The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Pigs => Topic started by: Mrs Snoodles on January 24, 2013, 07:07:03 pm

Title: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Mrs Snoodles on January 24, 2013, 07:07:03 pm
We advertised our pigs on a in-house info system at Mr Snoodles workplace in the big smoke.  Really nicely written ad, explaining what we do and how we do it.  Ethically reared, small slaughterhouse, well cut meat etc.
Mr S gets an email saying that the picture of the pig has to be removed and all references to killing and butchering, as it has been deemed offensive.

GOBSMACKED.
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Rosemary on January 24, 2013, 07:08:40 pm
Do they want to eat the meat alive?  :rant:
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: ArosP on January 24, 2013, 07:29:46 pm
It never fails to astound me that people will be shocked that i can eat home raised meat and then they go and eat the foullest supermarket meat products
Although do you think there is a religeous element to the complaint
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Womble on January 24, 2013, 09:21:29 pm
Fair enough if the complaint came from a veggie or vegan. However, if not..........
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: bloomer on January 24, 2013, 09:23:49 pm
meat comes from tesco every small child knows that!!!!


 :excited: :excited: :excited:



Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: YorkshireLass on January 24, 2013, 09:31:34 pm
(http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/meat_market.jpg)
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: kja on January 25, 2013, 07:51:49 am
mrs s i think you put too much info in your add, some people dont like to think of the killing of animals.

the reason i say this is in our infant days we too advertised pork explaining the whole birth to fork. we soon found a add for home reared PORK brought in more customers they come knocking asking their own questions some people want to know every step some just that the animals have been well looked after and will taste good.

we used to get people wanting to visit the pigs some of those would want to see which batch they would be buying from, some would only want to see the weaners, some would ask to see photos of the breeds. in each box of pork we would put in a breed history of that particular breed, that used to go down well. most of our buyers we just happy to buy quality pedigree rare breed pork knowing they were helping to preserve a british breed.
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Fowgill Farm on January 25, 2013, 09:31:38 am
Have to agree with KJA on this, you CAN give them tooooooo much information, most of my customers are urban based and all they really want to know is that it has had a nice life and not been fed any nasties. Like KJA we put a newsletter in every pork box telling them what the pigs have been up to and any plans we have, for first timers they also get a crib sheet 'Whats in your pork box' explaining the various cuts, from time to time we get a wadge of recipe cards from BPEX and pop one or two of these in too.
Possibly for your OH Mrs S there will be a myriad of ethnic diversity in the company he works for and some people don't like/do pork as part of that and thats what may have elicited the comments he got. Just tone it down a wee bit and you'll do well i'm sure.
Mandy :pig:
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: MAK on January 25, 2013, 09:34:39 am
Do you think it may be related to the " multi-cultural workplace and ethnically diverse cultural differences" ? I gather a chap is being prosecuted for leaving a pigs head outside a scout's hut used by muslims.
Just a thought.
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: happygolucky on January 25, 2013, 10:49:07 am
I eat meat but started to get put off buy visiting the local farmers market, my children kept asking if we were eating a pig, sheep or cow so I stopped going as I was worried about them being put off too, its a fact of life and I am tougher now but I think a lot of people prefer to disconnect to what they are eating.....and don't forget, my husband was a farmers son so we visited the farm all the time and my ex used to bring home stuff he had shot and grandad often had sweetbreads in the frying pan!!! :innocent: (not his)
I think home produced stuff sounds kinder and i am in total agreement much better than factory mass raised stuff.........but the detatchement allows some people to not think about the meat actualy being an animal, silly but I think thats more the case.
Then there is the different cultures and religions that do not eat certain meats or food, they then would object and find it offensive...I remember being quite angry that we were not allowed meat products at a staff party......to me that's unfair but hay ho!!!! each to their own!
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Marches Farmer on January 25, 2013, 11:12:22 am
We have some neighbours who moved out here from Birmingham a few years ago and told their youngest daughter that meat came powdered in a packet and had to be mixed with water before it was cooked.  I kid you not!
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: twizzel on January 25, 2013, 11:33:26 am
OH's 2 year old neice lives next door to us, knows that our lambs are what is on her plate come autumn and when we have been lamping sees the rabbits hanging in the garden and says "bang bang". She knows pigs go oink and make bacon and sausages... i went in to tell her yesterday we are getting some pigs, she said yummy! That's how children should see meat and animals, it's done her no harm at all :)
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Foobar on January 25, 2013, 11:41:14 am
Agree with KJA, I think a lot of people get upset by the thought of the "details".  They will want your meat because of the way you have raised and slaughtered it, but they really don't need to know all the details.  Some people will be really interested in the details, and that's great and you can tell them all about it, but others you can see their faces turning green as soon as you start to mention "end dates" and wot not.   That's from my own experiences anyway :).
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: montana on January 28, 2013, 08:52:16 am
God I know this feeling, I put photo's of our smallholding on a certain social network site. The abuse I got from one friend was unbelievable. Comments like your not going to eat them, are you or murderer!
I wouldnt mind but these people wern't vegetarians.
The ironic thing is I did sell a couple to Turkeys to a work colleague who is !
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: HelenVF on January 28, 2013, 09:14:05 am
It's not right, but I do think it's a fact of life. 

I have a friend who is a vegetarian but is totally fine with me rearing turkeys to eat myself.  She is a nice vegetarian lol!

My son is always asking which animal meat comes from and knows that we kill our turkeys to eat, as well the odd duck and chicken.  I want him to know that what he is eating, did have a life before but it was a good one.  If he makes the decision to no longer eat meat, then I will have done everything I could to have helped him come to that conclusion.

I was having a chat with a friend about pheasants on Saturday night.  She knew we had been shooting and was asking what we had shot.  When we said pheasants, she wanted to try some but wants us to take the meat off, as she didn't want to pluck it herself.  Fair enough, I don't mind doing that and she gets to try new food.  I think you just have to let people make their own decision about things.....even though, we find it strange.

Helen
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: kja on January 28, 2013, 09:31:32 am
even more strange since taking the signs down completely over the christmas period we have had orders for 4 whole pigs.

the only problem being we have none ready and we had decided not to fatten any meat pigs this year with the exception of our own use. so we are keeping other smallholders busy with our pork orders.
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: littleacorn on January 28, 2013, 05:45:59 pm
I have a friend from work whose neighbours raised a couple of weaners in a small paddock next to a public footpath.  When the weaners had gone someone left a wreath on the gate with a note attached! 
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: hughesy on January 28, 2013, 05:57:58 pm
People are a strange lot. My dear old Mum is a fully paid up meat eater but she won't eat anything from an animal she knew when it was alive. No amount of explaining the benefits will convince her. She's quite happy to tuck into a nice joint from tesco but she won't touch our pork!
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: ppd on January 28, 2013, 06:39:36 pm
My 7 year old daughter cried the firt time we had chops from our pigs, but now she shows her friends round the pigs and proudly tells them which are for eating. It was the bacon 'what did it' for her ;D
 
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: artscott on January 31, 2013, 11:29:53 pm
 My wife went the other way too, she was originally a city girl and almost a vegetarian.  But since we raised the two pigs in 2012 she is thrilled with idea that she is eating her own well cared for (and very) tasty pork.  She even managed to get into a heated discussion with her workmates over Christmas about the ethics of rearing her meat.
She still doesn't like to touch raw meat though, and the kids keep trying to blackmail me by threatening to tell her what she thinks is bacon hanging in the utility room are cured and air dried pig cheeks.
Kids are very happy, they like short term pets they can eat, my 12 year old daughter is about to start breeding rabbits for meat. 
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: lachlanandmarcus on February 01, 2013, 08:12:16 am
People are a strange lot. My dear old Mum is a fully paid up meat eater but she won't eat anything from an animal she knew when it was alive. No amount of explaining the benefits will convince her. She's quite happy to tuck into a nice joint from tesco but she won't touch our pork!
Ironic isnt it, since she would be doing a lot more for animal welfare by insisting on ONLY eating animals she knew when they were alive....:-))
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: SallyintNorth on February 01, 2013, 09:14:23 am
People are a strange lot. My dear old Mum is a fully paid up meat eater but she won't eat anything from an animal she knew when it was alive. No amount of explaining the benefits will convince her. She's quite happy to tuck into a nice joint from tesco but she won't touch our pork!
Ironic isnt it, since she would be doing a lot more for animal welfare by insisting on ONLY eating animals she knew when they were alive....:-))

My Mum's the same.  She knows it's not logical but you can't help how you feel, and that's how she feels.  So she doesn't get introduced to the meat pigs  ;)

I find it's pointless trying to argue anyone into a different point of view.  I state facts, my own opinion, and that I know it's a very individual thing that each person has to decide for themselves.

Actually,
Quote
I find it's pointless trying to argue anyone into a different point of view.
is pretty much true of anything.  If someone has already formulated their opinion, you can't bludgeon them into another.  Once the conversation becomes adversarial, neither side is receptive anyway, they are only listening to the opponent to hear things they have an argument against.  So it's always best to calmly state the facts as you see them, state your own opinion (saying that that's what it is, your own opinion) and leave it at that.  If you can show some recognition of the other person's point of view, they will actually be much more receptive to the views you are stating than if you do not show them some recognition.  ;)
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Mrs Snoodles on February 01, 2013, 09:24:21 am
Hughesy - mine is the same, but she is taking a 1/4 this time round so  :fc: we can convert her.   I have a friend that won't b my chicken eggs only ones through the supermarkets and she bangs on about only using the finest products  :roflanim:

I had a lovely conversation with a vegetarian yesterday who is beginning to start meat again. She was really chuffed when I gave her one of my flyers and booked a 1/4.

News from the hubby's work.....orders are coming in and they are from people who want to butcher their own, or make salami's, hams etc.  One guy even hires out an industrial kitchen unit for a weekend to make his stuff.  Cool :)
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: hughesy on February 01, 2013, 10:12:31 am
Some time ago my Mum came round for tea and we had curry made with the meat of one of our cockerels. She didn't ask ans we didn't tell her but I've felt a bit guilty about it ever since. I know her viewpoint makes no sense. She knows it makes no sense, but it's the way she feels and she's not going to change.
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: rispainfarm on February 01, 2013, 04:40:01 pm
Do they want to eat the meat alive?  :rant:

 :roflanim: :roflanim:
Title: Re: Where do they think their meat comes from? Does it magically appear in packets?
Post by: Backinwellies on February 01, 2013, 04:49:33 pm
many years ago now I took my (urban) stepson to a cattle livestock market where I duly explained what all the animals were doing there and where they would end up.... he was in floods of tears.... I just couldn't resist it .... guess where we went for tea? ....... McD's of course..... and yes he loved it!!