At one of my neighborhood's monthly summer festivals this year I was introduced to a 'friend-of-a-friend,' who happened to be a vegetarian. The usual small talk questions ensued, but quickly went awry.
Her: "What do you do for a living?"
Me: "I'm the editor of a weekly statewide farm newspaper."
Her: "Wow, that's unique. What's your background?"
Me: "I grew up on a dairy farm in southwest Wisconsin."
Her: "Really? Do you eat meat?"
Me: "Yes, of course I eat meat. I grew up on a farm."
Her: "How can you eat meat if you grew up on a farm? Don't you care about animals?"
Whoa. This is when I stepped back for a moment, quite shocked at her questions and began an inner conversation of "Seriously? She seriously just questioned how I could eat meat and my respect for animals? I don't think we'll be friends (my inner conversation wasn't quite that civil)." Anyway, I did my best to set aside the frustration her questions provoked and took a few moments to try to educate.
I expressed that I eat meat because I grew up on a farm. I eat meat because I understand where my food comes from, how it's raised and under what conditions it's raised. I've been there from the beginning of their lives to the end. I understand that livestock are not pets, though they often have names, too, and I care a great deal for them and their welfare. I understand that my family was comprised of farmers, not gardeners.
It's becoming more and more apparent to me that farming and almost everything involved with it is a highly mystical occupation for the outside world. The characters in my hazy neighborhood that think they have an understanding of it seem to liken it to gardening, which brings me back to a great LA Times article that has one of my favorite sentiments I've come across this year: Agriculture is a business. Farming without a financial motive is gardening.
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-calcook6-2010jan06,0,6888223.story
I used to get asked that question a lot. I grew up with a family that owned a livestock farm and a landscape nursery. Both were businesses and I always knew and understood that. I didn't cry or feel attached when they sold a boxwood so why would I feel the same when they sold a steer. They both took time and committment but they both made money.
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