Regarding meat on Sundays...

My neigbor doesn't go off to work every day.  He has a little piece of land, and does some carpentry for his friends, but mostly he just hangs out.  He does work pretty hard on Sunday mornings, though.  

On Saturday nights a large pig is delivered to his house.  At about 7 AM on Sunday I wake up to the sound of very loud squealing as said pig is in the process of having his or her throat cut.  The pig is then shaved, quartered, butchered, and sold to whoever wants some.  The meat is still warm when I start to cook it.

The killing of the pig is a real community event.  Everyone comes out to stand around and chit chat as we watch the guys do the cutting.  Someone usually brings coffee.  There is almost always a little kid who grabs the tail of the pig when it is cut off, and runs around whipping people in the ankles with it.  It is pretty funny.  The dogs also gather, probably because of the delicious smells.

Watching the butchering is not easy on the stomach.  I won't go into details, but I am sure you can imagine.  It has helped me to realize how sterilized a life we lead in the USA.  We go to the store, or the farmers market, and buy our meat wrapped in plastic, and cut into convenient slices.  We don't really have a picture (or smell) in our head of where it has come from.  It is just a thing that we buy, cook, and eat.  Maybe we should try a little bit harder to understand the things that we are putting into our bodies.

I don't think it is wrong to eat meat.  I have just come to believe that is important to understand the process.  The truth is that the pigs here live pretty happy lives.  They stay outdoors, roll in mud, and usually get to wander semi-freely.  And when they are killed, it is a pretty quick death without a lot of suffering.  And the meat has a really good flavor.  I'd love to show you the whole process when you come visit.