by The Rogue Traders
They did not flee,
The were not afraid,
They gathered round me,
And were curious about the stranger,
White tissue under black skin revealed itself,
We were mesmerized by the quick hands and efficient skills of the butcher and his knives,
A tail, a hoof, a beating heart and the anatomy lesson ensued,
The skins were splayed out on the grass for my daughter to scrub clean and she immediately set to work scraping and curing the hides with salt
The dog whined while smelling them as she pulled the white hide across the lawn,
Not quite understanding where the animal went that once was the lingering smell,
I also did not quite understand where the animals went that once filled these skins,
I was told not to name them, I was told to not get attached,
Yet, we let ourselves get attached to some people but not others,
We let ourselves get attached to some animals but not others,
I found myself looking out onto the pasture after they were gone, calling to them, then stopping myself when I saw the field was empty and remembering their skins are now hanging in the green house waiting for me
They are gone and it’s because of me
Should we not eat meat,
Should we just buy it at the grocery store nicely packaged in cellophane and not think about it,
Or should we meet this reality, shake its hand, have a conversation with it and realize,
This is the process every animal, every fish, every living thing we eat goes through and should we be a part of it,
I do know this should be the standard
The USDA should make on-farm slaughter the rule, not the exception
This is humane,
This is also a labor of love not profit,
I am appalled it has taken me this lifetime to have this experience,
My city life did not afford me the luxury of knowing exactly where my meat came from, but my dual farm to city life now allows for such experiences,
Experiences I feel so lucky to share with my daughter,
Experiences I wish I could share with every meat eater,
So many lessons to be learned in the classroom of life,
Year one of pasture-raised lambs is now complete,
And for the record, I have not returned to vegetarianism but have a deeper respect for the animal, the farmer and the land.
The Rogue Traders is a farm to people handcrafted foods business. Foods gathered, created, bartered and sold between The San Francisco Bay Area & The Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon. They source mostly from Greyback Farm, a family farm, and what they find en route between San Francisco and the farm.
Greyback Farm uses sustainable, organic and pasture raised methods for all of their produce, meats and eggs.