The Hunt For Meat II

Saturday morning at the market proved to be a little more difficult than I imagined: I mean, how do you politely ask someone if they mis-treat their livestock?

I suppose you don't, and I'm not very good with verbalizing my thoughts, but this is important to me - I'm on a mission!

I was quite pleased to find that the very first person I approached was indeed selling beef that spent most of it's time outdoors, grass and grain fed.



The slightly higher cost for his cuts are very much worth it (for all creatures involved, I'd say).

So Goddess bless the farmers market! It's very much worth checking yours out:

Farmers Markets Ontario
Canada's Guide To Farmers Markets

Next week I'll talk with some of the other meat sellers and see just how many of them are following good practices, but from now on, I know where I'm getting my meat.

-Love Marylin.

Challenge: The Hunt For Meat

I'm on the hunt for meat!

I do believe there is nothing wrong with eating meat, in general, it is the way we get our meat that is horribly wrong.

Hunting was a good method: you put forth effort into obtaining the animal (especially back when guns weren't used and the animal had a fighting chance), you use all of the animal, and you give thanks to the animal for dying to feed and clothe your family.



Most importantly, no waste and no cruelty. Not like the grocery stores where meat is thrown out if not purchased. No practices like the ones we saw in the 'Meet Your Meat' video from the last post.



You hunted what you needed and you used it all up. It was more appreciated.

Hence the most obvious source in my Hunt For Meat would be hunting it myself, but that is out of the question as I don't drive so I couldn't get to places where hunting is permitted. Also, I don't know how to use a weapon and I'm extremely against guns so I wouldn't own one.

The next most obvious choice than, would be obtaining my meat from someone who does hunt. I don't know anyone who hunts, but I'm keeping this option open.

After that, it seems my choice would be to find meat from a farm where the animal was not treated in a cruel way: where the animal gets plenty of time outside and plenty of good food so it can at least have a better quality of life before it gives that up to feed us.



I'm currently on the hunt for this now and I've been asking alot of questions, which brings me to this response from PETA, the organization that produced the 'Meet Your Meat' video.

I asked them since they are huge advocates for animal rights, if they would know where I could look to find meat where the animals were not treated cruelly:

Dear Ms. Houle,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with PETA. We appreciate the opportunity to respond. While PETA is willing to applaud any steps that farmers and ranchers take to improve the welfare of the animals for whom they are responsible, we also know that there is no truly humane way to "harvest" food from animals.

The sheer number of animals required to feed America's current meat habit makes individual attention to their wants and needs impossible. Although we agree that eating food from animals is a personal choice, as an animal protection group, PETA cannot in good conscience condone or encourage the killing of animals for their flesh, just as the American Cancer Society, for example, could not reasonably encourage the "choice" of cigarette smoking.

For us to promote the purchase of any kind of meat would imply that we endorse the use of animals for food "production," instead of recognizing that animals deserve consideration of their own best interests—regardless of whether they are useful to humans. Ultimately, there is the simple moral principle that we do not have the right to manipulate and kill animals for our own purposes. Animals do not belong to us, and their lives are just as precious to them as ours are to us.

A society that eats animals will always view them as possessions, products, and commodities, as opposed to individuals with feelings, families, and friendships. And as long as people view animals as objects, widespread institutionalized abuse is destined to continue. The best thing anyone can do to help animals is to not eat them. Humans don’t require meat and other food from animals to live—and, in fact, we are better off without it. We have so many choices as consumers today that there’s simply no reason to continue to raise and slaughter animals for food.

To learn more about why a vegetarian diet is the best choice for animals, humans and our environment, please visit http://www.GoVeg.com.

Thanks again for writing and for your concern for animals.

Sincerely,

The PETA Staff

http://www.SupportPETA.com

I was really surprised at this response.

Though they may not advocate eating animals, period, you would think that if they care that much about animal welfare, they would prefer those of us who still want to eat meat to eat meat where the animals were not tortured.

Maybe I'm naive, but this is how I feel.

I'm certainly not at all against vegetarianism, that is not the issue at all, I just believe that meat-eaters have the same right to eat meat as vegetarians have to not eat meat.

Anyway, I'll be off to the Farmer's Market tomorrow morning to question all the meat vendors there.

Wish me luck!

We'll see where my Hunt for Meat leads and what meat production's impact is on the environment in upcoming posts.

-Love Marylin.

Challenge: One Bag A Month

Since I've begun completely recycling and composting, I've noticed a very obvious benefit: where I would usually end up with at least two full green trash bags to throw in the garbage each month, I now only fill up one plastic grocery bag with trash.*



*That's for a single gal with a cat. That would be harder for a household with more people or a family, so perhaps it would go that it's one grocery bag per person.

I wait and wait and wait for the trash bag to fill up, but it just never seems to happen - it's quite amazing!

This is instant gratification: I can see how much less I am putting in the landfill and I love it.

So this is my goal from now on - no more than one plastic grocery bag of actual trash per month will leave my apartment.



Once you're recycling, composting, etc., you begin to notice the things that are left-over and have to go into the trash bag. This is when you can pin-point some of your actual impact and possibly correct some of your problems...

The challenge for me is my cat - he poops, lol. His poopies are not recyclable, compostable (according to my local authorities), or reusable (as far as I know).

Although I'm sure George's super poopies could somehow be turned into some powerful fuel, I've yet to discover how, so until then, I have no choice but to trash them.



I don't feel horrible about this because I'm sure, being poopies, they can easily biodegrade back into the earth, but there are two remaining trash culprits I don't feel so good about:

Plastics. Certain food wrappers, product packaging, etc.

I can certainly decrease these by buying less food with non-recyclable packaging, though things like my All Bran Bars and Crispy Delights will be hard to get over.



As for product packaging, I rarely purchase anything as it is and the majority of what I do purchase is stuff I need. What would be the best solution there?



Cigarette Butts.



Those chemical laden little buggers are a big problem that I feel bad for perpetuating. They are not recyclable or compostable and they do a real number on the land and water.



Since discovering this information, I no longer throw my butts on the street when I'm finished smoking (which has caused me to notice the need for alot more public ashtrays). I currently extinguish and stick my butt in my purse until I get home.



Now, keeping said butts in a secure trash bag rather than on the streets does go a long way toward helping the problem, but there must be even better solutions.

(Yes I realize not smoking at all would be the best solution, but that in itself is another long post/story that will eventually be tackled)

So there we have it. One bag a month is the new rule.

Are you up for that challenge too?

-Love Marylin.