Sharing some meat
I've heard about families sharing before, and I've wondered how this works? Does anyone have experience or recommendations for the question Sharon sent?
My family and I are wanting to order a half or a quarter of a cow and lamb this year. I have heard that one must order now to reserve the meat. Does anyone else do this? Where do you buy from? Do you order this early? I could use a little help with this...
Why don't you just go to the local petting zoo & kill one yourself?
I'm sorry but this is an odd post for urbanmamas. I'm sure if you "googled" this quest you can find some online slaughterhouse that will dry ice the carcass to you. How does this have anything to do with local mama issues?
Sure there has been eating/cooking posts - there was the post about local dinner prep places, or new organic baby food - but "where to get & share 1/2 of a lamb"? Huh?
Just seems like a waste of a post & of the UMs moderator's time.
Thanks.
Posted by: Molly | January 02, 2007 at 07:25 AM
I believe the concept is like a community- supported agriculature (CSA) program, where you can purchase foods directly from local farmers. I just found this listing of Oregon farms: http://www.eatwild.com/products/oregon.html Many farms are family-owned and offer grass-fed or free-range meats. Many farms are adamant about not using hormones, medications, or antibiotics in their meats. And, another perk about some of these farms is that many of them welcome you to come visit the farm and educate oneself about the foods we eat.
We have ordered milk direct from a farm near Salem. They would deliver milk each week into our cooler on the doorstep. It was delicious.
Another great resource to find local farms, CSA, or grocers: http://www.localharvest.org/
Posted by: olivia | January 02, 2007 at 08:09 AM
Yeah, this one really brought me down.
Posted by: maybeknott | January 02, 2007 at 08:11 AM
Ouch. That was a pretty harsh reply to Sharon's question. It seems to me that knowing where your meat is coming from and making less trips to the grocery store is a pretty smart idea for families that eat meat.
Posted by: Franny | January 02, 2007 at 09:24 AM
To me this seems like a CSA-type inquiry, like Olivia said. It startled me too a little bit but i don't think that is a bad thing.
We don't eat much meat as a family but for those who do I don't see anything wrong with buying direct from the rancher and cutting out the middle man, the packaging, and hopefully the factory environment, hormones and antibiotics too. I grew up in the country and this was how it was done.
In our society meat is packaged, processed, colored, etc to seem very far removed from its original, animal, source. People, especially in the US, are just so much more comfortable pretending it doesn't "really" come from an animal.
Posted by: peg | January 02, 2007 at 09:56 AM
Try Nicky USA in SE Portland. I have used them as a resource as a PR writer for the food industry. From their web site http://www.nickyusa.com, "[Nicky USA is a] company committed to sustainably raised wild-and farm-raised game."
Posted by: Amanda | January 02, 2007 at 10:36 AM
Yep, I certainly didn't mean to upset anyone. As a family that does choose to eat meat, I want to make sure it comes from the best available source. Being fairly new to Portland and having done several google searches, I felt that as with most things, word of mouth tends to work the best... I probably could have worded it better - basically I am looking for people who want to pass on a great farm they have worked with before...I can't imaagine we are the only meat eating family on here. Again, didn't mean to step on any toes!
Posted by: sharon | January 02, 2007 at 10:55 AM
Oh, also look at http://www.wintergreenfarm.com and scroll down to organically grown grass-fed beef. This farm is always at the Portland Farmers Market.
Posted by: Amanda | January 02, 2007 at 10:59 AM
it certainly was an honest inquiry into a sustainable, local, cooperative method of locating a food source, and i - for one- think it fits this board just as comfortably as inquiries into g-diapers, resale shops, and playparks.
we have backyard chickens and plan to use them for food once they become broody. at least we know where our food comes from...
and, sharon, there are certainly other omnivores out here...as well as those interested in differing points of view and new information. i was more shocked by molly's response than anything. wow.
Posted by: leslie | January 02, 2007 at 11:32 AM
I'm with Leslie - more surprised by Molly's response than anything else I think I have ever read on uMamas. There are all kinds of mamas, all kinds of families, all kinds of lifestyles...the progressive Portland I grew up in was truly an OPEN and SUPPORTIVE community and I, for one, am glad that urbanMamas is continuing the tradition of true community by supporting honest inquiries from ALL mamas and papas, and not just those who follow a certain viewpoint, politics, religion or lifestyle. As for the claim "how does this have anything to do with local mama issues," isn't feeding our families an issue we all deal with? Sharon has as much of a right to pose this question to this non-affiliated blog as someone who is looking for the best place to nurse in public.
That said, I think Olivia is right in that likely there's a CSA program for this. I'm sorry I can't be of more help, Sharon. Good luck in your quest.
Posted by: Marlynn | January 02, 2007 at 12:52 PM
...go to the local petting zoo and kill one yourself? Wow. This site isn't solely for vegan urbanMamas. I don't think I have ever read such an outrageous comment on this site.
Posted by: Monica | January 02, 2007 at 12:55 PM
It's a bit far for you but there's a farm in Terrebonne, DD Ranch, which does this. You can buy a whole or half an animal. I haven't bought a whole cow but I did buy some cuts of beef -- the farmer told me the personality of the cow it came from : )
They're wonderful people, run a pumpkin patch and petting zoo in the fall.
Posted by: Jennifer | January 02, 2007 at 01:38 PM
I agree with those that feel this is a valid question and post for urbanMamas. As a mama whose family recently started eating meat, but who shops locally and trys to be as organic and healthy as possible, this is exactly the type of information I would think to look to urbanMamas for. And like others, I thought the first comment much more non-urbanMama than the question.
Posted by: courtney | January 02, 2007 at 01:52 PM
I gotta say I'm with Molly. It just seems that UrbanMamas is full of knowledgeable familes. People who are consuming lots of meat are either not doing their research on health and environmental issues, or are just plain selfish. We live in a city full of options. Evolve people.
Posted by: marie | January 02, 2007 at 01:52 PM
Just another apparently ignorant uMama here, chiming in. Wow. One of the reasons I moved to PDX was because it was supposedly more progressive and tolerant. Wow. I didn't realize that omnivores should be in the closet! Who knew that omnivores consume "lots of meat" too. Maybe I'm not one of them after all, since, like in all things, my family eats meat in moderation. AND we do have half a cow in my deep freezer which will likely last my family of 3.5 a full year.
I wish I could pass on information concerning where we purchased our cow, but it was set up for us by a relative and I don't have the contact information.
I would like to know a good source of locally grown chicken, if anyone has that information. Eggs too, for that matter. Preferably organic.
This is evolving. Or revolving, depending on your point of view.
Posted by: SWN | January 02, 2007 at 02:13 PM
Wow - I'm really shocked at the judgmental attitudes of Molly and Marie. These doesn't seem like the sort of comments that should take place on Urban Mamas. I've really valued Urban Mamas as a resource for good advice and good camaraderie. It's a shame that these two people have to resort to name calling. Maybe this isn't the right site for you if you can't be civil in getting your views across. Let's play nice!
Posted by: Allison | January 02, 2007 at 02:23 PM
I do think that we all have the right to our judgements, but an obligation to express them in a respectful way. I am a vegetarian, and I have been very careful to let people know I am not (publicly) offended by their choice to eat meat, and they are not obligated to make special accomidations for me if I come to their house. If they come to my house, they will expect a no meat situation. My 18 month old daughter is vegetarian by my choice, but when she is old enough to choose to eat a burger with her friends, all I will do is alienate her if I tell her it's against the rules, even out of the house. But it's tofu burgers only on my table. While I would not want to know the personality of the cow I ate, I understand that humans are omnivores, which is what makes it so hard for me, a person who does not like to cook or shop, to stay absolutely healthy on my vegetarian diet. And if my doctor told me when I was pregnant that my baby's health was at risk due to my diet, you had better believe I would be forking down the meat in seconds flat. I wouldn't like it, I would feel sick about it, and I would complain about it to anyone who would listen....but I would do it.
Posted by: debby | January 02, 2007 at 02:45 PM
Trying to stay neutral here, as I'm more of a resource-finding person than a debating one...a great site to learn more about this whole process and to find farms that participate is www.eatwild.com/products/index.html - this link will take you to the geographical page to find farms in your state. The home page talks more about the process itself.
Posted by: Amanda | January 02, 2007 at 03:18 PM
Sorry my words were harsh.
The thought of buying an entire lamb or a cow to slice up - to me was just so barbaric & archaic. I am usually not as millitant with my views. I just am shocked that people still choose to eat meat in this day & age and especially in Portland where as Marie pointed out we have many great resources & options.
This query coupled with the growing amount of Hummers & large SUVs I keep seeing in my SE neighborhood makes me question my local peers daily life choices and how they impact me & my children. There are many reasons why I don't drive a Ford Explorer but I live with fear if I or my children were ever hit by one.
Same thing with regards to omnivores - sure they can eat meat(choice) but will the South American rainforests be around for my grandchildren to one day see them?
I'm sorry again I was so harsh - but geeze have you ever held a lamb.
Posted by: Molly | January 02, 2007 at 03:46 PM
hmmm...I'd like to share one of the New York Times' words of the year -- it kind of tickled my funny bone:
sanctimommy
Posted by: Jessica | January 02, 2007 at 04:18 PM
I too felt the shock of the other vegetarians upon seeing this post. When you don't eat meat you are not desensitized to all of the suffering it takes to get that lamb on your plate or in your freezer. It may come across as being judgemental but it's hard to stand by and watch people ignore the abuse these animals endure. People have choices, animals don't.
I am never outwardly judgemental to my friends who eat animals, but I do wish that people who make this choice would witness an animal's slaughter at least once to see if it's really worth it.
Posted by: sera | January 02, 2007 at 04:19 PM
I think one way we can help is to solicit vegetarian only restaurants like the Bay Leaf, and Milky Way in Clackamas (any others that people would like to make us aware of?). Also, we need to let it be known at all local restaurants that we want vegetarian options. There are often Gardenburgers, but I don't always want a burger, and I don't want to pay the same price for pasta with the chicken not added...sometimes I pay MORE for the veggie option. I would like more tofu, more beans, etc. I would like some selections, not more salad! Lettuce has very little nutritional value!I think Portland is the perfect place to let our needs be known. The more of us who ask, the better. But also remember that humans have been eating meat for as long as there have been humans. It is not the person posting this questions who people are mad at. It is the multi-billion dollar meat industry who abuses and mutilates animals by mass production to save a buck. Family farms ahve been replaced by warehouse slaughter houses. The respect for the animal giving it's life to sustain other life is gone. Anyone who is making wise choices by using humane businesses or free range meat, eggs and milk, has my respect.
Posted by: debby | January 02, 2007 at 04:39 PM
As a mom who is trying to do her bit for global warming and other environmental problems of deforestation and soil degradation, I too am appalled when people think it's okay to talk about meat-eating like it's our god-given right.
*Nearly half of the water in this county is used for livestock.
*More than a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in the U.S. are used in animal production.
*Livestock are fed more than 70 percent of the wheat, corn and other grains we grow. Worldwide, a child dies of starvation every thirty seconds. Meanwhile, animals are being fed the majority of grains, even in countries where there is widespread human starvation.
*Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States, and since factory farms don't have sewage treatment systems as our cities and towns do, this concentrated slop ends up polluting our water, destroying our topsoil, and contaminating our air.
*Animal rights? Well battery hens have no room to move, veal calves are chained by the neck in a crate for their entire lives. I agree, people should at least see what occurs at the slaughterhouse. After all, that's what your eating. I consider myself an animal lover and don't see why out pets are considered different from any other animal.
As the Amazon rainforest slowly is hacked away for livestock farming and other "necessities", it's ALL of our children who are going to pay the price in the not-too-distant future.
Posted by: A Concerned Mom | January 02, 2007 at 04:39 PM
When is the last time anyone can remember being influenced to make a change in their life when someone used the tone and words in the messages that were pro vegetarian/vegan? If the concern is to promote change some positive suggestions and an offer of more information might accomplish educating others while respecting them. These kinds of comments have eliminated a lot of comfort I found in knowing that the UrbanMamas were there to help and support when I’m feeling lost as a mother.
Posted by: Terri | January 02, 2007 at 05:07 PM
I have to say I am really taken aback by the judgmental tone in the anti-meat posts. It is absolutely well and fine to be vegetarian or vegan for that matter, but by asking about ways to eat meat in a healthier matter no-one is disrespecting you - so why must you be disrespectful?
"Geez, have you ever held a lamb?" I seriously feel like I am reading the parenting forum on Craigslist which I refer to as my online soap opera.
My husband is a vegetarian and I am not, but he will cook meat for me and the kids, so I guess we are half-evolved - can't we all just get along?
Posted by: daphne | January 02, 2007 at 05:27 PM
The strong, emotional responses are coming from people who feel a strong emotional response to the idea/image/reality of half of a cow.
These responses are pretty different from what we're all used to reading here, and I wouldn't exactly call them polite, but for some vegan/vegetarians the original question was also very different than what we're used to reading here. To some vegans or vegetarians, especially those who feel comfy cozy at this site, and specifically me, it was very unsettling to read this unexpected question. My mind immediately conjured a very violent and horrible image; not something that usually happens when I visit here.
I can see how some of the veg responses to this post could be considered out of proportion, or rude, or unsupportive. Some of us are obviously very passionate about this issue; those of us who are feel a connection to animals that others often don't understand and obviously don't share. But that connection makes these conversations very difficult to have kindly, as there is a level of revolt and horror that one might expect after being asked to imagine half of someone that you love.
I know we can't filter through each of these posts to make sure that they're politically correct and non-offensive to everyone. But it would be the urban mama thing to do to extend empathy and understanding to the folks who are "offended", even/especially when their responses are emotionally charged and obviously distressed. I imagine that most of us "in real life", would give a token apology if we accidentally asked a vegetarian where to get half of a cow; especially if they got visibly and vocally upset.
Posted by: maybeknott | January 02, 2007 at 06:40 PM
I'm struggling to see how this is any different from someone posting a recipe for chicken soup, which requires chicken, purchased from the grocery store, who got it from the slaughter house. Why is buying a cow more offensive, or is it just the straightforward way it was presented in the original post? If it was worded differently, would people have responded differently? I am just curious. I had an initial reaction when I read the post, but chose just to let it go, as I reminded myself that everyone doesn't think like I do, and I am glad, because then I am exposed to many different perspectives.
Posted by: Debby | January 02, 2007 at 07:13 PM
Furthermore, if we are going to eat meat, let's do it just as Sharon is looking to do... from a local, sustainable source, where you can actually purchase enough meat for your family all at once. This is such a better scenario then buying small pieces of meat from who-knows-where in little packages on the shelf. The main issue in humanitarian vegetarianism, I feel, is to support animals being treated well. Cross-cultural history shows that people are meat eaters (though some aren't), and I think in this day and age it is nice to bring it back as close as possible CSA.
Additionally, has anyone done much research on soy? It's a major and desturctive cash crop, and the beans aren't that good for anyone, anyway. It's killing lots of land in Brazil, and with that land, the indigenous people who belong there. (just to show the flip side).
Blah blah blah. What I am saying is that the bottom line is that we are all in this (world/life/capitalist craziness) together, and all the issues are rooted in the same thing, meat or not.
last but not least, I do think mean-spirited sarcasm should not appear on the site, and any time a uM needs help, she should feel welcome to ask for it here.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 02, 2007 at 07:36 PM
I am a reluctant meat eater (I grew up on a farm and have a tender heart). But I love to bbq a steak with my fiance in the summer, or try new ways to marinate chicken. I also go to a halal (mediterranean equivalent of kosher) market where I know the owner. He personally kills each animal with respect and kindness. The TLC that his meat receives is mind boggling. Fact: my halal butcher treats his lambs and cows with more kindness than some people treat their children (well except the fact that he does kill them (!!)). No digs to anyone here, I was thinking of some horrible family members and their child rearing *skills*.
Here's my thought to everyone tonight...
Be kind to all living creatures - and if you must eat meat - buy it from a halal market - or an organic kind to animals farm - or grow it yourself...
Have YOU EVER bought meat from WINCO? YUK! I would eat nothing before eating meat from Winco. *shiver*
The one thing I have learned from living my entire life in Oregon is that we are a tolerant bunch of people ;o)
PS Soy is something I think is disgusting. I try never to eat it because the farmers have genetically engineered it into a frankenfood in my opinion. Look it up online.
Posted by: Heather | January 02, 2007 at 08:03 PM
Mmmmmm...lamb...and beef...oh, and don't forget pork...
Posted by: shannon | January 02, 2007 at 08:25 PM
We'd like to think that all mamas can share their views on this site in a friendly, non-atagonistic manner. Thanks for sharing your comments but without further ado, this post is officially closed to further comments.
Posted by: urbanMamas | January 02, 2007 at 08:35 PM