(Detail of a photo by VirtualErn.)
The Reverent Eater reminds us that most store-bought (and restaurant) meat comes from CAFOs in which the animals are kept in appalling conditions— and fed food that they have no business eating. Cows are often fed corn (which they don’t digest well) and feather meal, the waste from chicken processing. You thought cows were vegetarian? Not in a CAFO.
The Reverent Eater writes,
“[F]or this year at least, I’m going to give up eating meat whose origins I don’t know…which most likely means giving up 85% of the meat I would regularly eat. No pork stir fries at the Chinese restaurant. No chicken dishes at the Thai or Mexican restaurant. No steak tips at the local Steak House. No burgers or Big Macs or Chicken Sandwiches. Nope. I’ve got to know the farmer or at least something about the farmer. Otherwise, it’s hands off.”
That’s a heck of a commitment, and somewhat more than I’m ready for. My wife and I have eliminated beef from our diet, and we eat locally-grown pork and turkey. We raise chickens for eggs, and we make cheese from our goats’ milk (for us and for sale to our neighbors).
But chicken… our roosters tend to be tough and gamey, okay for a crock pot but that’s about it. We haven’t found a local chicken farm— and there isn’t a licensed poultry processor in this part of the state, so we’d have to do the butchering ourselves. So we still buy our chicken at the store. Despite the brand’s claims that its chicken comes from family farms, I have my doubts. But I’ll eat it anyway, about once a week or so, and feel appropriately guilty.
