[Pawpaw Tony]

my son tells me he plans to take his children to a cattle sale with meat processing plant..
this when they at an age to comprehend,, that the hamburger they eat came from an animal that had to die..
i might not have said this right.. but i think his idea is good..
not many kids are raised these days, in an enviroment ,where they learn this naturally at hog killing time or whatever..
this relates to hunting an guns ,in that the same applys to what we take as game..
really enjoyed a deer roast at my daughters house,last week.
came from a ten pointer..son in law got an eight an ten pointer last year also..plus some does for people who needed the meat..good hunter imo.

 

[Saskshooter]

my son tells me he plans to take his children to a cattle sale with meat processing plant..
this when they at an age to comprehend.

The age and the ability to comprehend is the critical concept. A slaughter house is a traumatic scene for most adults. You don't teach kids about sex by forcing them to watch porn either.

I taught my kids by having them help with the processing of game, fish, and birds that we often collected as a family. It was treated as a completely ordinary part of our lives. I would never have taken them to an abattoir for that lesson.

 

[jbee]

I would start them off with fish, then squirrels, then rabbits, and work my way up to the big stuff.

 

[MikeG]

Yup, fish, small game, deer, pigs.... work your way up!

 

[oldbull]

4th grade teacher takes class to slaughter house

A 4th grade teacher in Greely Colorado takes her class to the slaughter house each and every year for a tour of the facilities. I asked my 8th graders where ground beef, chicken legs and fish patties came from. They didn't have a clue. I sure wish I lived closer to a slaughter house so that I too could take my students for an educational tour. My own kids were raised on wild game (rabbits, squirrels, deer, and turkey) as I couldn't always afford to buy meat at the local grocery store when they were growing up.

 

[Pawpaw Tony]

i think the key is the young person should be told about whats in store.then allowed to make thier choice as to whether they want to see it ..or is hearing about it enough..
i agree ,its best if it was done in a way that allows them to be acclimated to reality in a gradual way..its just not available to those who don t hunt or raise thier on beef or whatever..

 

[Jakeway]

I remember as a kid, my dad taking a few of us over to my uncle's house. They had a few goats. We chose one, tied a lead to it, took it out back, and put a 22 bullet behind its ear. It dropped like that and never moved or made a sound. We then proceded to butcher it. Great learning experience.

 

[[email protected]]

Things were different for some of us that were kids 50+ years ago. Grew up w/my dad walking through the hogs w/that H&R .22 revolver and Grandpop following him w/the blooding knife. When it worked out right there was very little noise or commotion. The rest of the process of butchering was anassembly line that was a lot of fun w/all the kin folks and just the air was natural easy.

The killing floor of a packing house is a loud, rioutous and very bloody place.

 

[stinky]

Paw Paw...I bet you live close enough and you haven't looked hard enough. Aren't there any custom meat cutting houses in your area. Nobody cuts up wild game? A grocery store or butcher shop? Most grocery stores receive (I think) a cow carcass and then go from there. That would be enough.

After going into a Kosher meat plant...I told my wife that I do a better job on the side of the mountain than what they do in a plant. If you don't watch it, you'll turn them all into vegetarians.

The kill floor...you MAY or may not want to show it to the kids. There will be 1/4" of blood on the floor. The cows will have poop on their backs from being confined in tight quarters. The carcasses come out w/the guts gone and the hides being removed. Then they they start cutting them in pieces.

Hotdogs....they grind everything but the moo. That could be interesting.

Go look at it first and then get a parents permission slip. Some parents won't understand.

 

[Shawn Crea]

I don't know how old the children in question are, but I personally would advise against taking any kids younger than 8 or 10 years old to a slaughter house. Shock-value can go either way, and I agree with MikeG; start slow and small. And I agree with stinky, you don't want to shock them such that they swear off all meat, or worse, become anti-hunters. A slaughter house isn't hunting, but like hunting, the animal had to die for it to get to the table. Young minds may not make that distinction.