Tuesday, June 1, 2010

This Little Piggy



My life with Gerry is never boring. We seem to have a routine. He comes up with a new idea, I fret and sputter with some objections. He patiently helps me to see his way. We do whatever it is and I end up thinking it's the greatest idea ever. This happened when he wanted to add softball practice to our schedule. It also happened when he thought we should join Tae Kwon Do. And when he thought we should get chickens

Well, it's happening again. This time it's piggies. Gerry thinks we should raise two pigs and supply ourselves with some homegrown pork. At first I was mortified. I'm no farm girl and I don't want to have a "pet" that we then serve for dinner. At least that was my first reaction. After a visit to the Earthwise Farm & Forest, though, I can see the beauty in offering these pigs a really wonderful life and then appreciating the gift of their meat. I think that's how I feel, anyway. I'll have to keep you all posted on this latest adventure. If nothing else, Gerry knows how to keep it *fresh*!

4 comments:

Platypus Dreams said...

Somehow I still could not bring myself to do it and I have lived in the bush since childhood. I hardly eat any meat not really by choice just when I see it in food my mind brings me a picture of the face of the animal it came from unless my mind is on other things at the time. Strange hey.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Gerry on this one...there is nothing better for both you and the animal you choose to eat the meat of.

I think it's great if people are vegetarians (and we try to eat more vegetarian meals ourselves), but, like you said, if we're going to eat meat, I feel that we should face them and be keenly aware and appreciative of what we're partaking of. Also, when you raise your own, you can take wonderful care of them up until the end, unlike those poor factory farm animals that live horrible lives. As Michael Pollan writes of Joel Salatin's organic Polyface Farm pigs: those pigs have all happy days except for one.

Can't wait to hear more about this adventure! Hugs back to you!

Samantha said...

I have this discussion often. If you are going to eat meat, then it is better to know where it came from rather than from some anonymous farm with tons of animals suffering and being abused. In "Like Water for Chocolate" the girl's emotions were imbued into the concoctions that she created... the same is true of the meat we eat. The animals release chemicals into their flesh created by their emotions... eating a scared suffering pig is not as satisfying an experience as eating a happy pig.

mom of 5 daughters said...

Hi, I just happened across your blog and thought wow, this is cool. This lady has achieved what I want. Someday, I'd like to raise chickens, do beekeeping, and make my own soap, and raise lots of wonderful herbs to put in it. I've tried raising pigs before, we needed a sturdier pen! Anyway, thanks for your blog!
Lisa