I just want to go on record, again, on how disgusted and frustrated I am with the situation of local meat production in this country! There are so many barriers to small time enterprises and so many regulations which favor a centralized large scale system that it is next to impossible to dream of what I want to do. First off the USDA has so many rules which tie and bind small farmers that meat they raise cannot be slaughtered on their farm unless it is for their own personal use. Since my own, recent, bad butcher experience I have been looking for alternate ways and have spoken to a great many people. There is no apparent solution. And if you want to scald a pig, de-hair it and keep the skin on–whoa! You might as well say you’re holding satanic rituals while drinking Raw Milk. Why would you want to do that? That is unhealthy? They should stop that. . . . Why are we such a backward country? I was actually chastised by a farmer, who sells a lot of chickens, for even thinking of dry plucking my birds and then selling them. Didn’t I know someone could die from that sort of lackadaisicle behaviour? You must scald and pluck! And triple rinse in disinfectant every stage of the way. . . .

So here we go. No one died from eating my delicious birds. I’ll do it again. I will improve my setup each time. I will personally gaurantee what I do and the quality of what I produce or I won’t serve it. (Right now I remember a dream I had where I forced a health inspector to prove to me that wooden cutting boards we bad. . . .)

All I want to do is to raise the best possible meat from animals that are healthy and well cared for. I want to have it slaughtered as close to the farm as possible, butchered either on the premise by me for use in teaching or catering and to be sold as cuts of meat or sausages on the farm or from my cooking facility. I want the pigs to have their skin on for the best possible bacon and crackling on a roast.  I  want people to get away from the homogonized, supermarket view of meat and how it should look. I want to hang my beef for a month or more–which is really what grass-fed meat needs. I want to dry age my lamb for 3 weeks or so. And I want you to be able to come and enjoy it. And learn what it takes to do it yourself. I want people to realize they have more chance of becoming ill buying processed foods at the grocery store than by buying from a respected butcher or local farmer. Oh, and I want to be able to sell you eggs in less than a dozen. Buy one or two–from the pile by the counter. Not refridgerated. Who ever said they need that? I frequently keep my eggs out at "room" temperature. I haven’t died. Sure they "keep" longer if you chill the hell out of them. But who needs to keep eggs for 6 weeks when they’re only at their best for 2?

I want to live in a country which values food and the freedom to choose who produces it and how. Is this so wrong? Am I so far off base on this? Or is it that I live in a bountiful State with some of the strictest food rules? I’ve been banging my head against so many government walls lately I think I should qualify for disability. I certainly can’t seem to make a living with all the red tape I have to cut through. My knives are being worn down to nothing. Excuse me while I find a pack of frozen peas to put on the bruises. . . .

Popularity: 8% [?]