We try to find a good use for every single inch of the farm (we’ll never make our goal of becoming biodynamic if we don’t)
For many years prior to the renovation of the Beekman Mansion, the land and barn was used to raise cattle, and on the eastern side of the barn stood a statuesque grain silo. The structure is long gone, but it’s 5 foot tall foundation remains.
For the two years that we’ve been on the farm, we’ve been using the structure as the world’s largest compost bin. Into it we chuck almost anything that’s biodegradable: table scraps, leaves, prisoners of our weed wars, and of course the “leftovers” of the rabbits, cows, chickens, turkeys and goats. It’s the darkest, richest, most worm-infested muck you can imagine.
But could we do something more? Could we find a dual purpose for the structure?
If necessity is not the mother of all invention, then surely Farmer John is.
When we started talking over the winter about raising pigs to supplement our diets (sorry, but we do love bacon–and don’t try to tell us you don’t), we were pondering about where we might keep them. The chateau d’goats is already fully occupied and was not really well-equipped for pigs.
Farmer John said that pigs like room to roam and like to be outside. Why don’t we put them in the silo?
It was pure genius.
Bess, our environmentalist pig
The Beekman pigs are eco-friendly. Pigs like to root around in the dirt looking for grubs and other tasty morsels. (We are hoping they find some truffles but are not really counting on it). As they make their way around the silo, they are constantly turning our compost pile for us. It’s a division of labor that everyone seems happy with.
Porky & Bess love their new home.
We created a nice little love nest using old shutters we salvaged from the hay loft. Every morning when I go out to feed them, Porky & Bess are curled up there together. Of course, they perk right up when I yell “soo-ey”—or when they hear their food hit the trough–I’m not quite sure which. I do know that no living thing has ever looked at me with such love in their eyes as Porky and Bess do come feeding time.
They must have gained at least 15lb just while I was typing this.
108 Comments
I LOVE them! Porky & Bess are perfect names for them!!!!
Count me in as a bacon lover… I know it’s not all that great for you, but who can resist?
The pigs are great additions! How many are making the farm home?
Hi, Kenn
We just have the two. We were only going to get one, but Farmer John said you needed two so that they would compete for food and eat more. Besides the bacon, I also hope to learn how to make prosciutto.
Hi, Dr. Brent. No, you needed two so they can keep each other company!
They are adorable and a great addition to the Beekman. Sheesh, now I not only have to worry about the fate of the turkeys, but also the pigs. Just look at those BEAUTIFUL faces. *sigh*
“Don’t get too attached”, he says — and yet he posts photos. Oh PLEEEASE, if I find a convincing recipe for mock bacon, would you keep them and let me stay on as pigmistress? (Wow, and who’da thunk I’d be able to recycle THAT name from sixth grade?) I’ll wear my hair in little pigtails, and overalls, and a red-and-white checkered shirt, and..and…can you see how into this I am? Have mercy!
If you could find a convincing recipe for mock bacon, the world would fall at your feet!
Hi, Kim
Hmmm. It would have to be a pretty convincing mock bacon AND you’d have to be a pretty convincing pig mistress
Charlotte’s Web all over again! Can’t you just eat oatmeal? It’s much healthier for you and the pigs!
Oh, Pam
Charlotte’s Web was the first book I ever cried to. I do try to eat plenty of oatmeal, but can’t say I don’t occasionally crave bacon (or ham, or sausage, or tenderloin…)
At least I know exactly where it came from and that they had a wonderful life. Since I’m not a vegetarian, it seemed like the most humane thing I could do
So I was the quiet lurker until Wilburs life was at stake, ok how about you wait til the local supermarket has a sale then you go buy the bacon, seems fair since someone already was a martyr for it— why not recycle whats already there into your frying pan and let Bess and Porky keep looking all so cute at each other, it’s like having a movie about Bambi and picking out Bambi to be the Venison dish for the dinner the next evening.. **sob sob, wiping tears** please don’t…. blinks back more tears from shiney blue eyes, and the tears flow over freckle face… PLeasssseeeee don’t take their livessss…..
Hi Patti
That was ALMOST convincing enough
They’re adorable. I can’t wait to meet them in person.
They’ll be here waiting for you, Sandy
they’re so cute (in a messy-pig sort of way)!
I’ve been falling behind on the blogging since I moved – but I thought of you guys the other day when I had goat milk ricotta. It was heavenly.
Hi, Tony
Yes. We have missed you and your inspiration! Ricotta? That’s nothing. I just had the first taste of our aged goat cheese which will be for sale later this year. It will make your mouth water. Hope you are well
Great looking little hogs! I have been a non-meat eater a few times in my life, still not into beef or pork, but I do appreciate your statement about bacon…..how’d they get us to crave that stuff so much?
Yes on the bacon! You also have some of the funnest farm animals there are!
Hi, I just discovered you through a feature on AOL and now I can’t get enough!
A question…when you do make the bacon, may I purchase the ears for my dogs? They love them like we love bacon…
Also, just a comment. This is a wonderful blog but the black-on-dark-gray is kind of hard to read. Any thoughts on that?
Keep doing what you do, this is wonderful…I think I want to try that soap!
When I was growing up on the farm we always
named our pigs for there main purpose.Such
as pork chop, bacon, spare rib. So that you knew there what was going to happen in the end. keep up the good work
Isn’t it nice to know that with all the challenging stuff happening everywhere, YOU are shown how loved and really appreciated you are every day. Are you hoping for Porky-Bessitas to come along?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your beautiful home and farm. As an ethical vegetarian, however, it broke my heart to read in the Animal section that Porky and Bess, who look at you with love in their eyes (routine for pigs who have deep emotional connections with humans and other animals), are destined to become bacon on your over-flowing table. With the bounty of vegetables grown on your farm to sustain you, it would be ever so lovely if you could find compassion in your hearts toward defenseless animals. Pigs and cows and chickens are not any different than dogs and cats and parrots – they just don’t reside in the house.
MY dearly departed Aunt Mary loved to raise white face steer. Each and every one of them was named “Butchy”. When Aunt Mary felt it was nigh on to butchering time, she would place the call to her friendly meat market, let them know and they , in turn, would do the deed then replace the steer with a new calf! The cycle started again….none of us kids any the wiser….maybe that would be a great way to replenish your “bacon”?
The wife and I raised one and it’s name was blossome. Boy did she taste good
Dear putative pig farmers,
You know what they say – never give them names. I love bacon, and I love steak, and I do eat it, but if I had to be the one to kill them, they would live forever and I’d just eat chicken and fish (and maybe not even the chicken).
But seriously. You have a wonderful farm and I envy you. I have a tiny little piece of ground at my mother’s house in Queens where I grow cucumbers, eggplant, and tomatoes. Your farm is beautiful, and I love the way you did the rooms – especially the long hall which is a little scary-perfect. Now – what about horses? You don’t have to ride them – some are just pasture decoration. There are a couple of places near you that have beautiful horses needing homes…what do you think?
Loved your site and your beautiful and impressive farm and business. Good luck with your adoring public in the raising animals for food department. The same people who eat the bacon will condemn you for creating it. From experience I’d recommend “Breakfast” and “Lunch” as names – you get less attached come the inevitable bacon making time.
Thanks, Bill
This is our first year with the pigs. We’ll see how it goes. Stay tuned
Hi, Ronnie
Be careful. We started as city farmer, too!
Hi, Kathie
An excellent idea
Hi, Terri
Your argument was passionate and well-made. Thank you. Oh, if only I could commit to being a vegetarian!
What a nice note, Marianne
The ears, Cyn? That sounds so strange!
Sorry about the color issue. There was a problem with the site today. We hope to have it back to our normal color scheme soon
Dr. Brent – you CAN and SHOULD commit to being a vegetarian. Begin your first step by visiting farmsanctuary.org to see animals who have been given a release from impending death. Learn about compassion toward all living creatures. Pigs are some of the most intelligent animals on earth. They want to live and be happy the same as your dog or cat does. There is no meat that tastes as good as compassion feels. And btw they do make superb fake bacon now – I use it in cooking and to make FLT’s (facon, lettuce and tomato). You give up nothing to become a vegetarian but GAIN everything in not submitting to the cycle of murder. Humans are more intelligent than this and we have the bounty of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and grains put here to sustain us. You should know this better than anyone by growing so much of what you eat. Do the right thing and send those poor creatures to Farm Sanctuary. You know they may be only “dumb” animals but they wouldn’t EAT you.
Hi Dr Brent,
The site looks much better today, much easier to read! Yay!
Yes, pigs’ ears (also the snouts, and probably some other bits as well) are commonly sold as treats for dogs. Our two just LOVE them! If you do end up eating these pigs (and good luck with that, since it seems you’re already fond of them!), it’s a great way to make sure that nothing goes to waste.
Hi Dr. Brent, You have a nice little read here and I always enjoy farm pictures. I was actually looking for info on your goats as I also raise nubians (and boers). I’d like to say I support you whole heartedly in your endeavour to raise pigs for slaughter. I get a lot of strange looks and comments as well when I tell people we eat our animals. I too take solace in knowing that I give my animal a good life, keeping them clean, happy, and healthy, and when the time comes that they are killed humanely. Knowing what’s in my meat and the superior quality is also another reason to take on growing your own. I would like to encourage your readers to consider that not all animals are breeding quality stock and in hard econimc times such as this ‘pet’ livestock can often be neglected,which in my book is worse than being eaten.
PS Do you have any information about your goats on your website? =)
Hi, Dawn
I’m glad I have a supporter!! Look in the “animal” section of our website. We have a couple of articles about the goats. Do you have a specific question? I could ask Farmer John for you.
speaking of bacon, shared a link from one of my favorites… Caprial and John’s Kitchen.
http://vimeo.com/6402461
Love you website..
Pigs are as intelligent than dogs. Although they love to dig, they are very clean animals. Please do not eat your very good and trusting friends, Porky and Bess.
Check out: http://www.peaceablekingdomfilm.org/
“Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home” wins
Best Feature Documentary Award at Moondance!
Since you are involved in such a wonderful endeavor…you will appreciate this documentary film by a well known film maker…it is a life changing view as it includes long time farm families as well…
It is truly life changing…you will appreciate the film…very well done!
It’s sad that the taste of meat is the only thing that stops some humans from killing animals. I don’t think it gets much more selfish than that. When you hear your pigs squealing out in fear & pain when they are about to get the axe, good luck with your conscience, or are you going to hire someone else to do it? How could you eat your friends? They’re like your pets. They love and trust you and you’re going to turn on them like that?! Oooh we’re having Sparky for dinner. Yummy! Hmmmm, what would Albert Einstein say…”Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. “
Hi, Alexis
You make some very good points. We love all of the animals at Beekman Farm and give them as good a life as possible.
Just wanted to let you know that you actually DO have support from some of us out here. I have no doubt that when or if you do decide to proceed as planned, you will do so very humanely. Keep doing what you do; you are both terrific!
Hope you’re having a happy day! :0)
Hi, Cyn
Thanks! We value everyone’s opinion and can definitely see both sides of the argument and are happy that we have a forum in which all people feel comfortable sharing their ideas. When we decided to devote our lives to the farm and to being as self-sufficient as possible, we knew that there would be some tough decisions. Not every part of “farm life” is as pretty or as pleasant as we would like
We raise our own goat milk, pork and my mom delivers me fresh beef from the ranch that are grass raised naturally. If you have ever had home raised pork that drank goats milk you would never ever be able to eat store bought again. Our current pig is being finished on goat milk, some alfalfa apples that fell on the ground, I can’t wait to see how yummy she will taste. She has been on this diet for about a month to finish her. We also make our own goat milk soap, herbal remedies and homeschool our lovely children
The folks that want you to keep your pigs forever have probably never seen 1000 pound pig that has reached maturity, or never been chased by such an animal. Keep up the good natural process
Thanks, Kila
Yes, the pigs were huge. (But still beautifiul).
I sat next to a couple in a coffee shop in San Francisco, and their little dog was SO well mannered, sitting under the table. When they got up to leave, I saw it was a tiny pig, with a sparkly collar. Her name was Rosie. Well, she was an absolute DOLL! She was a miniature some sort of cute girl, they said she would not gfet very big and was smarter than any animal they had owned!! GO ROSIE!!! I imagine a whole row of Rosies doing A Chorus Line! 5 6 7 8!!!
I have seen those potbelly pigs–that is their official name. They are called miniature, but when compared to what? My daughters friend has one in her kitchen totally paper trained, it weighs 300 pounds compared to the 1000 pounds of a regular pig. This woman’s house smells awful, and she has room deodorizers everywhere, this one was probably a baby. Yes pigs can be very intelligent compared to a sheep.
i bet if you cooked bacon within snout-distance of Porky & Bess, they would want a taste of it. Bacon’s awesome and we’re the top of the food chain.
But if you really want to show them the best possible life ever, maybe you should see if they indeed like bacon? i mean i’ve never met a dog, cat or non-veg person who doesn’t. why wouldn’t they?
my husband raised and bred pigs as a 4-H kid and they used to put the water trough/barrel with a nipple on it on a platform so the pigs had to stand on their hind legs to drink which built up their hams! Never thought I would enjoy pigs but I do, they are smart and have fun personalities not as fun as goats but still fun!
oh, wow. Who would of thought that there was an exercise for Pork Buns of Steel?!
I’m sure that this post won’t make it through, but I have to say this anyway. I don’t understand how you can make such a distinction between the animals that you kiss and love and the animals whose throats you will pay some butcher to slit open. Perhaps in your minds, you have justified it by saying that you have treated them very well. To an outsider, the hog “death row” that you are operating just seems incredibly malevolent and creepy.
David
Hi, David
We would never censor your comment. We believe that people should appreciate and honor the source of their food and not divorce themselves from the realities of what is on their plate. We hope that our practices will create healthy debate and a public discourse but not judgment.
Well said Dr. Brent. The exchange of viewpoints in these posts reminds me so much of the following dialogue from the 1995 movie BABE:
Cat: Alright, for your own sake, I’ll be blunt. Why do the Bosses keep ducks? To eat them. So why do the Bosses keep a pig? The fact is that animals don’t seem to have a purpose really do have a purpose. The Bosses have to eat. It’s probably the most noble purpose of all, when you come to think about it.
Babe: They eat pigs?
Cat: Pork, they call it – or bacon. They only call them pigs when they’re alive.
Babe: But, uh, I’m a sheep pig.
Cat: [giggles] The Boss’s husband’s just playing a little game with you. Believe me, sooner or later, every pig gets eaten. That’s the way the world works. Oh, I haven’t upset you, have I?
[chuckles softly]
Are you really going to slaughter your pigs? We really won’t be watching if you are going to harm animals.
WE do not eat meat so does that answer your question about liking bacon? Plus, you know it is NOT good for you, it is high in salt, nitrates and fat.
I am very disappointed in you two for even thinking of slaughtering pigs. Become Vegetarians and help make the World more green!
After seeing tonights episode of your show I want you both to know that I think you are absolute monsters. To brutally kill two of your own animals and claim that it is just “part of farm life” was revolting. To be able to raise those two animals from babies and then have a team of murderers come in to “harvest” them while you stood there and watched just shows your true character.
How either one of you can live with yourself after what you have done is beyond me. I want you to please be aware that while you are shoving bacon into your mouths there is at least person in NY who thinks you are despicable.
Sexuality is not a choice, skin color is not a choice, but killing animals for absolutely no reason is a choice. Shame on you both!
Kim
Hi, Kim
We admire your passion and are happy to grant you the opportunity to express your opinion as part of this discussion. What we do find troubling is that while you speak so feverishly about treating animals with respect, you show very little respect in the way you speak to your fellow humans. We all have lessons to learn
Oh dear, I knew you would get this type of reaction (re Kim’s post), and I’m sure you did too.
Brent and Josh, just so you know…you do have supporters out here. I believe you have taken the greatest care of these animals; this is so much better than factory farming. You are not monsters or murderers. It’s clear to me that you are both kind and humane people. Many of us believe strongly in the things you are doing and will continue to support you…even if we can’t afford your delicious soap!
Stay strong and keep doing what you’re doing. We are with you.
As a transfer from the city to the country, it took me a while to wrap my brain around the whole “circle of life” thing. But now I get it. Our last pigs were named Bacon, Pork Chop, and Virginia. I thank them with every bite! Keep doing what you’re doing, with the transparency and integrity that you’ve displayed. It’s a rare opportunity for people to see what many of us live every day. Thank you.
Hi guys!
I have to tell you that my family and I are huge fans of the show and the lifestyle you are living. We too live on a farm but the animals we raise are just for pleasure. I have to confess the first few minutes of the pig harvesting show I cried like a baby for the pigs and for the two of you. When I heard the sound of the gun it took me back to when I was little and we harvested our own pigs. Very sad but very much a part of farm life. We own and raise pigs (potbellies) ourselves so this episode really tugged at my heart. Just curious, but what kind of pigs were Porky and Bess? Hopefully people can understand that this has been practiced for many, many years and that you did not invent eating animals. We support you and farming in general. On a lighter note, I love that you (Brent) always have your rubber boots on because I absolutely love wearing mine! I have the hot pink and “polka spot” kind. lol. My kids sit sometimes for a half hour straight watching the goat cam hoping to catch a glimpse of Polka Spot. We are actually getting a breeding pair of llamas this week and one is leopard spotted. We are so excited! One last thing I must tell you is that our pygmy goat “Little Martha Stewart” has given birth two baby girls! Gotta love Martha!
We wish you both all the best and will continue to watch and learn together =)
Jennifer
Hi, Jennifer
Nice to “meet” you. Rubber boots are the most practical footwear ever invented! I’m sure Little Martha Stewart AND Big Martha Stewart would agree
Hello,
I just watched the pig harvest show, and wonder… if you both choose to raise pigs again would you still name them?
My family in the past has harvested pigs before as well. Harvested animals were never given names due to the fear of confusion of pet or food. They were still well taken care of and we were always grateful for them, nothing ever went to waste and you ate everything on your plate.
My husband is very disconnected from where his food comes from and has the attitude of “I like to eat meat but don’t want to kill anything to get it” This episode was a great lesson to those who are so distant from there food sources.
Dear Brent & Josh,
My 13-year-old daughter and I are huge fans of your show. We never miss it and usually end up watching it at least a couple of time over again. You two live your lives with such grace and humor and honesty, you serve as a great example for the rest of us.
The Porky & Bess show was one of the best…and one of the worst things I’ve seen on TV for a long time. Good because it really made us think about things and feel for the animals that give their lives for our comfort. Bad for exactly the same reasons.
My daughter is now a hard-core vegetarian, and I’m following along. We’re still grappling with dairy, though, and looking for humane dairy sources. Are your cheeses “certified humane”? We’d love to order some.
Just watched the Pig Harvesting episode,
It still amazes me that people still don’t get it.
It IS natural for some animals to eat and kill other animals, that is true. Humans are animals too, therefore it would be natural for humans to kill other humans,if you use this logic. Yet humans believe it is immoral to kill other humans.
Why?
Unlike other animals, humans are the only animals on earth to have the ability to reason and empathize. We can choose to eat or not eat meat, to kill or not kill.
I did not feel sorry for Beekman boys, I felt sorry for the beautiful sentient beings that they were solely responsible for destroying.
I had to kill one of my cows because one of the horses kicked her and broke her shoulder the vet said she would heal but not much of a life, so I did the kindess thing I could. We butched her and instead of coyote eating her I did. At least she isn’t suffering. So you boys keep raising your food, and be thankful for what you have! I beat PETA people wear leather shoes!
I couldn’t get over the absolutely ridiculous tears that the two of you shed in the last episode. To cry and moan over the killing of those two pigs when you ordered them to be killed and paid someone to do it was just silly and didn’t ring true. Will you also be killing the goats when they can no longer produce milk for you?
I have heard you both speak so much about humane treatment, respect for the animal and respect for the food. It just doesn’t make sense to me that you can take a living, feeling thing, then slit its throat open and chop it to bits and consider that respect. There is nothing humane or respectful about killing a pig unless you were planning to overdose them on Nembutal in order to do it.
Maybe this is too obscure of a reference, but the whole thing reminded me of that old Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man”… Josh and Brent being the aliens, and the poor pigs being the unsuspecting victims.
David
P.S. To Brent; getting a kiss from that pig and then killing it just makes you look soooooo much worse.
Wow, I guess I am a bit shocked, Last time I wrote was:
Patti
Posted June 25, 2009 at 9:43am | Permalink
So I was the quiet lurker until Wilburs life was at stake, ok how about you wait til the local supermarket has a sale then you go buy the bacon, seems fair since someone already was a martyr for it— why not recycle whats already there into your frying pan and let Bess and Porky keep looking all so cute at each other, it’s like having a movie about Bambi and picking out Bambi to be the Venison dish for the dinner the next evening.. **sob sob, wiping tears** please don’t…. blinks back more tears from shiney blue eyes, and the tears flow over freckle face… PLeasssseeeee don’t take their livessss
#
Dr. Brent
Posted June 25, 2009 at 1:11 pm | Permalink
Hi Patti
That was ALMOST convincing enough
_______________________________________
Maybe back than I had a bit to much riding on that ALMOST, because I was really hoping that being there were so many stores filled with martyred animals already why go killing more that were fed and treated like they were your family pets.
Then I remembered years ago my mother telling me stories about how my great-grandparents raised chickens, and then back in the early 50′s I imagine in my old home town many families were known to have their own chickens, for the fresh eggs and of course now and then a nice fresh chicken. For years my grandmother always had ordered our Thanksgiving turkey, I hardly realized that all those years she was ordering specifically a turkey for our family that was a “fresh kill” ordered specifically to a specific WEIGHT, for our very large family and so we needed a very LARGE BIRD.
Our family hasn’t ordered one like that since she has passed on in many years, but my mother recalled how the chickens used to chase and peck at her legs as she was trying to feed them when she was a little girl. She remembered they all had names… and she remembers the night they were eating chicken and she realized after dinner she couldn’t find one of the chickens that used to peck at her the most and realized for the first time that he was the one that was “dinner”.
I’ll never forget her telling us the story, just as my sister will never forget how we teased her about her HAMBURGER being a cow for the first time.
It upset her so much she lost her dinner to the porcelain God in the bathroom before dinner was over…
The point I am making is we can joke about where it comes from and sometimes in the midst of a joke, reality rears its head and it makes us sick to realize exactly where our dinner came from. First time I had to clean my shrimp and then boil it before it turned the pretty pink color that I was used to having to dip in the yummy cocktail sauce. Or the first time you see your fish sticks before they became a stick and they look back at you…. or the first roasted duck you get that has a head and neck still attached and it doesn’t look like it is something you should be eating. Some get ill and then some others pick up their fork and keep on eating, after all we are hungry and well, last week I loved that dinner, no matter what you say, no matter where it came from, doesn’t change the fact I already ate it last week and loved it, ate it for years loving it and well, I just plain ole Love my meat and potatoes so lay it on the plate and let me have my dinner~
Part of me grieves for the animal and yet I know in order to truly respect the animal that is now dead and has been prepared and cooked to perfection, the only one thing you can do is to eat and enjoy.
DO not let the animals life go to total waste and his death have been for nothing. To be able to eat and have the nutrition help heal or help you to grow or get healthier and grow stronger with their help is an honor to the animal and respectable. But for the flesh of the animal to go bad and thrown away is a sin, a waste, and an awful thing for the animal to have died in vain, all for nothing.
I did hope that the pigs were going to be kept on as pets, but to learn that they can grow up to 300 lbs and then what? what do you do with the poor things?
they would be so big they can hardly move around without terrible pain and difficulty. Would they even be able to eat enough to contain the size of their over sized bodies? Or would they slowly start starving due to the inability to move about like they used to and then they would be competing, maybe not with just each other but perhaps with their own offspring they had produced over the years and then what? have several other pigs smaller in size but much better stamina actually helping contribute to their starvation, sickness and potential death? After thinking about a possibility of that kind of end to their beautiful beginning, I actually thought that perhaps they did have a better end to their much loved kind of life. They didn’t out live their welcome, they were healthy and happy to the end. No one ate up all their food and made them ill or starve to death. They died in the midst of their happiness…
I imagine if anyone is about to go it would be best to go quickly and unknowingly.
I think I really want to try that overly expensive goat milk soap I seen someone “write” about.. it must me really great 
So if Bambi were going to become the venison on the plate for dinner it would be best that it were done when he was at his happiest and not wait till he was starting to starve to death and have the forest begin to eat him out of hearth and home, or wait until he was so ill he could barely move and got ill. I think in the end Bess and Porky lived a fine and healthy happy life and before they were hit with horrible things in their lives they exited out to the heaven for animals- quickly with only the thoughts of a happy earth that they were on for the short time that they were here.. I imagine that is about the most humane way an animal can go… where there are some animals caged and unable to see the light of day all of their lives and have misery their entire existence-brutally murdered in a slow and horrible process listening to others being murdered, hearing the cries of pain or the cries from just living in an existance of not knowing why others are crying out and then not crying anymore. How horrible could it be for some to be so abused all their lives, some starved, some forced to eat specific foods that are not a food natural to them just to get a specific reaction out of them, or shut in or forced not to walk or shut in to the darkness day in and day out.. so when it comes to what has happened on the farm or what could have happened I think they did get offered the better life.. Dr Brent I wish you didn’t have to get so many horrible letters, many people eat meat only we don’t have to deal with the killing of the animal, or the death of any of the foods we eat, fish, clams, lobsters and crabs into boiling water? Its not just animals that lose their lives when we eat if they want to be technical, I believe there is a life and a little bit of God in everything on earth including every person on earth.. they shouldn’t condemn you for what you do, just as they shouldn’t condemn the farmer that doesn’t ask the carrots if they mind if we pick them for our dinner each time they are all harvested- or the potatoes, or ears of corn we wish to pluck from the corn stalks… We were blessed in given such wonderful things through God, teaching us to be farmers of this wonderful earth to grow plants and tend the animals so we can nourish our families and let them also flourish. It’s a beautiful thing the circle of life, and like your compost, all that is not usable is recycled so to speak -to move on to make other wonderful things or to help other things become more fertile and help grow nourish and help other things continue in the miracle of life and life sustaining things.. and for that we need to be grateful, thankful and learn to make the best of what we sometimes may perceive as a horrible situation and see it for all the blessings and beautiful things it really has to offer and gives to us, or sacrifices for us- in the name of love, and life. Hey just keep it up, what you are doing is no different than what has been going on for centuries only now our civilized minds and our over worked bodies that are able to buy ready made foods dont have to plant the foods of the earth and hunt the animal and kill it no longer and use the skins for our winter blankets and coats.. we have others to do that work and we get to pay for the work that was done by another…. you dont do a thing wrong, we are just so separated from having to do ALL OF THAT ourselves for our families only the FARMERS families that still live that way of life will truly understand and know that way…. and it is a hard way to live and there is No RIGHT AND WRONG WAY for a persons way of life, it would be like telling the Amish that they need to buy a car and get some electric lights and a phone in their homes.. We need to live as our conscience feels right when we lay down at night… and as our bodies can handle the stress and strain of the hard work on your bodies .. and we can judge only “ourselves”- because we have no right to judge others. Take care and well it took me a YEAR to grow up I imagine.. I apologize for trying to force the sympathy plea on you last year, it wasn’t- right after all Bambi could have starved over the winter and got hit by a car and died a slow miserable death on the side of the road all because he was looking for a piece of bark to chew on he was so hungry.
I was very upset that you slaughtered your pigs. I understand you desire to be self sufficient on your farm, but I don’t understand how you can raise the pigs as virtual pets and then kill them for food. What is next-raise a pet dog and slaughter it when the bacon runs out??? I cannot watch you show anymore because of the slaughter of your pigs.
Hi, Jack
We are very pleased that you are so passionate about this issue and are glad that our life on the farm has generated such a healthy discussion about where the food on our plates come from.
Love your show! My husband and I are slowing starting our own farm adventures. We started first by buying the land, grooming it, then getting married on it the following year (2004). I can connect with your desire to get married at the Beekman- what can be more special and meaningful than to have those memories in such a personal place.
I also commend you on your views about your pigs. We share the same thoughts. We raise chickens (both layers and meat birds) and we will soon have turkeys. It is very important to us that our animals live happy, healthy lives while they are with us. They get to be REAL chickens- not like their grocery store counterparts. When their time comes, their death is as quick and humane as possible. Being a part of this process makes it impossible to be wasteful and really does make you respect your food.
I do not eat feedlot meat- can in no way justify the filth and horror. I would give up meat first. I also grow as much of my own produce as possible and what I can’t, I buy locally (or don’t buy it at all). This allows for more diversity than the same old same old in the stores while supporting the local economy.
I love how you guys encourage the community to come together and support each other! Keep it up!
My life partner told me about your show and thought I would like it and I did until you did the segment where you had your two pet pigs shot for their meat. Not only will I not watch the show anymore, I have lost total respect for both of you as well as your farmhand. Is meat so hard for you to come by that you have to kill animals that you have hand fed to feed your face? , Are there no supermarkets close to your homes? I am just disgusted by the whole pig situation. I am no longer a fan.
Hi, Tom
We appreciate your opinion and are happy that you joined the discussion. We, however, are disheartened by the fact that you would recommend purchasing meat at a supermarket which is guaranteed to have lived a life that is inhumane and miserable. We hope more people will make better choices
Tom,
I am sorry, but what is disgusting is the fact that you recommend that meat be purchased in a grocery store. If you eat meat, you have blood on your hands as well regardless of where you got it. You encourage the slaughtering of animals buy purchasing the meat in a store. The only difference is that you get to stay disconnected from your food and are encouraging the abuse of animals by purchasing that meat. Become educated as to where your food comes from and you won’t be so motivated to purchase that next package of supermarket meats.
Remember- that meat in the grocery store was once a living creature! It seems you want to ignore that fact! MEAT = ANIMAL!Now it is your choice. You can keep buying from a grocery store which was an animal raised unnaturally on a feedlot- packed in with thousands of others, fed unnatural feed loaded with antibiotics and corn (to fatten it up), and living in filth. It lives a miserable life paid for and encouraged by supermarket shoppers. Or you can find a farmer with real ethics who chooses to raise animals in a humane way- letting them get outside, eat grass, jump and play, and live a healthy, enjoyable life while it is living and provides a healthier meat for its consumers (little to no antibiotics, more omega-3′s thanks to the grass, less fat thanks to exercise and more natural diet).
Yes, the meat in the grocery store is plentiful and already dead, but that does not excuse anyone for buying it. NO CUSTOMERS = CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM!
I think the point that Tom was trying to make was not that you should be purchasing meat from a supermarket, but that raising and killing it yourself makes you both seem more cruel than if you had just got it from the supermarket. At least people who buy it from supermarkets can claim ignorance or a sense of detachment about the reality of it all (not a good thing either). The two of you just reminded me of a pair of vultures circling around a corpse.
Personally, I do eat meat and I don’t ever plan to. Some people just have that love for animals, and other people don’t. I think it’s something that is learned at a young age. Take a little child to pick tomatoes and cucumbers, and then take them pig slaughtering… One will no doubt be far more upsetting than the other..
Just don’t tell the kids as you pick the tomatoes and cucumbers about the dead bunnies-killed while tilling the land (or driven off of it as it was cleared for farming) and the numerous bugs and animals killed in defense of those vegetables. Better yet, are those processed vegetarian dishes in the grocery store or produced shipped in from Mexico (both have a huge carbon footprint). How many PEOPLE died to gain access to that fuel used? No matter how you look at it, we all eat, we are all guilty. Whether you want to be blind about how it happens or stand up and be responsible about it are the choices to be made.
Jess,
I am fully aware that it is impossible to leave the house without stepping on a bug etc.. I was not trying to promote tomatoes or cucumbers, I was simply making a comparison. The simple fact is this, watching them raise and take care of those pigs and then kill them was really creepy. No enviromental argument from me, it was simply creepy.
I too found that I can no longer watch the show. I had such high hopes that it would just be about the growing of crops and caring for goats, but the slaughtering of the two beautiful pigs was too much. My sister was in tears, asking me why I made her watch such a horrible show and I had to fast forward past the brutal murder. But even skipping the killing wasn’t enough, because to watch you eat your bacon afterward was just about as bad. It’s just the ultimate in selfishness to kill animals for food. Humans do not need meat to survive – our bodies aren’t even built to hunt and kill prey. All the talk of “happy” meat, free range, able to live these great lives before they are killed – it’s all just justification for continuing our selfish lifestyles. And if meat was so good, why do we have to smoke it, marinate it, rub it, tenderize it, and otherwise add stuff to make it taste good? It’s just how we have been conditioned to eat. It’s just not necessary.
I know there are people who think it’s all part of the food chain, but we could all live happier, healthier lives filled with compassion we never knew existed if we stopped killing animals for food. Give it a shot – you’ll see.
I have been so torn about the “Porky and Bess” episode. I saw the teasers for it all week and debated if I was going to watch. I did. Tears and all. I have 3 dogs, 2 cats and am enrolled in an animal behavioral college in hopes to get a degree in order to donate my time and services to dog rescue. I am a HUGE animal lover. But … I eat meat, I wear leather and at one time owned a fur coat ( a beautiful sheared beaver that was …. anyway … ). I struggle everyday with each and every one of these choices I have decided to make. I want to thank the Beekman Boys for easing my conscious. And that I have a choice. I can choose to drive to the local “Super”market and buy meat from tortured and mistreated animals that have never seen the light from a morning sunrise or have never felt the grass under their feet (hoofs). Or I can chose to buy my meat from a local humane farmer that allows his heard to roam and graze like nature intended.
I tried the vegan way and it was not for me, my inner Omnivore always gets the best of me. As far as I’m concerned I can have my meat and eat it too, with compassion.
Wow , how about “herd”
I think that showing the whole cycle of pig to bacon causes people to think. Hopefuly it cause some of the people who watched to appreciate the life that think about the welfare of the animals and the folks who process them. I enjoy meat but I also try to buy sustainably farmed and humanely processed as much as possible. My local farmers market sells organic and mostly pasture raised chicken, beef, pork and lamb. There are also organic live fish( they will kill them humnely but you have to do your own cleaning at home). There is a huge difference in taste and I think a big part of it is how the animals and fish are raised. I appriciate that the meat/fish I eat was once alive and am more grateful for it.
I had a very hard time watching this as well, but something Brent said near the end summed my feelings up nicely: he said something to the effect that he would never order a 99 cent burger again, because the life of an animal is worth more than a dollar menu. No one who saw the episode can say that Brent and Josh enjoyed the slaughter, and they made themselves watch because it’s an important and non-negotiable part of living in a self-sustaining environment. It was a tough but thoughtful show and sensitively done, considering the circumstances.
I have to tell you growing up in the midwest on my grandparents farm it was not easy seeing animals taken off to slaughter> Your show in which Porky and Bess are slaughtered was painful, I only hope that in the future if you have more pigs, do not have them as pets or name them please, much to painful to watch. Ps I do like bacon but try not to think much about where it comes from.
greetings from omaha
Kirk
With all that has been said and done about the pig slaughter, I believe Kirk has summed up the entire situation to a tee. It is not the fact that the pigs were slaughtered for food, it is the fact that they had been named and were looked upon as pets. To have a hit put out on them is just wrong. It was very painful to see the guys with their guns come over to kill those pigs. I still do not watch the Beekman boys anymore because of the way the pig slaughter was handled.
Hi, Tom
We loved and respected our animals throughout their lives. Part of the way we expressed that love was by naming them and caring for them the same way we would treat any other animal on the farm. We are very sorry that your sensibilities were offended. You are the one missing out on the opportunity to learn and discuss further issues
I don’t get the whole issue with eating things that have a ‘name,’ as if giving an animal a proper name makes it a pet or anthropomorphizes it. I name all of my sheep because a name is easier to remember than a number. Would y’all who are accusing Brent and Josh of killing their pets (and suggesting they eat dog next) feel better if they had butchered #7 and #12A instead of Porky and Bess? I agree with Brent that there is love and respect in naming an animal, even one you plan to harvest for meat. Give me that love and respect any day over the conditions that the typical confinement hog operation maintains. If you’d ever visited a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation), be it hog, chicken, or beef, you’d have more appreciation for what Josh and Brent are trying to do here. I appreciate their honesty and their transparency in sharing the pig story with us.
I believe Dr Brent you will hear all the negativity even though there are many this summer that will be having or possibly attending a “pig roast” and/or “lamb roast” or two. I don’t believe any of my neighbors were receiving hate mail or being hounded by their friends about their choice of dinner nor will there be any restaurants being hounded because they serve steak or bacon. The fact is whether you had 2 animals “put down” for your food source on your farm -as I am sure there are countless other farms in the same predicament-and,no one hears of it because they just don’t post about their daily lives. Or the factories that are inhumanely killing animals (others not so inhumanely, although, in the end it’s death) the fact remains it is a FOOD SOURCE and it has been one for people for centuries, how it is handled can be changed but I doubt that the entire planet will become vegetarians and let animals over populate the land, allowing only animals to kill each other.I just think some of these negative comments-as well as they were intended for the animal, are forgetting about you- as a person-that you intended them for a food source from the beginning. You followed through as planned. This was not something you hid from the public-you did say over a year ago it was your intention. You followed through on an experience on the farm, your word with giving them a loving home and a happy life. Odd how the written word has been ignored when it was stated here long ago. You did not do anything other than what “farmers have done and are still doing.” Had you held onto those little guys till they were so large they were unable to physically feed themselves and either they began to starve out of pure inability to feed themselves or their offspring in competing for the food began to eat it all to be the survivors, you would have had to deal with others saying how you were letting them die a slow and horrible death and how could that be perceived as the happy life you promised? I still strongly believe as gentlemen you had honored your word.. No hidden agenda, no lies, just truth and open honest “blogging” about your farm life experiences, and it should be something people can learn from. What we all can learn from coming from different walks of life and the decisions that need to be made daily to survive and pay the bills. This is truly a lifestyle out of the average and it opens up a learning experience as to how others live with because it isn’t very easy to live that way of life.. In some parts of the world they eat ants, grubs, bats. Is it wrong in those areas to inhumanely pick up grubs unknowingly and just eat them right from the ground? No warning, just an uncalled for death out of no where… I highly doubt there will be a group of people fighting for the rights of all the dead grubs and ants that were eaten alive right from where they were living, bats caught and taken against their will, and I don’t think there will be any groups wanting to fight for the inhumane treatment of all the scorpions eaten, as well as other things that had their lives taken from them in the name of feeding people. Good luck with this it seems for each one that tries to side for you, you get about 10 against. I go by Maslovs Law, I do believe in “survival” feelings are the strongest in humans, and I do think when it comes to living a person will do what they have to do to help themselves and family to survive with out thinking out side of the instinct of trying to get what they need.. I am sure if a vegetarian had nothing to eat but a chicken sandwich- and there were no other kinds of food around, I have a feeling that they would come around. I also do KNOW a person that was a vegetarian for over 30 yrs and her husband slipped her a hotdog that she thought was a “vegan” one, and while eating this lovely BEEF hotdog couldn’t help but sing the praises of how it was the BEST one she ever had.. After discovering that her husband seemed to have mixed the dogs up and she ate the BEEF, she never went back.
I still don’t think you did wrong – I think maybe we do wrong and possibly if we know all the beef in our supermarkets are going to go bad and its not selling why not give it away to the poor that can cook it up and not waste it.. send it to charitable institutions so it can be used before its left for waste. My problem is a death for nothing, when it is totally wasted. Not an animal that dies and then it nurtures, that is a good thing. but one that has given their life and because the price is to high for the consumers it lays on a shelf till it is thrown a way. That is what I don’t like and am against… The animals death that was all for nothing and it was a waste, especially knowing we do have people out there that are malnourished or starving.
Well, said, Patti
People who recommend that animals stop being killed for meat are unknowingly advocating for the extinction of many breeds of animals. Domesticated farm animals were breed to live (and yes, die) on farms, not in the wild. They are dependent on people to care for them and I don’t know of many people who would keep a cow, for example, for a pet just because it is cute. Generally you have a cow to get something back- milk, meat, and/or more cows. There are just too many expenses for these animals to be pets and cared for correctly. These animals would simply stop being bred by people and would disappear (die off because most foraging instincts were bred out of them or would interbreed and characteristics of their breed would be lost). So, let’s not forget that these breeds of animals were created by people for specific traits (milk, meat, eggs, fiber, etc.).
By the way, an animal is not falsely lead into believing that it is a pet because it has a name. The pigs didn’t have a false sense of security because they had names- it was the people watching who had the issue.
Wow why wasn’t my response posted? Truth hurts doesn’t it.
I have just watched the first episode of your show to be broadcast here in Sydney (Oz); I enjoyed it very much, and was interested to read the comments above.I wonder how many of the writers are vegan? I understand that most beef in America is raised under the most appalling, cruel condtions in feed lots,(ref Michael Pollan, The Omnivores Dilemma) and that this is the cheap meat sold in American supermarkets which many of your correspondents recommend you eat, rather than what you have raised. In my childhood it was common that many back gardens in the suburbs of Sydney raised hens for eggs and food. We raised hens from hatching to the table. How much better were their lives than those of battery hens, battery pigs, feed lot beef? Raising and even loving your protein gives you the right to eat it. I love pigs, so I only eat free range organic bacon and pork, and the same for hens, beef and lamb. Thanks for a great show. (But never name your food!)
Tricia, your response wasn’t deleted because we disagree with you. It was deleted because you made your argument by name-calling and insults. There are others who made your same points in a more civil manner. We tend not to take advice on how to treat our animals from people who treat fellow humans in such a derogatory manner.
I’m so sad about Porky and Bess. I can’t believe you killed them.
You could have lived without eating those pigs — creatures that trusted and loved you and came to you when you called them by name!
I really viewed this episode as a selfish experiment on your part.
Honestly, what were you thinking?
If I don’t appreciate people, should I kill them?
Hi! Have been watching your show for several weeks and have to say “Bravo” to you for what you are doing. Raising your animals with love and kindness, and if harvesting them, doing it in the most humane fashion. My family are hunters and fishers. We raise a garden, and I have a flock of approximately 30 chickens. We use the eggs and also sell them at our family owned feed store. Today I made my first batch of goat cheese(chevre and ricotta) and have cream clotting for butter as well. We are also making red wine from wild grapes and I have, in the past made candles and soaps. Your show is wonderful and wish you much success. Keep up the good work and may you be profitable, happy and self sustaining!
You are A-Ok in our book, Tara
I want to thank you for the episode about killing Porky and Bess for the meat, as I am sure it taught MANY people to appreciate and think about where their food comes from,including me.
I sat there and cried like a baby, and I felt your pain, and I know it was hard. It was hard for me, too, but you had taken good care of them for so long and were there in person for it, which I admire. I know it affected you guys and that it was not at all easy. Most of all, I KNOW it was necessary, and that it is what they were put on this earth for. It pains me that you are getting so many mean posts from people who are speaking just from their hearts, not with their minds.
The world would be over-run if no animals were ever killed for food, and they would die long, agonizing deaths from starvation, as there would not be enough food to go around for them. You have to keep the populations down. We can’t have them sterilized and make pets of them and then they become extinct, or turn them out to just roam around on their own and starve…. and what else would they have you do with pigs if not kill them for food? They are just not thinking it through, they are only thinking short term.
So what would the people telling you not to kill pigs and other animals have you do, if they really sat down and thought it all out and knew what they were talking about?? I’d love to hear their solution to the problem of the deer, elk, ducks, cows, turkeys, chickens, pig, etc populations that would be over-taking the world. I don’t imagine we will hear much out of them about that, as they only want to rant and vent and be done with it.
Porky and Bess didn’t know what was going to happen or what was going on, and did not even have time for pain to register after the bullet hit them in the head. Instantaneous, and much more humane compared to the way most pigs and other food animals are raised for the masses.
You gave them a good life, and then you humanely had them killed, and they served their purpose. You two were affected by it a lot more than the pigs were. It was over in a fraction of a second for them. They didn’t know a thing. People shouldn’t try to act like farm animals have human emotions and can think things out and have the intelligence of humans, and feel the same love and emotions as humans. They are displacing their own emotions onto the animal and assuming it has the same emotions. Certain animals were created for food, and that’s just the way it is. It’s not like you are just killing them for the heck of it.
If they want to really do some good, they should go after the ones that neglect and abuse animals, or the puppy-mills, not humane farmers that are trying to set an example of how things should change to HELP the animals. You showed how it SHOULD be done. They should stop running their mouths (and fingers) and go volunteer at dog/cat shelters….feed them, play with them, walk them, brush them, bathe them, and just love them, or help find homes for them and get them spayed and neutered, or at least give a donation. DO SOME GOOD. Oh, but they don’t care THAT much, I bet! Oh, HELL no! Not nearly enough to put their time or money where their mouth is!
And the hypocrites are probably eating meat right along with the rest of us, and wearing leather shoes, boots, belts, coats, and jackets….and sitting on their leather car seats, leather couches, saddles, and carrying leather purses. Where do you people think that leather comes from?? Not a cow that died a natural death, that’s for sure! How many of you ladies out there that jumped on Brent and Josh have a big collection of shoes or purses or both in your closet?? ‘Fess up! I have a feeling nearly ALL of you, and I doubt that they are all canvas sneakers! And how many of you men have trucks or cars with leather seats?…and don’t you just love those leather jackets that make you look cool?….and what the hell do you think is holding your pants up??? Not a rope, I don’t imagine! Hypocrites! Animals can die for you to wear them, and sit on them, but not for food??? They are meant for ALL of that!
THINK before you judge others, all you people that have been giving Josh and Brent hell for doing what farmers are supposed to do. You should be grateful that they did it in a humane way and that they appreciate their meat more because of it. Go after the CRUEL ones if you want to preach! There is NOTHING I hate more than someone who abuses or neglects an animal or kills them just for their own sick and twisted thrill, and THOSE are the ones you need to worry about stopping, not Josh and Brent! They have done NOTHING wrong, unless you consider setting a good example WRONG.
I was very careful to not name call but I will agree it was insulting. Anyhow after having actually viewed the episode myself I do believe I owe you an apology. As a full fledged member of PETA and animal activist the episode was very tastefully done. I am a vegetarian so I believe its not necessary to kill animals. However if you are going to eat meat I think that you should be aware of where it comes from and respect that animal. You two were not cowering in the corner as I had imagined you were man enough to watch the whole time. The animals were treated with respect and compassion to be slaughtered for food. Not as pets how I had imagined. I have such a problem with people being ignorant about animal right issues and trying to argue them (ahem above me) yet I was the one being ignorant for judging you without watching the episode. I still disagree with killing animals for food. However if you must eat meat then you should eat it responsibly. As one of you said that animal’s life is worth more then the dollar menu. Please know that what I wrote earlier was out of ignorance and I am sorry. Thank you for having the courage to do that episode and you can for sure count on me to be purchasing some cheese in the near future!
I just wanted to add that if you like crispy bacon Morning Star bacon tastes amazing my little cousin (who is a meat eater) prefers it to real bacon. You have to cook it right though. In the oven with a little oil comes out crispy and delicious. Morning star makes good hot dogs too.
Hi, Tricia
We love that we have people participating in this conversation from all sides!
Just wanted to say that I think Connie has summed it all up beautifully.
I just watched the show about the baby goats, and I cried when John did! What a perfect name, too! Hallelujah!
Hello Josh and Brent,
First of all I just wanted to say that you guys are awesome. I have never commented online before but WOW!!! What you two have and are doing with your lives is outstanding.
I have read some of the comments from all areas of your website and it seems some people dont understand where there food comes from if either a store or restraunt. They dont understand how it is raised or grown let alone who has touched it, spit on it, sneezed on it or any other body function!!!! and YES it happens. I have been in the food service before and know what some people will do. Have you ever seen people at a buffet OMG not a pretty site at all. Next time you go out to eat….WATCH! Weather you are a meat eater or not things still happen to your food before you put it in your mouth.
I want to say sorry to you two for the people that have been commenting badly…If they were born 100 years ago they wouldnt be this way they wouldnt know the difference. They too would be living on a farm and raising their own food and even have better manners.
Take care….laugh and love as much as possible! Tammie
Dear Beekman boys,
I being a Vegetarian and animal rights advocate, I hope to perhaps shed some light on why you are getting so many negative comments pertaining to choosing to “harvest” animals for food.
I agree that humane family farm practices are better than agribusiness, which is cruel to the animals and pollutes the environment, and I don’t believe those viewers disagree with that fact. But this is the green channel, not the food channel.
Just like environmentalism is a progressive way of thinking ,and only recently embraced by society, animal rights, is also a progressive way of thinking. Not long ago environmentalist were name called “tree huggers” and sneered at. I see that kind of prejudice, and childish name calling here.
Simply put, I don’t believe they disagree with sustainability, when compared to mass agriculture, they perhaps expected an ideally, truly progressive example of environmental farming from the show. And I admit I did too.
Hope this helps,
sincerely,
Victoria.
Oh my god those pigs are so cute ! I once asked a friend of mine
why she did not eat pork and she is christian so kosher was not
the issue she said that as a child at the farm she grew up on
when they were about to slaughter the pigs she saw tears on
their little faces and since she knew how smart they are and loving she could not bare to eat such wonderful creatures !
Just a thought, I know how delicious bacon is but….
why do we eat other feeling creatures ? it is kind of wacky ?
I think I will have to consider giving up meat ? it is a wee bit draconian !
I posted the above comment without reading the other blogs
I do not want to really be a part of the whole Vegan versus
Meat & Potato Man debate ! I believe we are all here on this earth for a very short – way too short time and each of us should make informed choices as we move through our little individual lives
but none of us should impose our values or choices on others!
Quietly make a difference no pomp & ceremony required !
Go forward with GRACE !
OK I read all the nonsense and got suckered into this debate !
It is kind of simple people GROW UP & GROW A SET !!!
If you are watching a TV show and it offends you change channels. If you are a Vegan good for you ! If you eat meat
hopefully it is not from a factory hello it is 2010 wake up !
Brent & Josh can do whatever they want as long as it is legal
they are making choices like all the rest of us ! If you do not like
the laws contact your politicians and try to make changes.
However in the rest of your life socially in business while
talking or texting take some sage old advice…..
If you have nothing nice to say …. you know how this ends !
Love the show- the farm -the mercantile!
Give these guys credit for trying to carve out a decent life and
sharing it with all of us !
xoxo Beverliey
I have a vegan friend who was trying out the BARF (raw foods) diet on her cats. I asked her why they weren’t vegetarians and she said that cats needed meat to be healthy. That got me to wondering, if we were to stop killing animals for food, how would we feed our pets? Are we supposed to give those up too? I can’t give up meat, so the best I can do is support those who raise animals humanely.
Regarding Susan Pearson’s oomment:
I’m Vegan. I, and most vegans I’m aware of feed their cats a seafood based diet, clams, shrimp, tuna etc.
Cows, pigs, chickens, and lambs do not have to be killed for cat food.
I use Trader Joes “Tuna For Cats” brand natural cat food that is amazing, and more human then the raw diet.
Regarding Susan Pearson’s oomment:
I’m Vegan. I, and most vegans I’m aware of feed their cats a seafood based diet, clams, shrimp, tuna etc.
Cows, pigs, chickens, and lambs do not have to be killed for cat food.
I use Trader Joes “Tuna For Cats” brand natural cat food that is amazing, and more humane then the raw diet.
Clams, shrimp, tuna, etc are living creatures too. Why do you think it’s okay to kill them? The pigs were killed humanely, probably more so than the tuna.
Actually Susan, I never said it was “o.k.” to kill anything.
If given a choice between feeding cats shrimp or pigs, yes shrimp is more humane, since pigs and other farm animals are as intelligent, emotional, and aware as a dog, and shrimp is not.
The best,and most humane, choice however would be to feed cats and dogs a vegetarian diet, which exists, that is made from eggs, cheese, milk, etc. which had the animal protein, without having to sacrifice the animal.
I have fed my past cats that diet, and they thrived. The only reason I feed my current cats sea food based diet is because they don’t like the other.
I was making a friendly observation, and sharing my experience with you. There was no need for your judgmental words, for my were not.
I can’t say I loved the episode but I loved the message. My husband and I are city folk (L.A.) who live on a little mini farm in Oregon. I was a octo-lacto veg (I didn’t eat anything with a face) when I met my husband 17 yrs ago and over the years started eating meat. I lived for years without bacon and now I love it (hate myself, but its yummy). Anyway, my husband was thoroughly shocked that I would watch this episode and he couldn’t do it- it was too much for him. It started a huge debate and I think he echoes the same hypocrisy that most folks who are giving you a hard time are spouting. As long as they don’t have to see it and its all nicely packaged, they’ll eat it or feed it to their pets or whatever. Its like as long as its processed by someone else its okay. I too, fall into that category as I have two roosters that drive me insane that I couldn’t possibly eat (thought about it several times at 4 am) but they’re my babies. I liked the message though and I think a lot more about what I buy and what I eat because of it. Thank you guys for sharing such an emotional part of farm life and a reminder to think about where our food comes from!