Our Goals in Meat

I am very fortunate to have a partner that is willing to jump head first into creating a working farm with me regardless of if he has done it or not. It is hard to find people that will venture into the unknown and for that I definitely admire him.

My biggest problem is making sure I don't try and get to where I want to be too fast and overwhelm the both of us. We are 24 and 27 years of age and still have many other things going on in our lives that I have to keep mindful of.

That being said there are some things I am finding I can't compromise on any longer, like, where does our meat come from? How were these animals treated? If anybody ever wants to have a big eye opening about what you could be buying into when you go shopping at the supermarket look up W5 - Food for Thought.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/undercover-investigation-reveals-disturbing-and-inhumane-treatment-of-factory-farm-animals-1.1070919

I myself will not be able to venture into the pork section again without cringing. It boggles my mind that as humans we can so easily disregard the complete torture and abuse of something that we then use for our own consumption. Shouldn't that animal be treated with respect and thanks that it is going to give its life for us?

As for beef, my parents still have dexter cattle and provide us with enough to get through the year. Eventually I will want my own but this is where the 'not getting ahead of myself' comes in.

My next goal is to buy some pigs. What I want is a few to give us pork come this fall and then a few sows to be able to sustain at least the pig portion of the farm. I have been going back and forth between Large Blacks and Berkshires. As well as back and forth between registering or not registering. Regardless of what we decide it will be amazing to know where my meat came from. I find talking to a lot of people the most common comment is "You are going to kill your own animals? That's so cruel".

It's comments like these that show how much people turn a blind eye. What is more cruel, buying pork from the grocery store that has been tortured but is all nicely packaged up for you or raising something to have a wonderful life and then killing it. I find going to a store and buying pork you are voting for torture, as well, you have absolutely no idea if that meat was handled safely and properly. I myself do not want to give somebody else the right to decide what is in the food that I eat - physically and emotionally.

Food needs to be taken out from behind the closed doors of these commercial companies. I hope that by getting my own pigs I am taking a step in that direction. 

My fiancee is always playing devils advocate and made this point - 'people don't know where to find ethically raised meat'. Some great places to look for small farms is on the internet, where you can place an order and pick it up. If you don't want to be that inconvenienced in my area I know that there is Hy-Hope Farms on Lakeridge that carries Organic and ethically raised chicken, pork and beef. As well as the Meat Merchant in Uxbridge which is a great place as well. It just comes down to people making a designated effort to know what goes into the animals they are buying, if nothing else it will give you a healthier lifestyle.