Meat Comes from Animals

So, Chipotle restaurants are going all Joel Salatin on us. Specifically, the Chipotle restaurants near the Salatin farm in Virginia have started sourcing their meat from Salatin’s famous Polyface Farm. There is also an interesting video about their new small farm focus. This video features Willie Nelson doing a convincingly from-the-heart take on a Coldplay song.

Who is this Joel Salatin, you say? I recommend you find out by reading about Polyface Farm. In essence, Salatin’s way of farming is the small farm, grass fed, happy animals ideal that is completely and in every way counter to industrial animal farming. And who couldn’t respect him for that given the sadness of animal processing at the industrial level with its shockingly crowded feedlots, the sick and weak cows that can’t stand, the pigs wallering around in their own feces in crowded pens? I can sometimes trust that for the most part these animals are actually killed humanely enough. (For an excellent exploration into that world please read the Temple Grandin book, Animals in Translation). It’s the conditions preceding the slaughter of our future meals that bother so many of us. Just remember, it is done in the name of giving us meat, pork and poultry seven nights a week at dinner and almost just as frequently at lunch or breakfast. No wonder our obesity, diabetes and heart disease rates are so high. 

I’m no vegetarian and don’t plan on becoming one, but I am becoming more aware of my over-consumption of protein. And I am beginning to realize there is a small farm alternative, like Salatin’s, where animals are raised humanely and slaughtered humanely. You can often find these farmers selling their meat at farmer’s markets and yes, they are more expensive than the grocery store option. But, think about it--what better way to get us to eat less of the meat we’re presently eating too much of?

There is a story from the Judeo-Christian tradition that is worth repeating here. It serves to inform us of the attitude and respect we should have for the livestock and working animals who both share our kingdom classification, Animalia, and who also edify our lives; some of them by smelling wonderful cooking on the grill.

It seems there was a king named Balak who was pretty intent upon putting a curse on some people he didn't like. So, he summoned the local curse-giver, Balaam, to do the job and off Balaam went on his donkey to deliver the curse. Well, Balaam's god--Yahweh--was not pleased with this so he sent an angel to stop him. As Balaam was riding down the road on his donkey, the animal saw the mighty angel standing in the middle of the road, so she turned off the road into a field. This made Balaam angry, and he was not in a good state of mind to begin with, what with having to go pronounce a curse and all. So he beat the donkey and forced her back onto the road. Interestingly, for whatever reason, Balaam did not see the angel. Only the donkey could see the angel. Well, a little further down the road, the donkey saw the angel again and to avoid walking right into this fearsome being, she pressed up against a wall and this hurt Balaam’s poor little foot. So he beat the donkey again and made her press on down the road. As they got a little further down the road the angel appeared again but this time in a place where the donkey could not turn away at all. So, she lay down in the road, right under Balaam. This really made Balaam mad and he beat her yet again. At this third injustice the donkey spoke in a human voice to Balaam and said, "Why are you beating me? Am I not your own donkey who has served you well? Don't you understand I'm acting this way for a reason?" Balaam evidently didn’t process the fact that a donkey was talking to him because he swiftly answered her, "You are making a fool of me and I wish I could kill you!" As these words fell from his lips, he was suddenly able to see the mighty angel standing in front of him with a drawn sword. At this, Balaam was a fool no longer and he fell to the ground. The angel said to him, "Why are you beating this donkey? I have come to stop you from putting a curse on these people. When your donkey saw me she turned away. If she had not done this, I would have certainly killed you by now...but I would have spared the donkey.” 

Animals serve us well. We should serve them (and ourselves) well by eating less of them and by raising them and slaughtering them humanely.