Turkey D-Day

Today is turkey D-Day. About 40 birds will be prepared for the Thanksgiving Day table… in other words butchered. Tomorrow about 40 more will meet their maker and become someone’s dinner. I recently “talked” on facebook with a friend of mine from Fort Hood and shared about my transition to farmatarianism, eating only meat that you know personally. I was a vegetarian for eight years. I wasn’t a really good vegetarian, whatever that means. I was more concerned about the way meat was produced and what was in it. I was also concerned about the effects of excessive meat consumption on our bodies and the planet. I wasn’t concerned that animals should never be killed for food.

Anyway… it was probably strange for my friend to hear that I would be helping slaughter some 80 birds and what’s more I would happily eat them given the chance. I still don’t eat a lot of meat. It’s not often an option at the farm, but when it is I appreciate the life of the animals that we eat. Our turkeys are free range in every sense of that word. They roam free all day, foraging for food and stretching their legs. Our goats and cows also spend the majority of their time in pastures eating their meals straight from the soil. That is worlds apart from how your Big Mac or even grocery store meat is produced.

So, every year Cargill (God bless ‘em!) donates about 100 turkeys to the farm along with their bedding and feed. We raise them and sell them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We could ruminate on why Cargill would donate these birds to a farm that teaches methods of agriculture directly opposed to large industrial-scale production. Perhaps it’s a form of penance, an attempt at reaching some sort of redemption. Perhaps someone in the company has a subversive ironic streak. Regardless, it is a good things for these birds and the people that buy them.

Clearly, these turkeys have been bred for one thing and one thing only… meat. These are dumb animals. These birds see a large predator (aka me or Edwina, the wayfaring farm dog) and think to themselves, “Hey let’s all go check that out! Guys come over here! Look a predator! Let’s all go say hi!” Needless to say they would not last long in the wild. Unfortunately they also don’t last that long on the farm. One turkey randomly had a heart attack one day and became dinner. It seems they are looking for ways to die. Apparently it is not really true that turkeys can drown from looking up at the rain, but they’re so dumb it seem plausible.

Barbara Kingsolver’s account of trying to get her turkeys to reproduce and hatch eggs is a riot. The reason industrial turkey sex is so funny is because it simply does not happen. Imagine a couple of full grown adults who are supposed to be well versed in the birds and the bees, stumbling over what’s what and what goes where like a couple of pimply teenagers. Add to the lack of knowledge the fact that these guys are bread to be a tub o’ meat on toothpicks. They are no longer physiologically shaped for reproduction. In case this hasn’t been made abundantly clear let me say it. The turkeys you buy in the store do not have sex. They all have to be artificially inseminated in order to reproduce. That in itself is not humane.

There are heritage breed wild turkeys out there that you can buy. Those guys are smart and they know how to have sex. So, think about the life of turkeys this holiday season when you’re sticking that Butterball in the oven or deep fryer. Support turkey sex and happy turkeys this year and buy your bird from a farmer.

Farm and Food Session 1

The first session Genetically Modified Foods and Mammal Health was presented by Howard Vlieger of Verity Farms. The session covered a lot of the basics of GMO foods and crops and the issues involved. There are some good places you can go to read up on these basics. I was mainly interested in some of the connections made in the presentation.

The process for creating GMO plants injects viruses or bacteria with genes into the DNA of plants. This process was described as “shooting a bullseye with a shotgun.” This is a very imprecise process that cannot hit the same place twice within an organism. It is known that the process of creating a GMO creates new proteins. The speakers conservative estimate was that 1200 new proteins are being created in GMO corn and soybeans. When these plants are fed to animals in the form of feeds, their stomachs do not recognize some of these foreign proteins and this causes irritation and ulcers in the animal’s stomach. Mr. Vlieger was clear that this was not a scientific study, but was based on his experience and data that he collected.

Mr. Vlieger was able to take pictures at the hog slaughtering facility that he uses for slaughtering his pigs. He took pictures of the stomachs of his own pigs, “A” Natural pigs, “B” Natural and conventionally raised pigs. Of course his pigs had very healthy looking model pig stomachs. Both of the “natural” pigs were not given antibiotics or hormones, but there are no restrictions on GMO in what is fed to these animals. Their stomachs both showed significant irritation, inflammation, and ulcers.

What I found really interesting was the difference between “natural” pig stomachs and conventional. Those of us who are predisposed to think the worst of conventional agriculture would assume a bloody mess. In fact, the antibiotics are effective in keeping the inflammation and irritation down in the stomachs. The stomachs are not red and irritated, but they do appear more pale than the Verity Farms pig. However, it does not prevent the immune system from attacking the foreign proteins and creating ulcers.

If GMO feed causes this kind of reaction in pigs (and/or other livestock), what might the effect be on the end consumer, you and me?

The final piece that I found interesting was the connections that were made concerning the corporations that produce both pharmaceuticals and seeds. Syngenta, Bayer, Monsanto and others are first and foremost chemical companies. They use these chemicals on and in crops which are then fed to livestock. When the livestock inevitably become sick the veterinarian is brought in to make them healthy using drugs also produced by the same companies. Producers also feed hormones to their livestock to improve their production.

The purpose of all of this is to sell meat to consumers. So what happens when we buy this meat and eat it? We get heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux. So we go to the doctor and he prescribes drugs to deal with that which the same companies benefit from. The point is that these chemical companies are creating and driving a market and a need that depends on sick animals and sick people. It is also important to point out that the promises of GMO feed and seed has yet to be realized.

Food in the Bible: Matthew 11:18-19

Matthew 11:18-19 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; 19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.

Sometimes you just can’t win. This passage says, “You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” We are a culture of people-pleasers, but the truth is you can’t please everyone. Both John and Jesus were fulfilling their purpose and identity. We are also a culture that claims to value diversity in theory, but has difficulty putting it into practice. (That could be said of everyone I guess.) In the church we are often concerned with trying to fit everyone into a particular mold or model of what it means to be Christian, to follow Jesus, to be the church, how to vote, how to raise your kids or how to shop. Many denominations were created in some sense to limit diversity. A group (re)discovered some truth or doctrine and latched on to it as the answer, the one Truth. It seems in every case that this results in throwing some baby (or babies) out with the bath water.

With foodies it is often the same. PETA and others preach the gospel of vegetarianism. There is only one true way to eat and reform the corrupt food system. It seems, however, that meat-eaters will likely play a large role in reforming the meat industry. The industry cares more about the consumers buying their product than those abstaining. The gospel of vegetarianism is helpful in pointing out some of the fundamental problems with the amount of meat we consume and the way that our meat is produced. But like the gnostic gospels it is a myopic vision of the life God intends for us.

Paul seems to consistently uphold unity in diversity as the model for the Body of Christ. Some will be called to abstain from eating certain foods and sometimes eating all together. Some will remind us that God loves a party and invites the gluttons and drunkards into the wedding feast. If we are to be a whole people working toward a whole food system we must refrain from the myopic vision that so often traps us into dualistic ways of thinking. We must listen in love to even our enemies.

Should I Eat Flesh?

It’s official! We’re moving to Elm Mott, TX to intern at the World Hunger Farm. Lisa Simpson’s been a vegetarian for longer than I have, but here’s the conundrum. I haven’t eaten any animals (except the occasional fish) for about eight years. I’ve talked about some of my reasons before on this blog. My main conviction concerning my diet is about economics and justice.

The World Hunger Farm raises chickens, turkeys, goats and some cattle for meat. They raise them grass fed and free range. So, the conundrum for me is whether to start eating meat. I don’t have a lot of ethical objections to eating meat in these circumstances.

On the other hand, I’m only going to be there for a year and then may be who knows where. I’m also concerned about how to reintroduce meat into my diet.

What do you think dear reader? Should I take up eating the flesh of animals again?

Food Recalls and Safety Issues

I had read a blurb about the tomato recall and then was surprised by the sign at Chipotle explaining why they had pulled their tomato salsa. Being aware means being mindful. Here’s a round up of links to recalls and safety issues:

Tomatoes top the list in current recall notices

“The outbreak involves 57 cases of people sickened primarily in Texas and New Mexico. Seventeen persons have been hospitalized after consuming raw tomatoes and becoming infected with the uncommon Salmonella serotype Saintpaul. An additional 30 reports of illness in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and Utah are currently being investigated to determine whether they are also linked to tomatoes.”

808 pounds of ground beef tainted with E. coli O157:H7

An “undetermined” amount of beef products were recalled on May 16, by JSM Meat Holdings Company, Inc., a Chicago, Ill.. “The meat may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The meat was distributed to establishments for further processing in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. With the involvement of several processing facilities in several states, this is going to be a tough recall to enforce. If you buy commercial beef at the grocery store, or eat out, be sure to follow some good safety tips.”

(HT Eat. Drink. Better. for the links and info)