Has anyone else caught this BBC show: Kill it, Cook it, Eat it? The show
sets up a cafe/kitchen next to a working abattoir and the diners can see
the animal (this week: cattle) go from farm to the stun pen, get killed,
bled out, gutted, skinned, inspected etc, and then a butcher shows
where each cut of meat comes from. A chef cooks the meat (in a totally
normal fashion), and they dine. On the outset, it looks as if the show
is meant to shock, but on the whole, it was handled quite educationally
and I actually had never seen the cow go through the process so I
enjoyed it. The diners seemed to react very well, were not particularly
horrified and ate their meal happily -- though this was a very high
quality, small, local slaughter house. I don't think Conagra slaughter
houses would be the same if you believe what you read.

I do think that many of us have lost touch with where the packaged meat
we buy comes from. I'm a complete carnivore and used to raise chickens
in the city (for fun and eggs, but had to butcher too as that's part of
the deal), and I admit that I have some trouble when friends tell me
that they love meat as long as they can't recognize that it came from an
animal -- no bone, in a nice package of sliced or ground meat. Somehow
that really rubs me the wrong way, but I grew up eating chicken feet,
pigs ears, fish heads etc. so I'm probably on the other end of the
spectrum. I don't think everyone has to dive into animal heads, but I
guess I don't like obscuring the fact that regular meat comes from
slaughtered animals.

<Ready with the flame-retardant>

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/progra...it/index.shtml

Next up: lamb.