so, today, i helped Giovanni kill an agnello, or baby lamb. i dont really know how i am supposed to feel about this, but honestly, all i feel is grateful. grateful that an animal gave up its life for us and just grateful in general. so giovanni picked a male lamb, tied its legs and carried it to a room in the casaficcio where they slaughter the animals. i was too scared to look it in the eyes so i pet it and stood behind the table where i could only see its back and behind, not the face. Giovanni made two cuts in the jugular and it began to bleed and the blood went into a bucket. it only needed to bleed for around a minute before it started gagging and jerking around. it gasped for another minute or so, and then the breathing slowed and eventually stopped. the whole process took around 3 minutes, very fast and very painless. sarah said we took the cowards view by not looking it in the eyes, and i regret not looking at it from the front, because if you are okay with eating meat, you should be okay with killing it and i was too nervous to look it in the eyes while it died, so instead i listened to it die. after it died, i went around to look at it and i thanked it.
the minute it stopped breathing, giovanni made a small hole in the leg, inserted a small hose and pumped the agnello with air, stretching it like a balloon to get the skin to detach from the muscle. he slit down the stomach and around the groin and began to pull the skin off. he cut off the feet and then attached giant hooks into the arms and hung it from a chain on the ceiling. i helped to peel the skin off and take out the insides, and i held its heart. it was still pulsing, not beating, but it was warm and moving and just holding its lungs and heart and stomach and liver was so…i dont know how to describe it. it was very real and very connected. i got warm blood on my hands, i felt the still moving organs, and i heard the sound of dying.
the meat we eat is so de-animalized. all you see is a hunk of steak or a piece of chicken or just something. you dont know what your eating and you are so very disconnected from where your food comes from, from the animal that sacrificed its life for you. are you thankful? are you knowledgeable? are you anything? for us, that meat is just another meal, just another piece of food.
for example, they had rabbit for dinner tonight, which no, i did not eat, and i saw the whole rabbits sitting skinned in the kitchen. the meat we eat actually comes from a real animal, from something that was alive a short while ago, an animal who gave itself up for us. i just feel so appreciative right now, so grateful.
doing this today really meant a lot to me, and as most of you know, ive had a weird past with meat, being a vegetarian for 6.5 years and a vegan for 2 years. i just recently, like literally 3 weeks before i left for italy began to eat meat again. im only doing farm raised organic, which is everything here. im really glad i got to take part in this because its helping me understand, well, a lot. i apologize to all you readers, which hopefully there are some! but i just cant describe this.
well, tomorrow, when we have 30 PEOPLE for dinner, i dont think anyone will appreciate our meal of agnello as much as sarah, giovanni, and i.
abby, that was a really well written piece. you described an intense and very personal experience in a way that those of us who were reading could feel for ourselves.
sounds like you are having a great time!
Abby, your feelings remind me of Kosher slaughter rules. Great care is taken to ensure respect for the animal, or the animal cannot be eaten.
Meat that is to be eaten must be slaughtered in a particular way (Deuteronomy 12:20 states that slaughter method will be taught to us, and the Oral Law supplies the method). A special prayer is recited before the act. The animal must be slaughtered in a way so that they feel little pain. A razor sharp knife with no nicks is used to cut the esophagus, the trachia, the caratoid arteries, and jugular vein in one cut. The animal is then raised so that the blood flows free. The blood then is covered with dirt (as a show of respect as in the Temple sacrifice). Failure to do any of these renders the animal unfit to eat. Because of the complexity of kosher slaughter a specially trained person (shochet) usually does the ritual.
Hunting animals is thus forbidden by Jewish law. Since the animal is not killed ritually, it is unkosher, and it is considered cruel to kill an animal just for sport.
Another requirement is that the animal be of good health and well taken care of. After slaughter, the shochet will examine the internal organs of the animal for adhesions and disease. Any of abnormality will render the meat unfit. There is a question of minor lesions in the lung. Ashkenazi authorities hold that these lesions are allowable and the meat can be eaten. Sephardi authorities hold that the lung must be smooth (“glatt”). Many Ashkenazi Jews follow the Sephardic practice as a chumra. This practice is the origin of the term glatt kosher.
The animal also must be well taken care of. The practices of mass farming of animals (as with chickens) and the gross mistreatment of animals for food preparation (as with veal industry) renders animals unfit for use. The Torah (and Talmud) are rife with regulations to prevent animal cruelty (e.g. you must feed your animals before you yourself eat, you must not slaughter a parent before the young or vice versa, you can not harness an ox and a donkey together, you can not muzzle an animal being used to tread grain, etc.). Because of kashrut’s identification as a reverence for life, these laws are often studied as part of kashrut.
Source: http://www.chelm.org/jewish/kashrut/l2.slaughter.html
Wonderful piece Abby. I’d love to publish it on the Local Beet. Let me know.
Hey Abby!
I saw your posting via Robert’s posting it to the Local Beet in Chicago and so very much appreciate your comments. You’ve perfectly articulated what I’ve been trying to explain to my friends for so long! We have completely de-animalized the meat we eat and are afraid to be honest about where food comes from. Thank goodness that chicken isn’t compounded in factories but that the good stuff is raised out in the fields where it belongs!
Thank you for your words and best of luck in Italy!
Joanna