tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959510284276401188.post1632311447900574679..comments2014-01-08T02:26:41.941-05:00Comments on A Somnambulist is Reading on the Group W Bench: 11. SlaughterhouseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959510284276401188.post-53335386280210618942009-02-03T12:45:00.000-05:002009-02-03T12:45:00.000-05:00I agree that a good butcher could help, but there ...I agree that a good butcher could help, but there are still problems beyond even thier control. The big slaughterhouses dictate how ranching is accomplished. The ranchers need to churn out animals or face being blackballed. To supply as much meat as is needed, the ranchers resort to "unnatural" methods. One example is using animal scraps as feed. Ground up chickens, pigs and cows are included in the feed. That causes problems because the cows, goats, sheep etc are ruminants. They should be eating grass in a field, not other animals. The junk they are ingesting is what is causing some diseases and is spilling out onto the meat during slaughter. This "junk" is cheap and easier. It does not require vast amounts of grazing land, which is too expensive for a rancher to afford without being a slave to the meat processors.<BR/><BR/>Some farms are using "old school" methods. They are small and struggling to survive.<BR/><BR/>So, even if you had a great butcher, that butcher would probably not have rasied the animal himself and would therefore not know what is in the meat.<BR/><BR/>Also, I think you are in Canada. Canada has laws saying that all meat sold in Canada must have been slaughtered in a humane way. The US meat industry exports chicken to Canada with a stamp on it that says it was slaughtered humanely according to US law. This is all a lie. The poultry industry is exempt from humane slaughter in the US. The chickens die while they are being dipped in 160 degree water to remove feathers. Imagine drowning on boiling water. Nothing humane about that. But, it is according to our own laws and is technically OK to ship to Canada...where it is against the law to slaughter poultry in this way.<BR/><BR/>What is even more unbelievable is that the USDA arbitrarily decided that rabbits were poultry specifically to avoid humane slaughter. A rabbit is a mammal. How is that poultry? Poor scalded drowned bunnies.<BR/><BR/>So, there is much more to this than just cleaning and cooking the meat properly. A buthcer would help, but is not able to protect you, the animals, or the workers in the slaughterhouses. The USDA could help, but they have had their wings clipped and are actually just a government extension of the meat business meant to make us all feel good.<BR/><BR/>Holy crap! I am turning into a dissenter. No wonder the Soviet Union eliminated so many thinkers and limited availability to knowledge.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02135133920953164911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5959510284276401188.post-81496810791707656472009-02-02T16:10:00.000-05:002009-02-02T16:10:00.000-05:00What you want is a skilled butcher who knows his m...What you want is a skilled butcher who knows his meat and animals and can help you with your purchase. We expect to have everything handed to us perfectly wrapped and ready and that goes for meat. We should step back and learn to work for our food, to truly appreciate where it came from instead of just throwing packages into a shopping cart.OlmanFeelyushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17521657876810568251noreply@blogger.com