Mercy for Food Animals

Photo credit: Precision Nutrition

 This post is a difficult one to write and has me leaning toward vegetarianism, but I'm sure many of you have also paused at the meat counter to think about how the animal (meat, rather) you are about to buy was treated.

Meat packs lots of protein and its fair share of problems, too. I don't pretend to have all of the answers on where to find guilt-free meat, but I have found some great sources to help steer us in the right direction.

Recently, a close friend and I were talking about meat and news about the transport truck that crashed and spilled its contents (pigs) onto a Toronto street came up. Read the story here: http://tiny.cc/ygqht. My friend wanted to know if there is a way to learn how animals are slaughtered. You see, these pigs were enroute to an abattoir (the one just down our street, we guessed) when 81 of them met their death before they arrived at their final destination. The accident brought light to this process of killing animals for food in a way regular conversation probably wouldn't have.

Trying to find out how pigs will be slaughtered is not easy, and I don't have a perfect answer, but I did find through reading several websites that some small farms do slaughter their own food animals, though typically the farms can only sell that meat on their farms or through nearby vending operations.

Beyond the final act of "processing", there are other perhaps more profound issues that should be addressed. How the animals are raised, organic and free-range, is very important if you want to address how these animals lived their lives.

Photo credit: Canadian Coalition of Farm Animal

 

Another big issue with food animals is transportation. Where your meat comes from counts, so buying local counts. The more time animals have to spend on a truck to an abattoir means the worse off they are. Overcrowding, loading and unloading injuries, becoming sick and stress are some of the main issues with animal transport. Read more about it here: http://www.humanefood.ca/transport.html.

One of the best things you can do is ask your butcher where their meat comes from. They may even be able to tell you how the animal was processed from the farm to the counter. It's a bit of work, but if you like eating your meat, it is worth it.

Some better choices for organic meat in Toronto:
http://www.rowefarms.ca/index.html
http://www.twincreeksfarm.ca/
www.thehealthybutcher.com

Green Walks: Leslieville

Photo credit: Kieran Huggins

I've been talking about visiting Leslieville in Toronto for a while now. It all started with my stumbling across a "Green Living Guide" to this city when I moved back last year. The guide itself is full of hundreds of listings recommending stores and shops with a greener bend to them.

What really caught my eye, though, were the "Green Walks" at the back of the guide that covered three areas of the city: Roncesvalles, Kensington and Leslieville. Something about a nice summer day and checking out shops in a new neighbourhood sounded like a lot of fun. It's been a bit of a mission of mine to do these walks and so here are my thoughts about my first Green Walk: Leslieville.

Last Sunday afternoon, I got on a Queen streetcar and headed east of Yonge. The destination was Leslieville and my first stop was Mercury Organic Espresso Bar (mercuryespresso.com) located at 915 Queen St. E. Well, it was organic in the guide, but looks like they took the "organic" part out since it was published... hmph. The latte was great, so was the rustic and artsy interior, and it was cool to learn that they are part of Toronto's independent coffee shops that offer a "disloyalty card." Yeah, that's right, no real loyalties here. A bunch of other shops are involved (Blondie’s, Crema Coffee Co., Dark Horse Espresso Bar, LIT Espresso Bar, Manic Coffee and Sam James Coffee Bar) and if you visit a certain number of them on the disloyalty card, you get a free coffee. Sounds like something I should try.

On my walk, I didn't make it into the Rowe Farms store (912 Queen St. E. www.rowefarms.ca/leslieville.html) to purchase some locally-raised, antibiotic and hormone-free, and humanely-raised meats. (it was a hot, hot day and this just wasn't happening), but if I lived closer, I certainly would have. I've learned that there is nothing like more ethically raised meat.

Looking down the strip, I admit that this wasn't quite what I pictured. I envisioned a tree-lined street, people out sitting on cafe patios and lots of cute shops. The str

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eet was a lot less lively and "green" than I had hoped, but I still had some promising shops to visit.

A few blocks down, I stepped into Simply Home (1022 Queen St. E. www.simplyhometoronto.com/). I had been checking out the reclaimed, repurposed and recycled furniture finds the owner comes across in her travels to antique and flea markets across Ontario online and found it to be interesting. I enjoy visiting the website to see what new items are in store, and seeing them at the shop was reassuring (knowing the place exists and it met the expectations I had). I'd recommend viewing the site to see if you like something, though, before making the trip all the way over.

The last stop that really made this trek worthwhile was Baby on the Hip (http://babyonthehip.ca) at 969 Queen St. E. A few friends now have little ones (and I am sure others will soon be behind), so I have begun looking into baby products and toys that are both healthy and environmentally responsible. Baby on the Hip is pretty much a mecca for all things baby that are free of well-known chemicals and some are even fair trade or local. From clothes, to diapers and books, this store has just about everything for new moms and babies. It's definitely worth checking out.

That's about it for my Leslieville walk. I got a bit tired and some of the other shops weren't exactly my style, so I left them out. I definitely want to make it to Roncesvalles to do their Green Walk and I'll share that update soon.