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