Sweet meat!

I received something pretty groovy in the post a couple of weeks ago...
'Twas a parcel all the way across the seas from a place called Utah.
A lovely bloggy friend saw this t-shirt

in a store somewhere and thought of me!

Should I tell her now that I am vegetarian?

Heh. Kidding Kate!

~~~
Now I should point out that - while I AM definitely a carnivore -

I am not a 'meat preacher'.

I don't care if you, or your parents, or the next-door neighbour are vegetarians.

I firmly believe that people's bodies tell them what they need.

Sometimes I only feel like a big plate of stir-fried veggies.

Sometimes I crave oranges.

And sometimes I get all lethargic and cranky,

and I know it's time for some red meat.

Some people just need it more than others.

Some people don't seem to need it much at all.

And that's okay with me.

~~~

Heck, my sister was a veggo for a decade.

Then she went got pregnant and her body was all

"FEED ME MEAT".

And so she did.

(Happiest day of our father's life!)

~~~

Of course we all grew up helping our parents produce great beef cattle.

Each animal was nurtured and given the best we could give it.

And its purpose, besides living well, was to provide beef.

To me, it was (and is) a real and honourable thing to do.

To provide sustanence to other people.

We (my brother and sister and I) assisted when it was time to butcher

to restock our own freezers -

never thinking for a SECOND that it was terrible or gross.

It was the most natural thing in the world to us.

My job - as a child of 10 or 12 - was to help skin the fresh carcase.

I took great pride in the long, clean slices cleaving hide from fat.

We had never been taught to shrink from blood or sightless eyes.

It was more than matter of fact. It was everyday life.

The warmth and rhythm of it was intriguing to me.

And the inky early morning cutting and bagging of the sections,

and the production-line mincing and sausage-making,

was always kind of fulfilling (if you'll pardon the pun).

My family worked as a team to make it happen

watching the satisfying rise of bagged product

in the industrial freezer in our laundry

as the sun rose steadily over our busy industry.

Breakfast on those mornings was well-earned and hearty.

~~~

It was with real shock that - in my teens at boarding school -

I took in the shuddering aversion to such tasks,

of those who had never actually experienced a farm.

Who somehow managed to put themselves into the hooves of a bovine,

and imagined the 'awfulness' of their end.

And who certainly could never, ever picture themselves

taking part in the elegant science of butchering.

I watched and listened in silence.

Just as I watched them eat bolognaise sauce with gusto on their noodles,

with a quiet wry smile.

~~~

Having recently gone from the artful nothingness of being a 'spin doctor'

in my decades of City Life,

to the dirt-under-nails reality of living as a beef producer

in my new take on Country Life,

I can tell you one thing for sure and certain.

Whether it's you or your parents or your neighbour I am feeding (or not),

I know that NOW we are doing something real and relevent.

It's a choice that may not make us rich,

and it may not bring us fame,

but I really couldn't care less.

We provide.

We provide a commodity that nourishes many.

And that is a wonderful, enriching, real reason to work.

I sleep pretty well at night.

~~~

So no...

I won't tell you what to put on your plate,

not here, and not in person. Not EVER.

I'll happily sit by you in a restaurant and sample your

mushroom risotto or olive tapenade or spinach soup.

I'll never wonder why you choose to partake of beef, or abstain.

I'm just not that wired that way.

Just as I won't tell you what religion is best for you,

which sexual orientation you should follow,

what bank to invest your hard-earned into,

or what music should soothe YOUR soul.

(And I kinda anticipate the same respect from others... and you.)

~~~
Of course blogging can come across a bit like preaching sometimes.

Except that it's a two-way thing.

I love the two-wayed-ness of it most of all.

And if there is one thing blogging has shown me...

it is that people (on the whole) are fabulous, generous creatures...

whatever their food, religious, sexual, musical or banking choices!

Oh, and it has also re-confirmed

my strong belief that...

Thanks Kate!

:-)

BB