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yeah. it makes you so mad that you just want to hit the person doesnt it?

From what I've heard if it's prepared correctly, Cabrito is very good.

Ms. Conley, please explain which method of backyard slaughter you would prefer they use.
Perhaps you can go and coach them in proper etiquette.

If you ask a kid where meat comes from you may hear "from the store" or maybe "from McDonald's." We are so distanced from our food supply. We are insulated like the prepackaged shrink wrapped ground animal 'products' that so many people in this country actually eat. Gives me the shivers.

It is unsavory to see an animal clubbed for food. Is it also unsavory to hook a fish and yank it from it's habitat? Or to blast Bambi in the buttocks with some buckshot? How about exsanguination? Or tossing live capons into a plucking machine?

Farmers have brutal practices. So do meat processors. So did many of our grandmothers who put a weekly chicken in the pot after lopping it's head off.

it is interesting what a thin sheet of metal will do for our conscience, i.e. the outer walls of a processing plant. the old saying " out of sight, out of mind ".
to some extent i suppose we could raise concerns for ripping off an ear of corn off the stalk - did we traumatize the ear of corn (after all it is a LIVING plant) not to mention what we must have put the stalk thru (ouch). if we go back not too many years ago (before processing facilities), every animal that was to be eaten was slaughtered in or around someones back yard. i don't avocate animal brutality but i believe plants, herbs, fish, cattle etc. were given to us to partake of.

Agree with comments. Doubt the goat was "beaten"...whacked on the head until dead better describes it. As I have said, I couldn't do it myself unless I was starving, but I also believe animals were made to be eaten. Glad it comes ready to eat nowadays.

Just for the record, I don't believe that animals were made to be eaten. Yes, through repeated exposure humans acquire the ability to digest flesh. And yes, humans have the opportunity to acquire animal products for their use and consumption but it doesn't follow that the sole purpose of the evolution of other species is to nourish us.

It's so cliche but I love the comeback, "If God hadn't meant for us to eat animals he wouldn't have made them out of meat".

zhak,
you are speaking from an evolutionist pov and if i believed in that theory then i might also subscribe to it. however i am a believer in creation (God created all things) and as such the bible accounts for eating animals differently. it seems that mankind as well as animals were originally created as vegetarians but after the fall and the flood (Gen.9:1-3), God gave animals to mankind for food. i'm not certain i fully understand why but God had His reasons. as a matter of fact the Son of God (Jesus) ate meat -see Lk.24:42-43. so if it bothers ones conscience to eat meat then by all means they shoulld refrain and as a Christian i should refrain from eating meat in front of you (b/c i know your preference) so as not to offend you. but as soon as you go away i'm gonna have me a hamburger !

Uh-huh. And some would say the same about 'long pig.'(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_pig)

The above was for Hugh.

Buz, I appreciate your willingness to change your behavior (at least in my presence). That shows an openness and respect. In my experience, many people do not tolerate vegetarians. But because I respect your choices, I wouldn't ask you to refrain from eating meat. While I have been a vegetarian for 25 years, my husband eats meat three times a day. We follow our conscience and are respectful of differences.

I don't understand the idea that "God gave animals to mankind for food." I thought that passage about dominion was about preserving and protecting the land and the creatures upon it.

zhak,
here is the NLT translation of gen.9:1-3......

God's Covenant with Noah
9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, "Multiply and fill the earth. 2 All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power. 3 I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.
i believe the order of things changed drastically when adam & eve committed sin in the garden. dominion was certainly given to man "upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered." i commend you on being vegetarian, i don't doubt that you diet provides a healthier alternative. but i guess when you're getting older (me, kinda) and have eaten meat you whole life, the change would be difficult and i've found in certain areas ones will power isn't as strong as it once was. i know you must wait for this time of the year what with all the fresh fruits and veggies growing in the gardens! do you garden ? what is your favorite veggie/friut ?

Buz,

I am respectful when my vegetarian friends come over and show my respect by adding more vegetarian fare to the menu. I don't usually cut the meat out of the non-vegetarians meals, however.

I went out to eat with a vegetarian friend of mine a few years ago. I ordered steak, having forgotten she was a vegetarian. She sneered at me with a look of disgust the entire meal. Personally, I thought that was rude. If one makes a choice to be a vegetarian, then they need to understand the rest of us did not make that choice and live with that fact.

Funny ending to the story. Years later, we had dinner again at the olive garden. Trying to be on my best behavior, I ordered the veggie lasagna. She ordered a Chicken Alfredo pizza. Just shows sometimes you can't win for losing. I guess that time she forgot she was a vegetarian.

I, myself, was a vegetarian for 2 years. Really, I just wanted to see if I could do it. Now, I still ate dairy products so I wasn't a 'real' vegetarian, but I got along ago. It wasn't convenient but I made it. Nowhere along the way, however, did I chastise others for their choice to eat meat.

Freedom of eat for everyone.

Amen YDog !

Buz--"All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power." That's very powerful. It makes me a little sad.

This is a great time of year for fresh produce but I can't really pick a favorite. I like to eat foods that are in season so I can be delighted by strawberries or dazzled by blueberries. Tonight I will be making peach-blueberry pies with berries my husband picked and peaches from a fellow from SC. Mostly I eat grains and legumes, root vegetables or hard squahes in the winter and whatever is in season.

YD--that there are less mature vegetarians in this world I offer my humble regrets. I am very comfortable with who I am and would never sneer at someone else for making choices different than mine.

zhak,
i agree with you that is is a little sad but at the same time i believe mankind was given a large charge of the rest of Gods creation. i don't believe God is particularly pleased with the way cattle is raised what with all the hormones and antibiotics and such. many other critters are mass produced as well for our consumption and i guess i am part of that process by buying those products. enjoy your pies they sound awesome ! headin' out for (of all things) a bar b que. happy 4th to you all !! maranatha !!

Buz,
Your close with "Maranatha" reminds me of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. I visited there one February and will never forget it. Before President Carter began his Sunday School lesson, the minister stood up and explained many things about the church including the meaning of Maranatha. I have not thought of that in about six or seven years.

DD and Buz, what does marantha mean?

Zhak,

Thanks. Some people are just militant and looking for a cause. Glad you aren't one of them. I too love the fact that we have an abundance of fresh produce offerings