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RE: Gone Fishin'! // I'll Be Out of Cell Range for a Few Days on a Backcountry Trip
So happy for you that you're taking time away! So, I am on the same page in terms of animals for food. Back in California, we were processing our own flock of hens, but we never underestimated what it was to take a life. There was a gratitude there and a prayer-like meditation. It wasn't taken lightly. My kids know where their food comes from.
I actually had a friend once say, "Those poor birds! Why don't you just buy your meat at the store?" She wasn't joking. There was so much I could have said, but I simply replied that we gave our animals the best life we could and that perhaps if more people did process, raise or catch their own meat then they would have a greater respect for the process and perhaps give up CAFO meats.
Wow, your friend's comment blows my mind! It's not uncommon for people to make ignorant statements like that though. Even though i'm living the apartment life - one day i'd like to have a bit more of a homestead where I grow more of my own food and raise a few animals.
I think the quality of the animal's life is hugely important - not just for ethical purposes, but for health purposes as well. There are so many studies that show grass fed and/or pasture raised animal meat has way lower toxins. On an energetic level, i'd rather not consume meat that was from an animal who lived a life of terror or apathy.
I mostly work with local farmers to get my meat. It's expensive, but worth it.
Sooo cool that your kids are growing up understanding where their food comes from and how to respect the life of the animal. What a great gift to pass on to your kids. :)
Thich Nhat Hanh, in the book "Anger" talks about poultry and I cannot remember the exact quote, but basically that if the hen is mistreated, having their beaks cut off for example so they can't peck each other in the confined quarters, never seeing a blue sky, etc, that when we consume that meat, we take on that energy. Totally makes sense to me!
So to lighten the mood, here'sa story from when we still lived in town, before we were raising our own hens & pigs. My oldest was 3 and we had taught her that milk came from cows, eggs from hens and bacon from pigs, but I guess we hadn't really explained the details well. So one day at breakfast, somehow we were talking about bacon and pork and she says, "Wait, so I'm actually eating pig?" (Yes, she loved the word actually at 3-came out "atoowee") We told her yes. She said, "Ew..." but proceeded to take a big bite while thinking about it and went on to finish the rest of the bacon from the platter. 😁