the farmers (taking care of the animals) are healthier and the meat is better for the consumers who eat the animal.
It is a win-win. Everyone benefits when animals are free.
Still not sure?
It is emotional to say goodbye. Some animals are harder to part with than others. I can tell you that it gets easier. The more years we have spent raising our food, the easier ‘D’ day is. Sometimes there is still a special critter who steals the attention of the farm and my heart. Those are the hardest to part with. Even though it’s sometimes sad, I have never (yet) decided to keep a member of the livestock as a pet. When it comes time to move to freezer-camp I am usually ready.
Animals who are raised on small farms or homesteads typically have a fantastic life and one bad day.
If the processing day has you intimidated, you can always find a butcher to do the hard part for you. It is not as hard to deliver and pick him or her up a few weeks later.
For more on Healthy Meat:
- Should You Raise Your Own Meat
- Fight Cancer With Food
- Benefits of Pastured Meat & Dairy
- Why You Should Eat Pastured Pigs
- Surprising Benefits of Raising Your Own Food
- Let Your Cow Raise Your Beef
- Raising Meat – Is it Hard to Eat an Animal You Raised
- 2 Thoughts on Butchering
What do you think? Do you think you could eat an animal you raised?
Leave your comment below!!
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XO,
Candi
Bill Byars
04/13/2017You go Candi, only wish you were in our household, your life style is where i wish we were, your husband is a blessed man.
Candi
04/13/2017Bill –
Aaaawww! Thanks for the encouragement.
If you want to get to a place where you are raising and growing your foods – you can do it. I am no different from you guys. We just bought some land and were up for lots of adventure!! Once you get a few acres the fun begins. You don’t even need much. Our entire farm is around 25 acres but most of it is woods. We only use about 6 acres for all the animals and gardens.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you!
Thanks for reading!
-Candi
Cathy
04/13/2017No you are not the crule one at all.
Good for you for providing your family.
I am going to be raising chickens soon for eggs and meat.
I don’t care what people say about it like you said the animals will be cared for and will be able to roam freely, not caged in something so small that they can’t turn around in that is whats crule
Candi
04/13/2017Meat chickens are the easiest to raise! 6-8 weeks & you are done. By the time you get to the end of the 8 weeks you won’t be sad to see them go. You will be so tired to dealing with them you will happily pull off their heads. LOL. I’ve never had a problem killing a meat chickens. I have raised other animals that have been sad to say goodbye to – but never the meat chickens.
Good riddance! 🙂
-Candi
Matthew Pryor
04/13/2017Interesting post.
My thoughts? I don’t think saying, “I could never do that” emplies that because YOU can do that, that you are cruel (though maybe cheeseburger farmer lady meant it that way).
I just think that given how many (or even most) of us were brought up, animals are pets and pets are not food. It’s just so easy to form an attachment. Getting past that attachment is going to be too hard for a lot of people, especially when a grocery selling meat that has no face or name is 5 minutes away.
Is grocery meat raised with the love and care that you raise your meat? Of course not. But out of site, out of mind. It’s easy not to go there mentally with meat you never saw before the meat was, well, meat.
But with animals that you spent the energy tending to, saw out in the pasture every day, perhaps petted occasionally, maybe even gave a name, they can easily become more than sustinence. And when that happens, I can easily see how harvesting becomes really hard (but again, hard and cruel are not synonymous).
Maybe an interesting follow up / related post would be an honest look at what is what like for you all when you first started harvesting and how that changed with each kind of animal (chickens are likely easier on the emotions than, say, pigs).
And for the record, I don’t think you’re cruel. ?
Keep up the great work!
Candi
04/13/2017Matthew!!!!!!!
Rock on! You are exactly right – “Hard” is not the same as “Cruel”
It is hard sometimes – and other times it’s really hard. And sometimes I can’t wait to blow their brains out. LOL
Good point about animals being pets. I never really thought about it – you are right. It’s a different mindset when you raise them for food.
Thanks for the note!
Candi
Anonymous
04/13/2017You are NOT the cruel one. I love your posts, You have inspired me to try many new things. We have township rules that don’t allow us to have our own animals. I have searched out sources for grass fed beef (3 years now), pastured pork, and free range eggs. This past year we have been making changes to remove all processed food, and we expanded our garden this year. We have recently (2 weeks ago) purchased our flour mill and I have been practicing making bread with fresh milled flour. Still a little tweaking needed but we Love the flavor and my family has been gladly eating the not so pretty loaves. I just wanted to say Thank You for all you do and share with us. We just had our annual Dr appointments and all of mine and my husbands numbers have improved over last year. Our Dr said to continue what ever it is we are doing. Thank You!
Candi
04/13/2017Praise the Lord!!! What great news. I love to hear this from you.
It is amazing how our bodies will heal and be healthy and strong if we just ingest the right fuel. When we put good things into our bodies they can thrive. Isn’t it wonderful that wheat is so good? So many people are avoiding flour and wheat and gluten. I think they are missing one of God’s blessings. I know some people can not eat wheat because of serious allergies, but most of us can enjoy it. Not only is it delicious, it is a health food when you grind your own flour.
So happy for you! Keep up the great work.
Thank you for sharing!
XO,
Candi
Betty Williams
04/13/2017Good morning Candi. I love you because you tell it like it is. I also respect you and envy you. However, I was cursed with having a bigger heart for animals over people. I wish I could eat my own livestock. I could probably eat a person before I could eat my own cow!! I capture spiders and other bugs and remove them from the house. Except those that want to suck my blood. They are DEAD if found on my body. Instead I buy humanely raised/pastured/grass fed/organic/ etc etc…. and hope that these animals had it better than most. I’m only telling you this to help you understand why some of us say we could never eat our own livestock. If all of the people who can’t eat their own meat and would only buy organic vegetables and humanely raised meat then there would be more available which would bring down the price and possibly it would make some significant changes in agriculture. I read a book titled “Dominion” by Matthew Scully a long time ago. I highly recommend it. Also “Animal Vegetable Miriacle” by Barbara Kingsolver is a great read too. She loved her animals but fully describes how she managed to get through their sacrifice to provide food for her family. Both books are non-fiction. Long post. Sorry but I do feel as passionate as you about how inhumane our farm systems are. I wish I could be more like you and be logical about it all. I have enough pasture and land to have cows, pigs, goats, chickens but my husband won’t let me have that many “pets” ? I’m sure if I told him we would eat them he would change his mind. Love you girl and thank you for the blog. I always look forward to your posts.
Candi
04/13/2017Hi Betty!
I have read “Animal Vegetable Miracle” and LOVED IT! I will have to look for the “Dominion” one. Girl – you are too sweet. I love your heart for animals.
What a blessing that you have so much land. I always wish we had more open pasture so we could have more livestock. Someday maybe. 🙂
It is hard sometimes. Last year was especially hard to part with my pigs. They adored me and it was rough saying good bye. I am grateful for their lives every time I eat pork. They are appreciated and I am thankful, but you are right, it was a sad day.
XO,
Candi
jim johnson
04/13/2017No you are not a “bad person” for butchering what you raise, I do but I have a different perspective then most as I was a custom kill butcher / meat cutter for 30 years the things I raise (chickens, pigs, lamb) I try and have as little interaction with them as possible other then making sure they are well cared for, they are not pets, I feed them they feed me. I do my own kill to avoid the stress of shipping we have a set up that makes butchering as easy as possible, it;s a lot of work so the simpler you can make it the better, I think the hardest thing for people to do is pulling the trigger, but if you take the time, do it right the critter will never know what happened the last thing I ever wanted in the shop or at home is to make a bad shot, I want that critter down on the first. Some may think me with a cold heart I can not stand to see any thing abused in any way, unless you are a vegetarian butchering is a fact of life no matter where you get your meat
Candi
04/13/2017“I feed them. They feed me.”
PERFECTLY said!!! I love words and those are priceless!
Dude, if you were here when I was butchering something you would probably fire me. I would love to have a piece of your knowledge. I bet you know what to do with every part of any animal – skills I wish I knew!
Thanks for the note.
the best,
Candi
Coleen
04/13/2017I’m with you. I buy my beef from a local farmer and I raise my own chickens. The food is so much better – taste and nutrition wise. My kids named our rooster Dinner as a reminder that he was ok to eat.
Candi
04/13/2017Rock on girl!!
Before we had cattle we always bought 1/2 a cow each year from a friend’s farm. I’m sure the price varies from place to place, but we didn’t spend much at all. It was much cheaper than the prices at the supermarket – AND it was grass-fed beef.
I agree with you – the meat is better and so much healthier.
-Candi
Andrea
04/14/2017Candi, I agree with you entirely! I have a BS degree in Animal Science and in order to graduate, everyone had to take a meats class. We had to (watch or participate) in butchering animals as well as touring major processing plants like Foster Farms. Of course I was uncomfortable and didnt enjoy any of it but I feel that I learned so much about the secretive industry of factory farming and the path animals go down when they are raised and killed to end up on our plate.
I feel that the only way to make improvements towards the quality of life for the animals and to produce healthier meat is to educate people and teach them the truth of where the majority of meat comes from! Maybe by pushing for an agriculture class that every major needs to take in order to graduate!
My husband and our children raise grass fed beef, meat/egg chickens, and LOVE our dairy cow. I feel that if you are going to eat meat the best thing you could do is to raise it on your own or support your neighbor’s farm. The best part about what you are doing is that you are teaching your kids to appreciate the amount of work that goes into raising food and to respect the animals!
Candi
04/15/2017If I could go back to college I would be just like you! I’d major in animal science or nutrition – maybe both! It’s funny, it wasn’t until my mid-30’s that I realized what I wanted to be when I grew up. What a blessing that you got to to to that animal processing plant and experience that. I think it’s good. It would be hard to see, but at least you are not acting like an ostrich. 🙂
Support your neighbor – That is such a great piece of advice. Not everyone can raise their own meat – but there are so many of us who do & we need customers!
Keep raising that grass-fed beef – I know I am so thankful that you do it & I know your customers are too!
XO,
Candi
strivingacres
04/15/2017Can I like this post multiple times??? We raise our own turkey, chickens (for meat and eggs), and have just now branched into raising our own beef (although we’ve had dairy cattle for a while, we just haven’t ever butchered a cow to date…….that changes this October!). I have a close family member who won’t touch our eggs because she “knows what they eat” (??) and another close family member who, whenever I talk about our farm and what we’re doing, says, “I literally just can’t. Please. Just stop talking about the animals. I can’t even think about it!” I pressed her by saying that she eats meat and how horrible its life probably was before it was shrink wrapped in that little pink plastic tray, and she says that she literally just doesn’t think about the meat she eats, and she’s fine with it.
My husband and I are convinced that so many people are so far removed from their food these days that they cannot connect farm animals in the pasture with the meat on their plates. It’s a sad commentary on where the world currently is food wise. We raise animals for all the same reasons you listed, and the one at the top of our list is to make sure they have lived healthy and happy lives; we don’t want to contribute to the cruelty of CAFOs!
Candi
04/15/2017AMEN! Sister!
Always LOVE to hear from you. Exciting news about the beef cows – they are super easy to have around.
Happy Easter!
XO,
Candi
raprettyman
02/20/2018O so many thoughts. (I’ll try to keep it short)
My dad owns a farm that I will one day inherit.
I grew up with my mom and stepdad eating our farm raised beef and mutton and wild deer and elk.
My dad has beef cows, which he sells at auction at some months old (I’m not sure, and it depends on the time of year and if he can catch them. Different story) and someone else fattens them and sells them for beef.
MY DAD WILL NOT, AND WILL NOT LET US, KILL ONE OF HIS COWS TO EAT.
How insane is that? They are all pets, with names, to him. He can’t do it.
While we buy our (icky) meat for crazy prices at the chain grocery store because that’s all we have in our area.
Uggg such a thorn. I don’t know if I could actually kill the animal myself, nor do I have the equipment, but I have checked into having it done at a local to the farm butcher and I asked about how they kill, how they process, etc. Seemed like I found a good place, a good price, they’ll cut it the way I want it, but my dad won’t let me do it.
Any ideas short of just stealing one of his/my cows?!
CJ
02/21/2018I am laughing OUT LOUD! You are hilarious. That is a tough one.
They are becoming burgers anyway… right? You could always go to the auction & buy one of his cows from there… maybe when you tell him your plan he’ll just sell you one at the family discount?
If he is completely against it you can do what I did before I raised my own beef – I bought one from a farmer down the road. They were grass-fed & I bought it for market price on the hoof… My neighbor and I split it and it was great. To have a beef butchered at my favorite processor is about 25 cents a pound. So if the steer weighs 1000 pounds it will be $250 to have processed, cut, ground, bagged, shrink wrapped, and flash frozen. I think it’s a deal.
Good luck!
-cj
Karen Lehman Kelley
03/06/2018I must say that I do have trouble eating an animal I have spent time knowing. What works for me is having a like minded friend to exchange animals with just before they become meat. My husband was raised on a dairy farm and was proud of being able to kill a chicken very quickly when he was quite young. His Mama always ask him because he didn’t make a fuss and could do the job quickly. He is a very kind and gentle man and the “quick kill” is just a part of his kindness. He also talks of “hog killing” time as a social occasion – a time when the farm families, black and white, got together for the day. Back then at both black and white owned farms, they set up different eating tables for Black and white men, but the women all ate at the same table in the kitchen. Guess that’s why school intergration was easier for girls – they saw it in the kitchen at home.
CJ
03/06/2018That is beautiful – thanks for sharing!
I love the idea to trade with a friend or neighbor. Sounds like your husband had a great childhood.
I also associate the “processing days” with friends and joy. It is work, but it is usually an occasion that brings friends, neighbors and curious on-lookers. LOL!
Very few of us get to experience this sort of life. It is hard sometimes – but if you have the whits – I think it’s the best life there is. 🙂
Kae
04/25/2018This is exactly what i wanna hear! I want to go vegan or vegetarian or somebody who doesnt eat commercial meat. Because i feel really bad for the animals that are raised for commercial consumptions. Not like you! Who raise animals to feed yourself! Huge difference and i think people who neeeds and wants to eat meat should do the same! Get to know where exactly your meat is coming from. Or more so try and raise your own meat!
CJ
04/25/2018Smooch! Thanks, honey. 🙂
William
10/03/2018Hello there I just discovered your website. I am having lots of fun reading your post. I too hate to eat the animals that I raise except for the chickens lol The animals that I raise have it better then the ones That are raised commercially.
It is lots of work but I love it. I view it as a necessary evil ah but one day the lion will lay down with the lamb. God bless and keep blogging
CJ
10/03/2018So happy you are here!
Amen & Blessings to you too. 🙂
CJ