Don't think that what happened with this hog is their fault because it isn't. It's the fault of the locker, the butcher and whatever the hell they did to that poor beast before slaughter. Matt and Kelli care for their beasts, treat them well, don't abuse them nor prod, poke or shock them. They are raised kindly, taken care of and then, at the end, they should be dispatched quickly and as mercifully as possible.
The poor hog was massively stressed just before death. This fact shows in the resulting meat. Bacon, ham, roasts, steak, even bottom layers of fat, are riddled with dozens and dozens of petachiae, tiny ruptured blood vessels. This is what it looks like:
This sickens me to the core of my being. Why? Because that poor hog died horribly afraid. I worked at a locker plant years ago and can still hear the screams* of stressed hogs. My employer then never, and I mean NEVER, slaughtered a hog when it was in that state. He let them out of the chute and put them back in a pen to calm down. In some cases, he called the producer and had them come get the beast and take it back to the farm, just to avoid the kind of fearsome death this beast suffered.
I emailed this photograph to Kelli, telling her that I didn't believe this resulted from any action of theirs, but from something that happened at the locker. She emailed back and said they had problems with this previously but the locker owner told them it was THEIR fault. What gall, what incredible face-out gall on his part. I told her just how this happens and that hogs are particularly sensitive to stress and fear, being smart beasts. Then I put forward the suggestion that she call their vet and consult with him about the situation and show him the photograph. He acknowledged that my verdict was absolutely spot-on.
The result is that Matt and Kelli are removing their business from that particular locker and taking it elsewhere. They have been touring various facilities, based on the vet's advice, over the last couple of weeks and I received an email from her Monday evening that they believe they have found a more humane place to do business.
This will impact the locker negatively and, since the owner has shown no intention of changing his practices, it will serve him right. We rather will honor the beasts that give their lives so we may live and we will not knowingly contribute to unneeded suffering. If we choose to eat meat, we must do so with as much gratitude and humanity as our hearts can find.
* Yes, they scream. It's a sound I never want to hear again in my lifetime.
