March 19th 2014: Dogs & Horses.

[Sundae]

Sometimes the rarer breeds (more rare?) of animals which are eaten have been left by the wayside in the drive for bigger, faster, more. As in Ortho's Poultry Plant post.

Some rare pigs are now being bred again simply because when slower and more natural breeding and feeding patterns are used, people appreciate the quality of meat.
I know you're not criticising farmers for not breeding horses for which they have no need, but I think there is definitely a trend away from over-produced livestock.

Of course it could be that people are just splitting along the lines of what is important and/ or accessible to them to them - the masses will have their antibiotic-laced, fast-grown, concrete-enclosed animal paste, and those with money, the gourmands and the epicureans will be tended to by specialist retailers.

I can't count myself in the former or the latter camps, so I guess it would be leeks & lentils for me in the new world order.
Although a girl can hope for a side order of cock occasionally, right?

[orthodoc]

Originally Posted by Sundae

Although a girl can hope for a side order of cock occasionally, right?

I was all ready to write a serious post and then, as usual, you completely disarmed me, Sundae! I do hope we girls can anticipate a side order of cock occasionally.

With the takeover of food production by Big Ag, animals have become mere 'units of production', and sheer quantity/volume elevated above every other asset (taste, for instance). Modern Holsteins are udders on legs. Their milk isn't particularly good nutritionally or in terms of taste, compared to that of other breeds, but they produce: wow, do they produce. So they are THE dairy breed now. Similarly, one breed has become the accepted standard for chickens, turkeys, pork, etc. Never mind that the turkeys, for example, are so bizarrely genetically manipulated that they cannot breed. Their giant breasts (these are the Toms; can you imagine the hens?) get in the way. Turkey semen is collected in a hysterically hilarious manner (check it out on youtube) and the hens are artificially inseminated.

A big problem is that, in demanding one inbred breed to the exclusion of all others, we've lost genetic diversity. One good bug could wipe out our entire (fill in your favorite meat here) supply.

Some of the less-popular breeds became so simply because it was no longer financially feasible to continue breeding them, not because they were inferior. The Shire and Suffolk Punch horses were magnificent. Luckily there are still plenty of Clydesdales around.

Some people purposely keep small flocks/herds of older 'heritage' breeds of different animals specifically in order to conserve genetic diversity. This is what I hope to do once I get back to my property.

Chickens, turkeys, maybe ducks or geese (with donkeys to guard them), a few goats and/or sheep. I'd keep heritage pigs but I couldn't bear to butcher them, they're too intelligent. It'd be almost as bad as butchering a dolphin. And cows ... bleh. I like the shaggy Highland breed but don't have the room ... I'd keep a few ponies or small horses instead.