A friend of mine, while doing a service call at a restaurant, took this picture and sent it my way. Being an animal lover, this is a hard picture to look at, and I’m sure that’s the case for most of my readers out there, but I felt compelled to share it. These little guys were probably no more than 15-20 pounds and were lying out in the open air for about 3 hours. Now….I’m no expert on food inspection, but I’m sure if you’re going to serve pork, that there are rules and standards to follow, ie. freezing the meat! I was also unaware of the fact that pigs can be slaughtered at such a young age/weight. I thought most pork served in restaurants or bought at the grocery store was a fully grown pig!? I’ve read that it takes approximately 6 months for a pig to reach ‘market weight,’ which is anywhere from 200-250pounds!
So here’s what gets me…..first of all, not only do we, as consumers, have to be cautious about where our food comes from when we are grocery shopping or at the farmers market, but we also need to be aware that even if a restaurant has recieved the ‘green’ food inspection pass, it doesn’t mean the quality of the food is any better, or handled properly for that matter. Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of Eating Animals points out that ” the pork sold in practically every supermarket and restaurant comes from the factory farms that now produce 95% of America’s pork!!!” The quality of the meat on these farms is beyond POOR!
The last thing I want to do is preach about Vegetarianism….because, I’M NOT A VEGETARIAN!!! I eat meat! I eat primarly vegetarian, and at the end of the day, its my choice what I eat. I think what matters is that we feel good about where we purchase our food, and where our dollar is going. Everyday I toy with the idea of vegetarianism, “Do I eat a bean salad for lunch….or hmmmm….my mom’s chicken soup leftovers look great! I’ll just eat that!” You have to do what feels right for you. I purchase my meat from Rowe Farms- http://www.rowefarms.ca/, a farm where animals can graze freely, and eat plants instead of antibiotic laden-engineered food.
It’s important that we become aware of where our food is coming from, whether your a vegetarian or not. There is poorly produced vegetarian food, and there is poorly produced meat. Make the right choices, the healthier choices, and in the end, our bodies will benefit and so will our environment.
