(no subject)

[teddywolf]

So. I had a concept spring up in my mind when at a talk about Kashrut at the Havurah camp last month. There have been problems with the kosher meat supply in this state (and others) - usually it's not too easy to find; and sometimes it comes from a large-scale commercial enterprise, a number of states away.

My thought was this: what if there were a farm for kosher meat in Massachusetts? It doesn't have to be the biggest and it doesn't have to be the sole source of kosher meat. The meat could be done on a co-operative basis, farm-share style, likely with Thursday deliveries at drop points. The cows would be free-range, organic I hope, primarily grass-fed with some corn and hay backup for completely snowed-in days. I am thinking cows, chickens and sheep. It does not have to include a dairy although it would be cool.

I can see several things that would be necessary for something like this:
1) Land. It takes a lot of land for grazing cows. One cow slaughtered per week could mean over a couple of square miles of range, which is not going to be easy to find in Massachusetts.
2) People with expertise. I know very little about farming and am not enamored of the idea of farming. A shochet (ritual butcher) would be needed too.
3) Money. See 1) and 2) above. They will not be cheap, as such.
4) Legal help. You need a lawyer for everything. This also refers back to 3).

I might be missing a few things.

The goals of this, that I can think of anyways:
1) provide high-quality kosher meat that's local.
2) be a foundation for part of a thriving kosher community in the state.
3) provide a good living for somebody willing to farm.
4) A place that would be willing to purchase the meat not taken by farm shares, which would be mostly the non-kasherable stuff.

I am thinking that if a standard grown cow is about 1,000 pounds of meat, and close to half of that cannot be kashered, then about 200 people could have some 2.5 pounds of beef a week, with occasional options for a chicken or some mutton if those animals are kept too. Double shares and family options could be available.

Right now this is nothing more than idea. Does anybody have any feedback on this? Flames excepted I mean.

This is left public in case you want to point people at it.

Comments

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could buy the land. Heck, I could do that small-scale with chickens now.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I've talked goddessfarmer about this a couple times, but I keep flaking on it. She's open to the idea. A bunch of us are interested, but nobody's actually stepped up and organized it. We've been running the numbers and it LOOKS reasonable. She's raises a few head of cattle, but not a lot; we'd have to organize it a season in advance. Basically, we'd pre-purchase the cattle from her.

My mother's rabbi has been trained as a shochet and is willing to help out with this, if we get it together. My father-in-law is willing to fly up and teach me how to butcher a side of beef. And I've got a half-dozen families that are interested.

I just haven't DONE it yet. But it does look possible.

[goddessfarmer.livejournal.com]

The butcher I already use will do Kosher butchering. If you want meat, I do need 18 months notice. At this point, I'm getting out of breeding, but could buy a 3mo calf, raise it, and take it to butcher. Cost would be - cost of calf ($4-800?) + cost of feed/labor for 1 yr ($900) + Transport to butcher ($50) + butcher cost ($25 for kosher + ~$1.25/lb hanging wt) to get ~900 lb of meat if I get a standard breed beef animal.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

What would YOUR cut be? $900 sounds mightly low for a year of work.

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

Well, count us in for a chunk of cow as soon as you get it going. Adam and I have been talking for a couple of years about splitting one with someone, we just weren't sure where to find the someones. That would be wonderful wonderful wonderful!

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

logistical point -- this enterprise may want to start with smaller animals than cows, 'cause they're easier to feed & care for.

health-related point -- beef is yummy and tasty, but it's also the equivalent of mainlining cholesterol, so my reaction to "2.5 lbs of beef per week" is "holy crap that's a lot of heart attacks in the making".

[rowanlyn-mirrim.livejournal.com]

2.5 lbs of beef is not that much actually (it sounds like a lot but there are only 16 oz in a lb) the 'serving' is 3 oz which is nothing so double it to 6 (a small steak, this is pre-cooking mind) gives you about 6.6, 6 oz servings or one meal for 6 people (3 for two). Even if you use the 3 oz measure for a family of 4 it comes out as just over 3 meals a week. (like 3 meals and some soup)

And Grassfed beef has a much lower cholesterol content then cornfed... and even if it were normal beef it wouldn't be "the equivalent of mainlining cholesterol" at those quantities.

I hate health propaganda, well really I hate propaganda of any sort come to think of it.

Kelly

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

"Concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, and cholesterol did not differ between grass-fed and control ground beef. "
-- from J Anim Sci. 2008 Jul 18, article titled "Effects of conventional and grass feeding systems on the nutrient composition of beef", which described a study trying to determine the nutrient composition of grass-fed beef in the United States for inclusion in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR).

...which i would believe more than web sites (which i found, upon searching) that claim the opposite, alongside such nonsense as "Saturated fat intake does not increase cholesterol levels" and "High cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease"

Also

[shmuelisms.livejournal.com]

One additional point to take into account, is the chance that upon being slaughtered, you discover your entire cow, is non-kosher (due to illness, internal defect or botched slaughter), then you would have a whole cow to get sell-off, and no meat for that week.

Good luck with your project. This sounds like a wonderful idea. I can't imagine what it'd be like to not have easy access to kosher meat. [ogles his nice beef shoulder]

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I've seen this same idea discussed on a couple local mailing lists, but the logistics and capital required seem to be considerable.

ot

[magid.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday! I hope it's a wonderful year for you.