Ok. This is really enough. We were sure it was not going to rain here. When we arrived, we were assured it was not going to rain frequently/ever here. Lies, all lies. It has rained countless times since arriving. Most recently was a wild, exciting and slightly dangerous lightening storm. There was a video taken, so I won't use too many words here so all you need to know is it is raining more than typical (possibly because of a shift from dry/drought season to wet every 10 years or so?) and it was just a really great lightening storm. On the flip side, more rain means less pipe change!
I am loving my coworkers more and more daily- just as they are about to start disbanding and leave for the season. :( Truly though, I feel as though I have expanded my communication skills, learned to trust my instincts and take as well as give more constructive (most of the time) criticism. I hope my next environment is as fun and as open/honest (for the good, bad, or uncomfortable) as these group of ladies (+ Dave) are. We are having so much fun, especially when the team is all together. These 6 people are from different parts of the country, hold different beliefs and are of different ages but they are really helping to create an enjoyable work atmosphere and awesome summer. Thanks guys!!
New harvest from the garden include: rainbow chard, broccoli, summer squash (and blossoms!), bush/green beans, oregano, endless basil, calendula flowers, more carrots, beautiful beets, kale and turnips. We recently planted more lettuce, arugula (or pronounced ArUgUla here), and carrots.
The Whole Day's Harvest:
Zucchini and blossom, Photo by Shannon Dills
Broccoli, Photo by Shannon Dills
But really what I wanted to tell you about is the slaughter. Or would you prefer I use the word harvest? Let's first start by being real. When you eat animal meat, there was once life to the flesh which you so enjoy. This is a fact and one I personally think we, as a society should consider more often. This seems like an ideal time for one (of my many) favorite Michael Pollan quotes:
"Were the walls of our meat industry to become transparent, literally or even figuratively, we would not long continue to raise, kill, and eat animals the way we do. Tail docking and sow crates and beak clipping would disappear overnight, and the days of slaughtering 400 heads of cattle an hour would promptly come to an end--for who could stand the sight? Yes, meat would get more expensive. We'd probably eat a lot less of it, too, but maybe when we did eat animals we'd eat them with the consciousness, ceremony, and respect they deserve." - Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma
Thanks Michael, You can reference the previous blog re: slaughter (Something Died for Your Dinner) to learn a bit more about the facility itself and why it is unique (i.e. not slaughtering 400 head and hour and why that is advantageous to all involved). Now that we have gotten that out of the way I can proceed to tell you about the amazing experience in which I was so fortunate to partake.
Dave and I rose at 5:00 a.m. on Friday to meet Sara, Miche', and fellow interns Julie and Avana in the field where the cows were grazing. Within that field were the ten cows selected for harvest/slaughter and separated out in a pen the previous day (some detail on that in the former post). As we began talking about loading them up I was really having some strong memories from my horse show days. (For Linda and any other creeping horse-people) As if rising at 5:00 a.m. to a slightly chilly morning did not do it for me, maneuvering around the trailer certainly did. This however was no horse show morning and in fact the time and presence of a trailer is where the similarities ended. Five At a time, we loaded them up by encouraging them to walk through the chutes and into the trailer. We then made the hour drive to the location of our processing facility. I am not cheating with my terminology here by writing processing facility, this is an accurate term because they not only kill, but also dry age and package our meat on site.
We unloaded the cows and made our way inside. I was struck how small the facility really was. By the time we reached the inside and made it to the kill floor one of our animals was already down; stunned/killed by a non-penetrating captive bolt pistol. Once the residual energy left the body (twitching), the animal was hung by their hind feet over a can and their throat was cut with a very sharp knife, draining the blood from the body. Once drained, the hide from the skull was removed, the head was put aside and blood and brains cleaned with powerful hose-type instrument. We have the cheek meat and tongue sent back as cuts. At this point it seemed to transition to the coolest anatomy class I ever attended. Seeing the hide come off with such ease (a tribute to the skill of the employees) was really interesting. We saw the hooves cut off (prevent spread of disease and manure), the entire intestine system, the diaphragm on the interior wall, saw them split into a "side" of beef. Watching the entire process made me feel special, unique, not many people can say they have been in a USDA slaughterhouse. Most of them aren't places you would ever want to enter (see Something Died for Your Dinner Part I); a big rushing mess.
****Slaughter Photos Ahead****
Shannon Dills attended the previous slaughter and took some amazing pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mlle.shannon/ViewerDiscretionAdvised?authkey=Gv1sRgCNe_4LL42_uc5wE&feat=embedwebsite#
GUTS!!
Hands down the most disturbing part of the day was the drive by the CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation). Our cows were happy their entire life, eating and living the way in which cows were meant. The CAFO represents everything we are not; crowded, filthy, smelly, generally gross. The sheer mass of what we saw was beyond infuriating. We drove by, endless pens- no grass, filled with cows. If I had to guess, it felt like 2 miles. No joke.
We saw the massing "poop lagoon". When you have so many animals that close together and are not cycling their manure in a responsible way by returning the nutrients to the soil it piles up, and up and up, and eventually pollutes the ground water and runs to streams creating dead zones in the oceans i.e. Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. Phew, ANYWAY, the CAFO was gross.
Call it justification or whatever you want. In my opinion, if people are to eat animals, the Sunrise Ranch way is the only way for the health and safety of the public, animals and ecosystem.
Much love,Alisha
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