A few weeks ago, my massage therapist told me her sister refused to eat the beef that was purchased from a locally grown, organic farmer. The sister’s reason? “That’s gross.” She couldn’t believe her sister bought a quarter cow and had it butchered. Even though the beef was totally grass-fed, raised in open, free range pasture and never given hormones or drugs, this woman could not bring herself to eat beef because the thought of a butcher cutting up the cow “grossed” her out. I’m sure you can see the humor in this – honestly, where does she think the beef in the store originates?
As funny as her justification for not eating organic beef seems, in a way, it’s probably representative of the majority of shoppers today.
When we go shopping at mass market stores, almost everything is pre-packaged and sometimes completely prepared. Convenience, yes. Sensible? Probably not.
We pick up a package of chicken and don’t really consider that the meat came from a real bird. A large ham –once a piggy wiggly. I’m not advocating vegetarianism (although I respect vegetarians and was one, once) but I really think that most consumers are immune to the fact that what they are eating came from an animal, and probably not a healthy, natural animal.
Many people don’t know what the term “Factory Farm” really means – nor do they stop to think about where their meat is coming from when they purchase the sale items or best prices on beef, chicken or pork at the local store.
We try to buy only organic beef and chicken and pork. It’s a little more expensive but the taste alone is worth the cost. There is no comparison with the pale, limp, flavorless “meat” that is sold in supermarkets. I don’t care how red they make the beef, if it’s from beef that was grown in a factory, it is “gross” by my definition. The hormones, the antibiotics, the disgusting and inhumane environment the animals are raised – now that’s gross.
For a fun but informative explanation of why the meat you're buying at the grocery store is probably not the best, visit The Meatrix.
There was a really funny "Letter to the Editor" in a newspaper from someone bashing hunters, saying they should just buy meat from the store since "no animals are hurt" that way... People really don't think about where their food comes from, and that scares me.
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