Martins Patrick - The carnivores man!festo : eating well, eating responsibly, and eating meat

T his book is an action-based approach to eating meat and living well on the planet Earth. It is about pleasure, and dignity, and fairness.

Every year Americans eat more than ten billion livestock. Unfortunately, most of these animals are the product of inhumane, nonsustainable, and cruel factory farming, the stuff of fast food and supermarket specials. Its a system that is bad for animals, is bad for people, and punishes an overtaxed environment.

T HE C ARNIVORES M ANIFESTO effects a path to liberating ourselves from fast food and corporate agriculture and the destruction they bring. T HE C ARNIVORES M ANIFESTO recognizes that a virtuous alternate American farm system has always existed, and has incredible potential to grow as a viable option to feed all Americans.

When it comes to the sort of greedy corporate farming and aberrant agriculture that supplies most Americans with their meat, we are completely in solidarity with our vegetarian friends. It is our belief that no one should be subjected to the unacceptable and harsh practices of that system.

The meat we celebrate is the righteous kind, from healthy animals of sound genetics that have been treated humanely and allowed to pursue their natural instincts. Antibiotics and growth hormones are not part of the system. The environment is respected, and fair labor is practiced.

Unfortunately, not everyone has access to quality food all the time, but all people deserve to eat this way. We dismiss the claim that good food is elitist, and that we should accept low standards of food quality for anyone. We applaud anything that moves the dial in the right direction, away from the Industrial Food Complex that has betrayed our trust: slowing down, eating meat in season, investing in local businesses, or getting cozy with your butcher.

This is a practical guide. We arent confusing day-to-day life with impossible-to-achieve ideals, nor do we think we can create some sort of feel-good food utopiathe B in pretty much every BLT in the nation comes from a cruel systembut we are certain we should strive for it.

Following the advice in this book will ensure that you have a better relationship with the world around you and the food on your plate. You will feel better and have more fun.

Welcome to T HE C ARNIVORES M ANIFESTO .

It boggles the mind when food is confused with fashion. Food is not a handbag; it is about sustenance and survival. It is the ultimate intimacyyou put it in your mouth. You put it in your body.

There is no bigger issue of our time than our food supply and the earths ability to provide it for us. On every front, we are spoiling our nest. The thin layer of topsoil that feeds the planet is fraying like a cheap suit. Global warming is turning agricultural havens into deserts. Pesticides are poisoning a water supply that is quickly drying up in many areas. Our livestock are so overbred for fast growth that their bones are weaka quarter of all chickens arrive at the slaughterhouse already injured and in pain. Antibiotics are fed to animals because they are presumed to be too sick to live without them, and humans who eat them, especially children, are becoming immune to certain medicines because of this chemically tainted food chain. We have lost most of the independent farms in this country. We need action!

My company, Heritage Foods USA, moves sixty thousand pounds of pasture-raised heritage and rare-breed pork and beef every week, and five times that amount of meat in October, November, and December because of all the turkeys, geese, and goats that are naturally ready for harvest during the holidays. Working with some of our nations best farmers and chefs to get this food on the table is an honor, a responsibility, and a privilege that we cherish.