On Monday we talked about how people are turning to local farmer's markets to buy eggs from local producers rather than the mass-produced stock generally available in the grocery store. What about meats?
With the exception of a small few, selling proteins at the farmer's market has been difficult, in part due to the process and cost of loading cattle and driving hours away to a slaughterhouse. The mechanical end is also a deterrent for those who pride themselves on raising organic, humanly kept animals.
The answer is in the fast growing niche industry of the mobile slaughterhouse. The Chicago Tribune has more:
Would you buy meat from a mobile slaughterhouse?With a mobile slaughter unit, usually built on a flatbed truck, a local farmer can have small numbers of animals slaughtered on or near the farm, then sell the meat to neighbors or at farmers markets. Many supporters argue that mobile slaughter units, which might handle only five cows a day, better promote food safety than slaughterhouses that process thousands of animals.
"There's a lot of enthusiasm for this," said Arion Thiboumery of Iowa State University, who has studied mobile slaughter units. "In large plants, the animals go by real fast. This is much smaller, so it's slower. Many people say it's safer."
The nation's first federally inspected mobile slaughter unit — the units travel with an inspector — started in Washington state. Today, Thiboumery said, there are about 20 mobile slaughter units for poultry and a half-dozen for cattle around the country.
Further Reading:
Slashfood.com on the new trend
A metafilter.com user has first hand insight into the mobile slaughterhouse phenomenon
