Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Why I'm comfortable being a meat eater

I got into a discussion on a friend’s Facebook page today with one of their friends about humane farming practices, particularly slaughter. Here is essentially what I shared with my experience as a farmer and why I’m comfortable being a meat eater.

All animals – and people – live and die. That is the basic fact of life. They can either die and provide nourishment to another or they die in vain. In Mother Nature, there is no such thing as humane slaughter. When a wolf or a coyote kills a rabbit or deer, the act is brutal. There is suffering. Mother Nature is brutal. She is graphic. I’d love to see some undercover video of that – or just check out National Geographic.

In farming, we harvest (kill) our animals in the most humane way possible to prevent stressing the animal. Not only is it the right thing to do, animals who are stressed at harvest can yield meat that is inedible. So a stressful slaughter would cost a farmer money. Not only do our morals encourage humane harvesting, economics encourage it too.

I’ve been able to witness animals be butchered by small local butchers and I have also seen the kill floor of a large beef processing company. I’ve heard some people worry that seeing an animal killed would make them a vegetarian. For me, it actually made me more comfortable with the process. It is calm, very quiet and quick.

Sometimes an animal dies as a result of sickness and never gets to be a part of the food chain. I absolutely hate to see animals die for no reason. An animal that dies from sickness provides no nourishment and has essentially died in vain. To me, these animals that die without a purpose are tragic. As farmers, we all work to prevent these deaths with no purpose. And yes, it hurts economically when an animal dies in vain too.

For people who are concerned about how meat is raised or animals slaughtered you have a few options. You can become a vegetarian or vegan or you can get to know a farmer. I’d encourage you to get to know the farmer. We are good people, doing the best we can by these animals.

I love cows, I love raising them and I love to eat them too. As a farmer I respect them in life and in death and for the nourishment they provide to me, my family, and my customers. I’m a life long beef eater and animal lover.



Monday, November 11, 2013

Happy Veteran’s Day

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My grandpa was taken prisoner the night of November 10th, which makes November 11th his first full day of being a WWII POW.  I didn’t realize that until a few days ago when I found his POW story while cleaning out a box. 

  The moment her was captured when like this, “I felt a German boot in my back … At that moment I experienced the feeling of complete helplessness, knowing that for the immediate future I must relinquish the freedom I so much cherished and had been willing to give my life for.”  Like many veterans, my grandpa didn’t talk much about his experience in the war but he did write it down.  I’ve read it several times over the years and each time I am more thankful for the sacrifices of all of the men and women who have served in our armed forces included both my grandpas and my dad. Grandpa has a powerful story – he was a prisoner for 5 months and lost 90-100 pounds there is much more to it than that, but he knew what it was like to not have freedom.  And he would do it all again to know that the next generation would have that freedom he had to give up.   

I am proud to be an American and proud to have so many brave men and women who have fought for our freedom.  While I may not agree with everything that is happening in this country, I will always support the men and women in our military.   

Thank you veterans!!!