We’re sadly nearing the end of the internship for some of us who will be continuing on our merry ways at the end of March. However, we have a couple days left, including una fin-de-marzo fiesta, and then a bunch of us will be traveling together to IGUAZU FALLS! In case the caps lock didn’t say it all, we’re all so excited to visit this gorgeous place!
This week was all about dams and chicken harvests. We continued working on the dam, which involved filling sand bags to temporarily divert water so that in the near future the first half of the dam wall can be built. We also did some gardening work, and a reiki exchange, but probably the most exciting part of the week was killing two roosters- the first time many of us have taken part in an animal slaughter.
Some of you are probably a little shocked that the “hippie farm” that I’m working at also slaughters chickens on occasion. In truth, most of us staying at the farm aren’t vegetarians, even though we cook vegetarian meals at Mama Roja. That being said, we recognize that Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) contribute greatly to pollution, greenhouse gases, and industrial food cycles (why do you think that cows, a naturally grass-eating animal, are fed corn in these operations? Because the government pays subsidies from tax dollars for growing corn, and then looks for places to put that corn- into cow feed, preservatives, soft drinks, fast food, and on and on and on...). In addition, CAFO-produced meat is worse for us (higher in saturated fat, for example), and the animals are raised to put on pounds as fast as possible with little regard for their well-being. Harvesting your own meat, however, means that you know exactly what food that animal was given (and hence the quality of the nutrition its meat will have), what sort of life the animal led, and how humanely it was killed. The same logic applies to eating locally raised meat from a farmer that you know- in addition to supporting the local economy and not contributing to the gas emissions from transporting meat in a refrigerated truck for hundreds of kilometers, you know that the product that you’re getting is higher quality, and was treated well for the duration of its life.
For me, participating in the chicken harvest was a wonderful opportunity to feel connected to the food I eat in a whole new way, and it also confirmed for me that harvesting my own meat is something that I am capable of and would like to continue to do in the future. It is a heavy thing to watch a creature die and to be responsible for it, but it is also beautiful to know that this animal had a happy life and that we can now make full use of everything it offers for our health and well-being. And, truly, nothing went to waste; we boiled the meat and carcasses for soup, the viscera went to the dogs and/or the compost and the feathers and bones will do the same. And the compost will grow more vegetables to be food scraps for future chickens, which will make eggs and then later be food for humans, in a cycle exactly as it should be.
We have some roosters at home that I will hopefully be a part of harvesting when I return, and as we raise new chicks for egg production and our current hens slow down their egg laying, we’ll be harvesting them as well. Other avenues that we are looking into include paying for a cow to be raised for us and purchasing the entire butchered cow or splitting the meat with another family to be frozen for future meals, and potentially raising turkeys for meat. I look forward to these latest steps in the Wever family’s self-sufficiency saga!
For those of you reading with a hint of uncertainty, or looking at the photos and cringing, I want to ask you to consider which you would prefer: consuming meat pumped up on antibiotics and growth hormones, unable to walk or go outside, and ignoring the systems of consumption and waste that these operations support (not to mention the inhumanity, that these operations often support corporations and not people, etc.)? Or do you prefer to accept responsibility for the momentary suffering and death of an animal at your hands or the hands of the farmer you pay, while understanding that choosing this route supports sustainability and local livelihoods? (Of course, there’s always vegetarianism if neither appeals to you). But the way I feel is this: if I want to eat meat, and I do, then I need to be able to take responsibility for the impacts this can have. If I kill my own meat or pay a local farmer to raise animals sustainably and humanely, the impacts of my meat-eating on the planet can easily be mitigated. After everything that I have learned, I cannot in good conscience choose to consume CAFO-produced meat on a regular basis. It’s partly for reasons of unethical treatment of animals, but ultimately, it’s selfishly motivated: I want to be healthy, I want my family and those I love to be healthy, and I want to have a healthy planet to live on for myself and everyone I care about. If I can help to contribute to those causes through carefully choosing where my meat comes from...well, the choice doesn’t seem all that difficult.
If you’re interested in learning more about CAFO meats and our current industrial food production, I would highly recommend reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. As I mentioned, I started it last week and have been enjoying it immensely. I’ll have more quotations and thoughts from it soon (I was so engrossed in reading it and finishing the greywater book that I kinda forgot to write any quotations down this week) but to get the whole picture I’d suggest searching out a copy to read front to back!
We had a quick intro to cheese-making recently, and we have lots of plans for our last few days, and then we head to Iguazu on the 26th. I plan on traveling around the northeast of Argentina for a little bit, and then returning to Mama Roja for a day or two before heading to Buenos Aires to catch my flight to Texas on the 5th! I’ll do one more post before leaving Argentina, and then I’ll be in touch once I’m in los estados unidos safe and sound.
Muchos abrazos a todos- until next time!
Kim gets into a corner to help teach the newest interns the art of cobbing in a window.
Working on the sand bag dam!
A trip up the hill for a cold beer- me and Jax approach from a distance!
Monkey also wanted to learn how to make dream catchers!
Rooster Day
Prepping for the harvest.
And it's done- thank you to the rooster.
Plucking the bird...
More plucking.
Almost ready to eat!
Learning to butcher.
A group photo that expresses us pretty well.
And another- check out Marcelo's face!
Spa day- time for some mud masks!
A chocolate and dulce de leche cake made by Ariel!
Yum!
Working on the windows on the opposite side.
I'm rocking ground crew in this photo, fo' sho.
Just your typical day off on the farm: sipping maté and making bread in a bikini.
The incredibly majestic black and white rooster.
Monkey takes yet another nap.
Loofahs! (yes, like the shower scrub- when they turn brown you peel the skin off and voila! Exfoliation!)
Rambo! The toothless, tongue-hanging, adorable man-dog of Mama Roja.
Learning to make dream catchers!
Sarah!
Carolina!
Music!
A typical siesta scene- arts and craftsing, reading, and music.
The DELICIOUS chicken soup that we made from the roosters we killed.
A solar oven from la Chacra suiza.
Calves!
The addition of a roof frame to the bedrooms- the whole is becoming complete!
Built in coat hooks!
They were added into the wall after it was constructed- one of the beautiful aspects of natural building.
The citizens of tent city and the founding father in the middle (note the quintessential founding father expression).
Our composting system!
Human poop and vegetable scraps and bacteria and time make gorgeous compost for the garden.
More dam work! Getting the sandbags into place.
Oh yeah.
Taking a pause for some chats and smiles in the midst of work.
No words can do this justice.
It's working!
Wever with a lever.
The cats call dibs on the washing machine.
A few of the results of our dream catcher workshop!
A hot bed at Chacra Suiza (a farm we visited today)- compost underneath, soil on top- the decomposing compost heats up the soil!
All of the cooking at this farm is done through biogas!
This biogas digester captures methane to use for cooking!
A solar water heater!
My new pal and I hanging out at the farm!
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