Where to Get Your Meat

I grew up killing, gutting, and butchering my own meat. When you eat wild animals such as deer and elk you face many risks besides food poisoning. There are other illnesses to worry about. I was taught at a very early age to always cook food thoroughly. By providing meat for ourselves, my family and I at least knew where the animal had come from. The forest service keeps records of animals and herds tested from different areas. If they find something you are sure to know about it.

When I was in middle school one of my neighbors contracted wasting disease from eating undercooked elk meat while acting as a trail guide. I had heard of wasting disease but never truly understood what it could do. My neighbor slowly died over a ten year period as the disease ate his brain stem. His family had to watch as his condition and health deteriorated and then disappeared.

One of the things that I will take away from this book is how public safety will be ignored until negative public opinion affects profits. The fact that it took McDonald's to get companies to comply with the ban on feeding animals their dead relatives is sickening. McDonald's didn't do it because they felt a moral obligation to consumers, but because they were losing money.

Another thing is, just how important it is for immigrants to learn the language and the law of the land. I don't want people to lose their culture and heritage. That is not my point. Immigrants are preyed upon because of their lack of knowledge and status. By educating themselves, they can protect themselves and help change the system. Nobody should be treated the way the meatpacking and slaughterhouses treat their workers.

One of my motivations for going to school is so that I will have enough income to support the causes I believe in. Right now most of my money goes to bills and diapers. In the book you can see how the green being sent to Washington has affected our way of life. Sadly it will take some green prodding in a different direction to curb the harmful effects. That is not to diminish the power of social movement. The more people who get involved the greater the impact will be.