Eat only the animals you kill.
Yesterday, while sitting in a restaurant with my 94-year old aunt, Jean, she told me that her mother, my grandmother, was an exceptionally skilled chicken killer. (From living in Brooklyn, I know that backyard chickens are great.)
Mary: Really, did my grandmother raise chickens?
Jean: No, she killed chickens as a favor to the neighbors.
Mary: Where did she get the live chickens to kill?
Jean: The man sold live chickens off the truck. Chickens in cages were loaded onto a flatbed truck that was driven into the neighborhoods.
Mary: Why didn’t my grandmother buy chicken at the store.
Jean: That was expensive and she knew these chickens were fresh.
(Mary: FRESH? I guess. She had to kill the damn things! Nowadays, people can’t even touch a raw chicken, let along MURDER it.)
Mary: So, what was this skill? How did she actually kill a chicken?
Jean: She would feel the neck and SNAP it in the right place. It was so fast. She pulled the head away from the body.
Mary: Where did she get the live chickens to kill?
Jean: The man sold live chickens off the truck. Chickens in cages were loaded onto a flatbed truck that was driven into the neighborhoods.
Mary: Why didn’t my grandmother buy chicken at the store.
Jean: That was expensive and she knew these chickens were fresh.
(Mary: FRESH? I guess. She had to kill the damn things! Nowadays, people can’t even touch a raw chicken, let along MURDER it.)
Mary: So, what was this skill? How did she actually kill a chicken?
Jean: She would feel the neck and SNAP it in the right place. It was so fast. She pulled the head away from the body.
Backyard chicken lovers, let’s take this relationship to the next level.
How to kill a chicken*
“The recommended neck dislocation method is to grasp the bird’s legs in one hand (usually the left), holding the legs at about waist level, and the head in the other hand going diagonally across your body down to below your right hip. The beak should protrude between your first two fingers and, gripping tightly, you use the heel of your palm against its upper neck to provide the necessary pivot. In the one movement, you’re supposed to wrench downward (that is, up with the legs, down with the head) and twist the head sharply up and back. There should be an audible click of dislocation but the very strong may pull a head right off, which would be rather upsetting. If you practice beforehand (perhaps on an already deceased chicken) you will certainly know what force to use as well as if you have the strength to do it.”
*www.backyardpoultry.com
How to kill a chicken*
“The recommended neck dislocation method is to grasp the bird’s legs in one hand (usually the left), holding the legs at about waist level, and the head in the other hand going diagonally across your body down to below your right hip. The beak should protrude between your first two fingers and, gripping tightly, you use the heel of your palm against its upper neck to provide the necessary pivot. In the one movement, you’re supposed to wrench downward (that is, up with the legs, down with the head) and twist the head sharply up and back. There should be an audible click of dislocation but the very strong may pull a head right off, which would be rather upsetting. If you practice beforehand (perhaps on an already deceased chicken) you will certainly know what force to use as well as if you have the strength to do it.”
*www.backyardpoultry.com
But wait (sorry) there’s more. The chicken gets dunked in scalding water followed by an ice bath to make feather plucking easier. But, before that, the bird gets decapitated and eviscerated with the skill of a surgeon. Finally, the chicken is cooked very quickly before rigor mortis sets in.
Just think, that was only eighty years ago and, still, many (most?) people around the world kill the meat they eat. At least they know it’s fresh.
Your thoughts?
Would you eat meat if you had to kill it first?
