Growing a Farmer Pt. 2

At the latter half of the book (chapter 12 onward), he delved into the rather graphic details of slaughtering and butchering, including his physical struggles and internal turmoil. At some point he spoke very matter of factly, about the technicalities of the butchering down to the buckets to hold the organs; but most of the time, he spoke with passion and compassion, showing the care for his animals. Kurt seemed to have found his calling in the ending of the book. He opened a farm-kitchen is that is quite novel to most people living in big cities, and he focuses his effort in cheese-making, as commercial crop like wheat, carrot and such are hard to produce cheaply and efficiently compared to larger farms, and butchering required much governmental supervision. Cheese, with its craft and artisan air, fitted perfectly with Kurt’s vision and available resources. He is now “cooking from the land”, this journey has enriched his culinary insight as well as changed his relationship with the nature, a wild ride to be more in touch with where our food came from.

I like the book not for its literal description and farm technicalities, but for the grander discussions about attitude on lifestyle, consumerism and nature. Much can be extracted from his plain and straight-forward writing style: entrepreneurs may see the failed business ventures and different more economically viable options; environmental activists may see the sustainable approaches and applaud the effort towards “cradle-to-cradle”, and many of us lay people may just enjoy a fun read about changing the urbanistic lifestyle for a busy but zen, rural life. Kurt didn’t write this to urge people to churn their own butter on a Saturday evening (to quote his own words). In my opinion, he was happy to share his shift in lifestyle and re-orientation of his priorities, and perhaps in the process inspire some of us city-dwellers.

I appreciate his story and it made me reflect on our (perhaps ignorant) acceptance of mass-produced food. I grew up watching “how it’s Made” and although it was fascinating seeing the technology behind producing commercial products, I am now aware how inhuman and detached the whole process is. Wheat flow from silos into glistening stainless steel mixers, and all ingredients travel in tubes into the mixer, and the results get pumped out and packaged, all with nearly no human contact. This is the manufacturing we have come to accept, as efficient, clean, and normal. But Kurt reminded us how it used to be done, with hands of the farm workers and lots of care and attention. And the scale and intimacy between him and his farm products really gave me a new perspective and appreciation for the things on my table.

I have attach short clip from a silly childhood movie “Chicken Run” for your entertainment! . The chicken pie machine in it has been how I imagine butchering is done for a very long time.