Tonight on Jamie Oliver's new show 'Jamies Great Escape' we had the dubious pleasure of watching him slaughter a lamb before skinning it, slow roasting it then feeding it to large group of really delightful and hungry Italians.
It didn't come as a shock. I had read about the incident some time ago. The episode caused great consternation in Britain when the show was aired late last year. The creative sub editors of the tabloid press dubbed him 'Silencer of the Lamb' and animal welfare organisations accused him of promoting inhumane farming practices.
I've been ruminating on this event for some time now and this is what I've come up with. I've never killed my dinner. I don't know how many animals I've eaten, probably quite few. I do know that when I go to the supermarket and buy those lovely rump steaks there isn't some magic machine out the back producing the meat. I'm aware that a slaughter has taken place so that I can have my Sunday roast.
That being said there is no chance of me ever being a vegetarian. I'm such a meat eater I've listed a bacon sandwich as my preferred last meal and I've also been known to have a thin slice of quickly fried black pudding on rye toast for breakfast.
I have nothing against vegetarians. In fact I'm quite fond of a number of them. I like cooking with them, eating with them and standing up for them at carnivorous dinner parties. As much as I adore Anthony Bourdain I don't hold with his idea that all vegetarians are scum..Funny but not fair really.
Jamie Oliver was clearly distressed at having carried out the act of literal butchery but he did make one salient point "A chef who's cooked 2,000 sheep should kill at least one".
I've never killed my dinner. Maybe it would help if I said 'This was an animal. An animal with parents, with a face, with a voice. And I'm going to eat it'.
I've never killed my dinner. I imagine if I had to every time I wanted to have a lamb chop, maybe I wouldn't have them quite so often.
posted by Ramona @ 10:32 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I didn't see the show (surprise surprise) but here I go foot-first into the debate: I once took a rooster from cage to table. It took most of the morning and was messy work. I used to tell this story a lot, as if it gave me rights that non-killers don't have. Looking back on the experience I've decided it was ultimately unfulfilling and unrewarding, and it gave me no insight at all into how live animals go from paddock to plate. It's nice to take responsibility for what you consume, but it's naive to think that the way your meat is prepared matters more than, say, the deforestation required to bring you those soya beans or the global warming resulting from driving your car. So I say gimme a steak, and I say the hell with it. J
hmmm J, getting quite cynical in your old age I suspect. I know there is a whole lot of environmental issues surrounding the raising of meat, and those that know me can attest to my complete lack of understanding of those issues. I'm probably approaching this more from a philosophical point of view, probably seeking more of that sense of ritual that comes when you are fully aware of what you're doing, why you're doing it and just owning that experience R
I think I'd be perfectly happy to kill Jamie bloody Oliver, but I don't think I could face eating him later - so it would be a waste?
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