tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post8018808530578258933..comments2023-09-07T02:16:50.687-07:00Comments on Tammi Tasting Terroir: Do you eat chicken? Could you kill one?Tammoishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06964566196107658056noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-80939082451328984692010-04-26T17:11:44.284-07:002010-04-26T17:11:44.284-07:00Oops - I meant to link to Lisa Dempster's post...Oops - I meant to link to Lisa Dempster's post on "Meat Free Mondays" - here it is! <br /><br />http://www.lisadempster.com.au/?p=2087&cpage=1#comment-11446Tammoishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964566196107658056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-17985870453932522752010-04-26T17:10:28.932-07:002010-04-26T17:10:28.932-07:00Fell behind in responding to comments, sorry!
An...Fell behind in responding to comments, sorry! <br /><br />Angie – thank you for your very thoughtful response. I don't think I highlighted enough that not eating meat is a valid (and arguably more responsible) choice, though I did try to constantly indicate that being an omnivore is in fact just one choice amongst many. I was vegetarian for about 6 years, so am comfortable with both lifestyles, and have chosen omni now for reasons I've detailed on Lisa Dempster's excellent blog. Our kids are not forced to eat meat, I just ensure they have a well-rounded diet with plenty of protein, iron, etc, with or without meat. I'm always quietly proud when they complain that their grandmother always gives them meat, because at home they're accustomed to about 50% vegetarian meals. :-)<br /><br />Chandelle – nicely said: “I really don't think I could kill a chicken. So I don't eat chicken.” My only reservation on this is that I don't think I could kill large animals (cows, pigs, sheep), but I still eat them. We do choose ethically farmed & slaughtered animals, but I'm conscious I'm not able to follow through completely on our belief that we should be able to kill what we eat.<br /><br />Millie – a million kudos. If we manage to buy a farm (we're looking!), we would like to increase our own production & go as much off the grid as possible. <br /><br />Jen – thanks for the recommendation – I'll look up the “Vegetarian Myth”!<br /><br />Everyone – thanks very much for the supportive and thoughtful comments!Tammoishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964566196107658056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-88746894096292185492010-04-24T05:35:22.879-07:002010-04-24T05:35:22.879-07:00Wonderful post! I'm envious of your lifestyle...Wonderful post! I'm envious of your lifestyle. Give "Vegetarian Myth" by Lierre Keith a read. I think you'll enjoy it : ).Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15710080270820129321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-62153375882906095422010-04-23T15:06:37.356-07:002010-04-23T15:06:37.356-07:00Great post!
Incredibly cool that you tell your kid...Great post!<br />Incredibly cool that you tell your kids the truth about factory farming and demonstrate the reality of humane farming.Rigor Fitnesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10999640350231998031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-3677909243894177122010-04-23T08:49:51.349-07:002010-04-23T08:49:51.349-07:00Excellent post!
A few years ago I would have said ...Excellent post!<br />A few years ago I would have said no. We had chickens for eggs only and my children named each of them. Now, things are much different. I currently have 7 hens for eggs and 25 cockerels that will be food. Next month I'll be getting another 10 day old pullets for eggs and 50 more cockerels (plus 10 ducks). Why the change? I am so grossed out by the way that chickens are raised for consumption in the US that we do not buy chicken from the grocery store. And living in Wyoming there are not alot of people that raise chickens for food. So I'm doing it myself. These chickens will be food for us and currently 5 other families. <br />I absolutely do not relish the idea of processing the chickens. I've done it twice before and it makes me sad. But I like knowing that my chickens had a very good life and are processed in a repectful and humane manner. My hens are still young (one year) but when the time comes they too will be 'culled'. I know that will be even more difficult than the chickens intended to be food from the beginning. But I'll do it. Because I believe it is the right thing to do. <br />Thanks again for a great post.Milliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10530259841120988975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-61176364435362040242010-04-22T21:28:22.998-07:002010-04-22T21:28:22.998-07:00We are getting chicks this weekend and will certai...We are getting chicks this weekend and will certainly get a couple roosters - we will be in the same situation as you. I know my husband can do it - he grew up on a farm, I am a bit nervous myself as I grew up in the city. Great post.Christyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01129372114193004027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-40423925222766050132010-04-22T20:43:31.787-07:002010-04-22T20:43:31.787-07:00Came over from Food Renegade...fascinating post! ...Came over from Food Renegade...fascinating post! I love the philosophy of the WAPF and professionally my focus is entirely on real food. I go out of my way to point people toward local farmers who raise their animals humanely in integrated, closed-loop systems. But I really don't think I could kill a chicken. So I don't eat chicken. It doesn't seem right to pass off that responsibility to someone else. Thanks for sharing!Chandellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02469510353021344718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-29628104990621568762010-02-15T21:32:04.859-08:002010-02-15T21:32:04.859-08:00I agree that Andrea Charman was unfairly vilified ...I agree that Andrea Charman was unfairly vilified over the lamb incident, given that the parents who complained were, for the most part, omnivores. What really bothers me, though, is the fact that very few children are actually given the option of being vegetarian or vegan. I'm all for children knowing where their food comes from, but if they are distressed by the reality of killing animals they should then be given the option not to participate in or support this killing. The majority of children that were distressed by the lamb's death (as I certianly would have been, and would still be)would be required, or at the very least strongly encouraged, to continue eating meat. My own wonderful parents were extremely reluctant to allow me to become vegetarian, but finally consented (probably out of sheer exhaustion) when I turned 11. If the school farm program was really designed to give children an awareness of the food chain, and of ethical food choices, then vegetarianism and veganism should absolutely be included within this. In much of the media debate surrounding this case, the choices presented were that of hypocritical, sentimental meat eater, or that of honest, earthy meat eater, with no real acknowledgement that children could also be taught about option 3(vegetarian/vegan), in which nothing has to die for us. So often the distress we feel at animal suffering and death is dismissed as sentiment or naivety, and children are taught to replace these feelings with a more 'practical' approach. The really funny thing about this is that veganism is about as practical a dietary choice as you can find. While it is still widely regarded as an extremist lifestyle, if properly managed (as any diet must be) it is healthy, inexpensive, environmentally sustainable, and far more humane. Children need to be made aware that killing animals is a choice, not a necessity, and be allowed to make their own decisions accordingly. Phew...sorry to be so verbose!Angienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-49654622949391554472010-02-15T09:02:12.417-08:002010-02-15T09:02:12.417-08:00Being a big fan of Garrison Keillor, I came across...Being a big fan of Garrison Keillor, I came across this youtube (audio only) from one of his Lake Wobegone stories. What rings so true is the 'respect and ritual' that surrounds slaughter--the keen sense that a life is being given to sustain another. This vital respect is what we have lost in our industrialized mass production of meat. We can only again attain it by involving ourselves in the completely process. Cheers to more back yard farms!<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLv9I-rCfGcAikandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08446661689295025107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-4134579237479082402010-02-14T23:33:08.078-08:002010-02-14T23:33:08.078-08:00nice post. i love the picture of your daughter wit...nice post. i love the picture of your daughter with a bloodied cleaver. (is that creepy? :)<br /><br />i'm vegetarian, so i don't have to feel guilty or incompetent, right??Brusselshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13870136762294332543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-76181807408101715802010-02-14T00:51:44.588-08:002010-02-14T00:51:44.588-08:00wow. what a wonderful post!wow. what a wonderful post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-82671636799548692822010-02-13T23:56:21.243-08:002010-02-13T23:56:21.243-08:00Great post Tammi, I'm sorry some of your twitt...Great post Tammi, I'm sorry some of your twitter followers can't stomach where food comes from. What are you supposed to do with them? Waste them? Let them run free? I suppose you shouldn't have had chooks for eggs in the first place...eating all those leftovers and bugs, turning them into delightful eggy goodness.... *sigh*. <br /><br />Very proud of your efforts. After working in a chicken factory for 6 months when I was desperate, I was vegetarian for 16 years. Related? I think so. Industrialised food production is one of the most horrible things we humans have produced.essjayeatshttp://www.essjay.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-27642158247987207272010-02-13T21:54:26.879-08:002010-02-13T21:54:26.879-08:00gah! sorry - I said 'Silverbeet' earlier w...gah! sorry - I said 'Silverbeet' earlier when I was addressing 'Stinginthetail'! Apologies!Tammoishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964566196107658056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-33756790585405362062010-02-13T21:28:31.947-08:002010-02-13T21:28:31.947-08:00We ate most of the children's pets. Jacko the ...We ate most of the children's pets. Jacko the sheep, Charlotte and Wilbur the pigs, Oscar the super chook. Now I am busily explaining to my 3 year old Grand daughter that eggs come out of the chooks bums and that there are two holes one for poo and one for eggs.Heh it is a circle.Kim (frogpondsrock)http://frogpondsrock.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-37095591953318963492010-02-13T20:29:13.098-08:002010-02-13T20:29:13.098-08:00Celia - great to see you here. :-) I agree that so...Celia - great to see you here. :-) I agree that sometimes we don't appreciate what we learn as children until later, and yet that is certainly no reason for parents to keep us from such learning. <br /><br />Naomi - it sounds to me like you're already giving your girls a great sense of competence as well. I'm not sure it's really practical for everyone to kill their own meat, especially if, like Ed, you don't have space. However, as per Zoe's point, a small suburban backyard is indeed sufficient to engage fully in these small but significant engagements with our food systems.<br /><br />Silverbeet - although I agree with what we don't like about our society's backwards values, I may disagree that it's just a problem with the US (take the UK lamb example, for one). I think it's more symptomatic of modernity and overpopulation, which is happening everywhere. But whereas the industrialisation of agriculture was designed to feed a growing population, it has resulted in the abysmal ethical and environmental outcomes we see in factory farming and other destructive practices. It's time to turn it all back around. <br /><br />Arwen - thank you for the affirmation. I'm often told that these principled actions (in our home life or in my political activities) are brave, but I don't always feel they're that brave - simply the only ethical choice to make. Killing chickens is always sad, but the alternative in our case would be to give the roosters to someone else (who would kill and eat them), and we just think that's abrogating responsibility. Perhaps it's brave, but I like to think that increasingly people will just think it's obvious, as they did not so long ago. :-)<br /><br />And a side note - after posting this, a number of my Twitter followers (about 12 maybe?) 'unfollowed' me immediately. Some were so-called 'foodies'. I find this rather disappointing, if somewhat predictable.Tammoishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06964566196107658056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-35345862793460813912010-02-13T17:31:31.311-08:002010-02-13T17:31:31.311-08:00Good post Tammois. You're very brave to put yo...Good post Tammois. You're very brave to put your principles into practice.Arwen from Hoglet Khttp://www.hogletk.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-66140810861636018102010-02-13T16:21:47.370-08:002010-02-13T16:21:47.370-08:00It's a great post.
I think it's really im...It's a great post.<br /><br />I think it's really important for people to see you don't have to do the full move to Tassie and become a farmer thing to be more involved with your food, and more responsible for your life (although I have been very much enjoying Matthew Evans' "Gourmet Farmer on SBS!). You can do it in the suburbs and you can do it in a rental house. You don't have to be self sufficient, there are massive benefits from just moving closer to that idea.Zoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01546885088503890394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-76400542320649968532010-02-13T16:16:56.618-08:002010-02-13T16:16:56.618-08:00Great post. Killing seems brutal to some people bu...Great post. Killing seems brutal to some people but if you want to eat meat I believe that you should be prepared to slaughter. I wish I had the space to have such a sytem. Maybe soon.Ed Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00579789564673979283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-37887617194076567512010-02-13T16:01:54.204-08:002010-02-13T16:01:54.204-08:00yes, bravo :) hiding the real world from children ...yes, bravo :) hiding the real world from children is simply stupid - as a child i witnessed sheep being killed - it was fascinating, and the sheep was treated with respect. (This was on my uncle's farm, not an abattoir.)<br /><br />I am personally sick of the exported US obsession with political correctness, which has been hijacked by the twee and the overly religious and is strangling the language.<br /><br />I am amazed at how many people who eat meat get quite hysterical if you try to say, but meat treated in abattoirs has a horrible time - seems they prefer not to even think about things like that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-18098617892527174952010-02-13T15:04:50.690-08:002010-02-13T15:04:50.690-08:00Beautiful post Tammi, particularly your acknowledg...Beautiful post Tammi, particularly your acknowledgement of the sadness of killing animals. I believe animals deserve to be honoured, and cared for with respect at all stages of their lives alongside us. <br /><br />One day I will have to work out what to do with my girls, but until then ... however, a sense of competence is indeed something I get from my garden, and my girls.naomihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03714706512920191044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36972982.post-16715740827028247562010-02-13T09:38:47.668-08:002010-02-13T09:38:47.668-08:00BRAVO! Love your blog. I grew up on a farm, and wa...BRAVO! Love your blog. I grew up on a farm, and was involved in all levels of our farm grown meat, from birth to slaughter. I firmly believe the horrific practices of mass meat production comes from the increased distance we've created from what we eat. The bizarre, extremist behaviors of our civilized cultures is because we have forgotten the circle of life that has been around since the beginning of time. When that order is out of balance, the existence of all living things is at risk.<br />I didn't appreciate as a child the skills I learned - from helping a ewe give birth to gutting a chicken, but I see now I was given rare and precious gifts. Thanks for passing to your children such great wisdom.<br />-Celia HansenAikandehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08446661689295025107noreply@blogger.com