A five-letter-word meaning "gourmet."
Carfree Family: A Real Omnivore's Dilemna
Philosophically, I think we should be involved in the butchering of any animal we eat -- or, if we eat meat at all, then we should at least face the prospect of butchering occasionally. Environmentally and ethically, we should not be buying meat from animals raised in factory-farm conditions. Admittedly, I still buy hamburger from the supermarket from time to time. The coop is too far away for my ability to plan ahead. I also buy salami and pepperoni from Trader Joe's. (And while I'm confessing my imperfections, I buy marshmallows for an occasional hot chocolate treat, and then eat them behind my kids' backs). But we are largely vegetarian. Raising animals in the back yard makes me feel like being more so.
This whole post is well worth reading, and speaks to me of a much deeper engagement with the ethics of meat-eating than what seems to be turning into "I've read Michael Pollan, so I've dealt with it." Ideally, you would think that the logical and ultimate expression of "local" would be to grow or kill it in your own backyard (how much more local can you get?) but more and more the local food "movement" is becoming another marketing term for people who can't quite admit their yuppiehood to themselves, i.e., your "heirloom/heritage" turkey allows you to look down your nose at the poor fool who had to make do with a (gasp) butterball. The surest sign I've seen of this so far is the NYT's sheer swoon over Stone Barn at Blue Hills, a quite expensive restaurant run on the grounds of a "sustainable" farm in Westchester. Almost not a week goes by without a mention of it in the Sunday Westchester section. It's sad. First "organic" gets stripped of almost any meaning, then "local."
Rant finished - you should go read the post.