Yesterday was sort of a bitter sweet day. Well I don't know about sweet until my freezer is full.
My sons pigs went to slaughter. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. We had planned on having them slaughtered but it just happened that the butcher could take them at that time so we took advantage of that.
This is that part of farming that I struggle with.
I can see the emotions in the animals (not talking about stuffed animals) and I believe they have feelings. And I truly do love all of my critters, maybe a little more extreme than others. They bring me joy and a smile to my face every day.
This is my first time owning or being around pigs. They are funny, curious creatures. Anything you did in their pen, they were right in the middle of and they mouthed everything. Jolly, fat, and lazy. They were near my horses so when I went out to feed in the morning they would still be asleep.
On the other hand, I get that we are a meat eating society. I think it would be so wrong of me to be against raising one's own animals for slaughter and then go turn around and eat a McDonalds cheese burger. If you are going to eat meat I think it's so important to understand where it comes from and that you are eating what was once a living, breathing, feeling animal. The meat, milk, cheese, eggs, etc you buy at the store doesn't just appear there. There was a whole process to get it to that point.
There are generations and generations of ranchers and farmers that have put their heart, soul and body into raising their animals. I cringe when animals rights activists say ranchers don't care for their animals. They just have no clue how much passion, sacrifice, and love is put into what they do. Of course there are exceptions, there is animal cruelty, wrong ways of doing things, and greed. But there are exceptions to everything and the only solution to those problems are education, education, education.
So back to the subject. The pigs are gone, we have chickens
soon going to slaughter. And we have bran new baby steer calves that will one
day face the same. With each one that goes, I feel a pain, an am I doing the
right thing feeling. But I try my best to stand strong to my beliefs. I have
eaten meat my whole life, I am not innocent, and I will not stop eating
meat. Its a part of the flow of life, it
is how it is. And the best I can do is raise my animals with as much love and
care as I can, carry thankfulness to them in my heart, and know that my family
is eating chemical free, cruelty free, healthy all the way down to their soul
meat.
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