Author's Note: This was a short blog post I wrote for the nascent organization of craft butchers called The Butcher's Guild. They have an Oath that they ask each of their members to commit to. I used that Oath as a framework for this short article about how they can bring more values and meat ethics into their craft and businesses as butchers and meat purveyors. Thanks for reading!
As a Butcher’s Guild member you take an oath to uphold certain values as you practice your craft and run your business. What does it look like to embody these values as it pertains to the sourcing of your meat and how you present it to your customers?
Heart: I maintain integrity in relationships with customers and vendors. Relationship integrity means several things- transparency, fair pricing negotiations, upholding quality, and being truthful about your challenges. In short, it is about honesty. Are you telling your customers the full story of your meat products? Are you using words that obfuscate the truth or ones that explain exactly how the animal was raised, where it was raised, and who the actual farmer is? When you say “local”, what does that mean exactly? When you say “natural”, what are the actual practices behind that word? Being clear about what your definitions are will help educate your customers and will demonstrate your integrity. Commit to that honesty.
Source: I aim to support local, sustainable farms and practice whole animal butchery. It can be challenging to call up several different farmers to order meat, but have you even tried? Are you willing to build and strengthen relationships with farmers who are upholding your values and need time to produce the volume that you need? Or do you flit around buying a little bit here and there but not making that commitment to see a farmer grow to scale? Do you buy meat from a local farmer for special events but then go back to your ‘regular’ meat middleman the rest of the time? What is preventing you from making that commitment to the local farmer? Make sure you define what local and sustainable means to you so you can be transparent, as mentioned above. Go visit the farms in person so you can improve your understanding of animal production practices. Ask questions, dig a little deeper. If an animal is raised in confinement in Canada and fed conventional, GMO feeds and then slaughtered in your state and processed into sausage, don’t call that local, don’t call that sustainable. Be truthful about what it is and work to find more values-based sources closer to home.
Hand: I strive to improve my knife skills and knowledge of the trade. You know this one better than I do. But consider that being a skilled and knowledgeable butcher starts at the farm. Understand how animals are raised and killed and maybe even participate in that process so you can appreciate all the details, logistics, and energy that goes into meat production. Learn to have reverence for the animal whose life was given for the meat in your walk-in- this will encourage you to work even harder to utilize the whole animal to it’s maximum value and reduce waste wherever possible. These actions will not only make you a more conscientious butcher but also a better ambassador for the meat you are selling.
Voice: I am an active community member and encourage a healthy food system. Being an advocate for a healthy food system must start with how you eat yourself, how you work with your supply chain, how you communicate your values and educate your consumers. Every dollar you spend is a vote for the food system you want to see. If your dollars are going to investor-owned corporations, confinement animal production, farms that feed conventional, GMO grains, or those that exploit their workers or turn their contract farmers into serfs, than that is the farming system that will remain the status quo. If you want to see a more diversified, family-operated, grass and pasture-based, non-GMO and non-chemical food system, than put your time and money into it. If your regular suppliers are not upholding all the values that you strive for, communicate to them what you would like to see. Then commit to work with them through their transition to more sustainable practices. We will all be better off for it.

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