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Hamburger Farm Field Trip, Part II
I wish I was a vegetarian. Today on the Hamburger Farm field trip with my son’s 2nd grade class I had to look a Black Angus yearling cow in his big, beautiful, long-lashed eyes and tell him, “I’m sorry I will be eating you in a few years. I just can’t say no to your delicious flanks. That and Ben and Jerry’s double fudge brownie ice cream.” Thankfully, I was the only one distressed by this circle of life moment. I was the picture of over-protective mother making sure I chaperoned this great Hamburger Farm field trip adventure, worried my son would find out where hamburgers really do come from. I was ready to cover his eyes and plug his ears to preserve his naiveté. No more magical hamburger stork, but the truth revealed that mommy and daddy do it all the time and like it – eat slaughtered beef. The trip started innocently enough with a petting zoo, corn pit (think ball bit with corn), and giant slides and tires to play on. The farm provided a BBQ hamburger lunch that I hoped was not fresh. Then we took a train to an acre in the shape of a hamburger that produced all a burger’s natural ingredients. The kids started by grinding some wheat, saw some budding green tomatoes, pulled up some onions, tasted some lettuce, and getting a good look at the more fortunate dairy cow and her loins of cheese. When the guide proceeded to tell us the dairy cow’s neighbor was a Black Angus cow used for beef, I held my breath, scanning the faces of twenty 2nd graders. But no quizzical looks appeared, no hands shot up with clarification, no child seemed disturbed with this revelation (if in fact it was). No, the moment of truth was saved when the cow distracted from his own fate by taking a well timed peepee to the delighted gross out of a passel of 8 year olds. As the guide moved us on to simulated milking of a cow, the only kid who did absorb just exactly where hamburgers come from said to no one in particular, “Now all he needs is a piece of cheese on his nose.” So, in the end, my kid still believes in Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and that he didn’t just pet his lunch at a petting zoo. I sure hope they don’t have a 6 comments from 5 users
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posted by
Mama26
on May 2, 2008 at 08:23 PM
posted by
creatress
on May 3, 2008 at 07:05 AM
Maybe the kids thought "burgers" come from udders like milk? I doubt they really got "you're eating Bessie's fred Greg. Greg was slaughtered and we processed his fat and muscle into your lunch!" Don't get me wrong, I'm not a vegetarian. But I'm not squeemish either. I also try to eat mainly farm raised meat w/o antibiotics, growth hormones, humaine slaughter (if there is such a thing) and organic fed. At least then I know it wasn't tortured it's whole life before it ended up on my plate. If given the option to either become a hunter, or go veg, I'd hunt. If people answer veg, you may want to consider it for real! Living in Davis, I went veg for about 1 week and hated every day of it. Sounds like a very informative field trip! I hope you didn't get a tour of the veal section! posted by
kellimwheeler
on May 3, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Thanks Mama26! It's always nice to have validation that you're not just amusing yourself. I'm glad I could save you some anxiety for your own trip -- my son lovvvved this field trip, so I know your kids will too. He can't wait to go back when they transform it into Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in the fall. Creatress, my brother was quite frank as well when I told him how much I was bothered by where my beef comes from (after that horrible slaughterhouse video surfaced). He said, "I don't care what they do to it -- prod it, roll it, fork lift it, hurt it's feelings, I'm gonna eat it." I wonder how long I'd be happy eating spaghetti... posted by
AmandaS
on May 3, 2008 at 01:40 PM
This whole experience would freak me out. I'm not a vegetarian, but hate thinking about anything with big brown eyes staring at me right before being led into In-n-Out .
posted by
cnigg
on Jun 6, 2008 at 02:25 PM
Hi,
Thanks for your post. Second grade seems a little young for this; I think 5th grade would be better, when kids are thinking for themselves, can absorb what they see, and before they become inflexible teenagers :-) With that CA packing plant spearing cows too sick to stand with a forklift, I wonder if we could all do with some more exposure to the current reality, so that better choices can be made by our next generation. For instance, what would be wrong with giving thanks to our food animals and treating them with decency? For an awareness that our life depends in part on the lives of these creatures, rather than just being the payload inside a bun under the cheese? Finally, I wonder what America would be like if every 5th grade class made a visit to the slaughterhouse? posted by
kellimwheeler
on Jun 6, 2008 at 11:26 PM
Well, some good food for thought (pardon the pun). There is definitely a disengagement of where our food comes from -- including myself. It's too hard to look ol' Bessie in her big brown eyes at the state fair and then go have an order of ribs. I do like your idea of giving thanks and maybe choosing to eat free range animals, or as my grandma calls them: happy chickens and happy cows. But the slaughterhouse idea is too much I think. Part of the magic of being a kid is that ignorance is bliss, at least for a little while. There'll be plenty of overwhelming reality soon enough. Thanks for your thought provoking comments. Enjoy the journey.
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thats hilarious. i'm going to use that line when we go on that trip in two weeks. cheese on the nose...hahahaha. glad to know its not the "field trip to the slaughter house" i thought it would be. my second grader and her prescholler sister whom im taking along love their tri tip!
ps love your blogs btw =)