Today, the children and I went to a small family farm. The family is a homeschooling family like us, and they are in the early stages of building their farm. So far, they only have chickens, but in time they will have eggs, beef, and fruit.
The family invited us to visit their farm to see them process chickens - so we could see how chickens go from "wing" to food. I knew this would be touchy for the kids, but it was a great learning experience, so we went. Plus, my kids already have a deeper understanding of what we eat than the average American child in the twenty-first century. So we went.
The hardest part for the kids was watching the chickens bleed out, so we distracted them during that part. The next difficult moment came when the guts were removed from the chicken's belly cavity. But the whole operation was done by the family in a humane manner that preserved the dignity of each of God's creatures.
I can certainly see how many people exposed to this type of thing infrequently could decide to be vegan, but my faith in The Bible tells me that God intended these creatures to be nourishment for our bodies. When we were given charge over the earth, we were to care for the animals and plants in it so that they would provide for our needs. It is a tough thing to see, but in my opinion, we are all far too detached from our food anyway. We don't see God's beautiful design when we ignore the facts of the circle of life. We can't appreciate God's infinite wisdom when we refuse to acknowledge the creatures who gave their lives for us to sup.
I cannot say it was easy to cook the bird I brought home. I would be lying if I told you none of us thought twice about eating it when it was plated. But I can assure you that our supper prayer was quite different tonight. We had a much greater appreciation for the sacrifice that was made on our behalf than we do when we purchase Styrofoam packages of meats at the grocery store.
Our homeschool is more than facts and figures. Our homeschool is life, God, family, and love. We learned a lot about those things on that small chicken farm. I just hope the kids continue to eat chicken! {smile}
Blessings,
Angie
The family invited us to visit their farm to see them process chickens - so we could see how chickens go from "wing" to food. I knew this would be touchy for the kids, but it was a great learning experience, so we went. Plus, my kids already have a deeper understanding of what we eat than the average American child in the twenty-first century. So we went.
The hardest part for the kids was watching the chickens bleed out, so we distracted them during that part. The next difficult moment came when the guts were removed from the chicken's belly cavity. But the whole operation was done by the family in a humane manner that preserved the dignity of each of God's creatures.
I can certainly see how many people exposed to this type of thing infrequently could decide to be vegan, but my faith in The Bible tells me that God intended these creatures to be nourishment for our bodies. When we were given charge over the earth, we were to care for the animals and plants in it so that they would provide for our needs. It is a tough thing to see, but in my opinion, we are all far too detached from our food anyway. We don't see God's beautiful design when we ignore the facts of the circle of life. We can't appreciate God's infinite wisdom when we refuse to acknowledge the creatures who gave their lives for us to sup.
I cannot say it was easy to cook the bird I brought home. I would be lying if I told you none of us thought twice about eating it when it was plated. But I can assure you that our supper prayer was quite different tonight. We had a much greater appreciation for the sacrifice that was made on our behalf than we do when we purchase Styrofoam packages of meats at the grocery store.
Our homeschool is more than facts and figures. Our homeschool is life, God, family, and love. We learned a lot about those things on that small chicken farm. I just hope the kids continue to eat chicken! {smile}
Blessings,
Angie
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