Brandon and Lauren Sheard of Farmstead Meatsmith sit down together to start a conversation (a rare treat amidst a large household and growing homestead) that will continue in the months and years to come.

They begin a discussion on death, humane killing of animals, industrial meat system solutions, terminology of the home harvester and the varied topics they’ll cover in future episodes.

Most importantly they identify that every human can be part of the harvesting of her meat.  From urban rabbitry to small-scale carcass cutting and curing, every home can embrace many tasks of providing meat for it’s members.

Topics Discussed

• Introduction to Farmstead Meatsmith & A Meatsmith Harvest Podcast
• Meatsmith Membership info
• Topic 1: What is a Meatsmith?
• ‘The Harvest’ and the importance of death in the narrative of our food
• The ‘fantasy of a natural death’
• Docility to the harvest; receiving the gift nature gives
• Topic 2: Who can harvest? “Harvesting as a human endeavor”
• What’s the greatest hindrance of the home processing of meat? Fear of the unknown?
• Topic 3: Terms; Husbandry & stewarding the land.
• Ecological ethics of eating meat
• Terms: slaughter, butchery, charcuterie, curing
• Terms: Cookery. Braising, pan fry, and roasting are the only methods you need to know
• Episode 2 topics
• Additional Meatsmith info

Links for Episode 1

FarmsteadMeatsmith.com – Our website

Meatsmith Membership – open to new members September 20th, 2017

Upcoming classes – Our Pig, Lamb, and Rabbit&Hen slaughter classes are open

Alan Savory’s TED Talk – How to Green the World’s Deserts and Reverse Climate Change (See film below)

The Savory Institute – “Loss of grasslands leads to climate change, floods, droughts, famine, and worldwide poverty. It’s our mission to promote large-scale restoration of the world’s grasslands through Holistic Management.”

Etymology of husbandry, slaughter, kill, butchery, curing, evisceration, charcuterie, cookery

Farmrun.com is an agrarian creative media studio specializing in branding and photography.

On Anatomy of Thrift  films – The series, in its entirety, is a manifesto on the subject of eating animals. It winsomely illustrates the history, theory and philosophy of the act, as well as the brass tacks of Meatsmith know how.