Hen/Rooster
R: Sara yeye gbarun lo, Sara yeye
Shake your feathery body and carry away Illness, Shake your feathery body
C: Agbe bo adie / Aku ko adie
Hen/Rooster
R: Sara yeye gbofo lo, Sara yeye
Shake your feathery body and carry away Loss, Shake your feathery body
C: Agbe bo adie / Aku ko adie
Hen/Rooster
R: Sara yeye gbegba lo, Sara yeye
Shake your feathery body and carry away Paralysis, Shake your feathery body
C: Agbe bo adie / Aku ko adie
Hen/Rooster
R: Sara yeye gboran lo, Sara yeye
Shake your feathery body and carry away Big Trouble, Shake your feathery body
C: Agbe bo adie / Aku ko adie
Hen/Rooster
R: Sara yeye gbepe lo, Sara yeye
Shake your feathery body and carry away Curse, Shake your feathery body
C: Agbe bo adie / Aku ko adie
Hen/Rooster
R: Sara yeye gbewon lo, Sara yeye
Shake your feathery body and carry away Imprisonment, Shake your feathery body
C: Agbe bo adie / Aku ko adie
Hen/Rooster
R: Sara yeye gbese lo, Sara yeye
Shake your feathery body and carry away All the Others, Shake your feathery body
Birds are slaughtered in killing cones, allowing the blood to drain into a receptacle below. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.
It is significantly less traumatic for birds to be transported a few hundred feet from the pasture to the place of transition than it is to box them into a vehicle and transport them miles to a slaughterhouse. At all stages of the process, we strive to make the work as gentle as possible. Still, we cannot prevent suffering. In the raising of animals (and plants for that matter), there is always pain and loss. We encourage you not to gloss over this or numb yourself to it, rather to feel the emotions it engenders and move from a place of compassion for these beings you steward and for yourself.
On transition day we first set up all of the equipment. The killing cones are erected and sprayed with cooking oil to prevent the blood from sticking. A large pot of water is warmed to 150°F (66°C) on the gas burner with a floating thermometer inside. The plastic folding tables are erected and sanitized, cutting boards and knives arranged neatly atop and buckets waiting underneath for offal. The 100-gallon (380 L) chilling tank is filled with cold water and ice.
Once our transition area is completely ready and the scalding pot hot with steam, we gather the first batch of 16 birds from their housing, holding each one firmly with wings against the body. The birds are transported in a garden cart that we retrofit with some chicken wire and a sheet to make it into a dark and secure carrier. They rest quietly in the dark garden cart at the processing station until their turn to be transitioned.
We place the birds upside down into the killing cones, belly facing out. We then pluck the feathers on one side of the neck to allow unobstructed access to the carotid artery. A very sharp knife is used to make a firm, singular stroke through the artery but not through the bone, which would dull the knife. We hold the neck open for a few moments to ensure blood flow, then wait several minutes for blood to drain and all electrical impulses and muscle spasms to stop.
Scalding water loosens the feathers and makes their removal easier. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.
The next step is to remove the dead bird from the killing cones by the feet. Hose off the bird to remove blood, dirt, and any feces. Place it upside down into the hot-water pot at 150°F (66°C). Depending on the size of the pot, you may be able to put two or three birds in the hot-water bath at the same time. Submerge the bird up to the knees, swishing back and forth, not in and out. Keep the animal in the hot water for approximately 60 seconds, until a large wing feather pulls out with a light tug.
Once the feathers are loose, you can place the bird into the plucking machine. The claws of the chicken can tear its skin in the plucker, so it is best to remove the feet before turning on the machine. Remove the feet by cutting through cartilage, not bone. Place the feet in a covered bucket. Run the plucking machine until almost all of the feathers are removed. Before we were able to rent a plucking machine from a neighboring farm, we did our plucking by hand. If you choose to use the hand-plucking method, pull the feathers off in handfuls, tugging in the opposite direction of the feathers’ natural orientation. Remove the stubborn feathers with tweezers or needle-nose pliers.
The plucking machine removes most of the feathers using water and rubber “fingers.” Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.
Once plucked, the birds move to the sanitary evisceration zone of the operation. Wash hands thoroughly before proceeding. All table surfaces, cutting boards, and knives are sanitized with bleach in this area, and workers do not cross back and forth between the slaughter area and the sanitary evisceration area. At this station all chickens and their parts should be covered with towels to prevent flies.
The steps of evisceration are as follows:
Cut off the oil gland on top of the tail.
Remove the neck by cutting the muscle at the base and then pulling off; do not cut through bone.
Open the body cavity by making a narrow triangular cut from under the breastbone down to either side of the cloaca; cut through skin and fat but don’t nick organs.
Reach into the bird with the back of your hand against the inside of the belly, break through connective tissue until you reach the heart, and pull all the organs out in one go. Be careful not to pierce the gallbladder and spill bile on the meat.
Scrape the lungs off the ribs against the back.
Clean up any esophagus or trachea remaining in the neck area, and trim the neck skin if ragged.
Save the heart, liver, neck, and any other desired organs for consumption. Place the remaining offal in a covered bucket for composting later.
Evisceration is the process of removing the internal organs from the bird. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.
Rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with a hose and then place it in the tank of ice water to chill. If you have many birds to do, it is best to add ice intermittently to ensure that the water remains cold. In between batches of birds, scrub equipment with soapy water and rinse with 10 percent bleach solution.
After all the birds are processed, drain them in a drying rack. Place a neck in each bird and a bird in each vacuum-seal bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal it with its designated clip. Dip the bag into water at 180°F (82°C) to achieve a vacuum seal. Trim excess plastic from the bag. Weigh the bird, label with the weight, and transfer to the freezer immediately.
Once evisceration is complete, birds are cooled immediately in an ice-water bath. Photo by Neshima Vitale-Penniman.
To clean up, compost all offal deeply into a compost pile or bury it in the earth. Wash all equipment and surfaces with soapy water, spray with bleach solution, and leave in the sun to dry and further sanitize.
In addition to cleaning up the physical space after slaughter, we have experienced the importance of cleaning ourselves emotionally and spiritually. Even having transitioned hundreds of birds, I personally feel a heavy and powerful energy cling to me each time I participate in slaughter. This energy is necessary for the work, but not something I want to carry into play with my children or dinner with my friends. At Soul Fire Farm we use spiritual baths to cleanse ourselves and mark the transition between the time for taking life and the time for existing in life. (See “Herbal Baths” on page 64.) Prayer, song, ritual, journaling, and contemplative silence all may be used to help you make this shift in a manner that is life affirming.
Raising Pigs
I pulled up on my bicycle as the sun began to rise and evaporate the dew. My 6:30 AM chore at Many Hands Organic Farm in Massachusetts was to care for the pigs before the crew workday began at 7 AM. Most days the task was simple, to check that the automatic waterer
was flowing, refill the feed cans, and offer some kind words of affection to the sounder (family group of pigs). Once in a while, though, the bright and courageous sows burrowed under the fence and set themselves free, eagerly devouring crops and weeds nearby. I learned quickly that trying to chase and tackle a pig is not a good strategy. Instead I would lure the errant sow with treats and song back to the pen. Our pigs were expert at turning new ground and clearing old crops in preparation for planting. We rotated them around the farm, where they rooted out weeds and left their rich manure to compost in place. The following season we planted vegetables in the renewed earth.
As our family in Haiti knows well, pigs are adaptable scavengers, soil fertilizers, and quick-growing protein sources. They are also relatively easy to raise. Each pig requires a minimum of 50 square feet (4.5 square meters) of space in their outdoor pen and a simple shelter to protect from sun and rain. Ideally, this is a three-sided shelter, open on the fourth side, about 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.5 m) tall. Leave openings under the eaves for ventilation and provide fresh bedding material regularly.
Pigs are incredible escape artists. Rhyne Cureton, an African American pig farmer in North Carolina, shared his love story with this powerful animal. He was in Texas managing his first sow, an English Large Black named Louise. She escaped her paddock by lifting a 7-foot (2-m) chain-link fence 5 feet (1.5 m) up in the air. Prior to that moment he did not like pigs much. Seeing her brute strength and sincerity, he said to her, “I am going to love you so hard that I’ll begin to understand and appreciate you, and not get frustrated with you.” He looked her right in the eye and told her, “I want to understand you.” He has kept to that pact, letting go of pride and resistance in favor of connection. He fell in love with pigs.
Since pigs are natural diggers and can escape from any pen made of mesh wire, electric fencing with a strong energizer is best. Many farmers even put an extra strand of electric wire inside the pen at ground level to discourage the pigs from digging underneath the barrier. Biosecurity is also very important. The diseases brucellosis and trichinosis can be transmitted to pigs through wild boars. Rhyne recommends using two layers of fencing at least 1 foot apart from each other to prevent the nose of the boar from touching the nose of the domestic pig and spreading disease.
You can buy your 50-pound (23 kg) piglets in spring or early summer. Select either gilts (females) or barrows (castrated males). Always raise pigs with at least one companion, as they are social animals. Regarding varieties, Rhyne recommends Tamworths, which are easy to raise, are talented foragers, and produce lean meat. He also likes Ossabaw Island hogs, Guinea hogs, Mangalitsa, Large Blacks, and Gloucestershire Old Spots for fattier cuts of meat.
UPLIFT
Creole Pig
Haitian farmers bred the perfect pig for their unique climate and culture. The Haitian black pig, or Creole pig, became the center of the rural peasant economy. They were a hearty breed that ate readily available waste products and could survive for days without food. Nearly 85 percent of rural households raised pigs, which served as a “piggy bank” to pay for school fees, emergencies, funerals, marriages, and medical expenses. The Creole pig also played an important role in maintaining the fertility of the soil.10 In 1982 the US government initiated a campaign to eradicate the Creole pig under the pretense that they might become sick with African swine flu, which was present in the Dominican Republic, and spread that disease to pigs in the US. Convinced to cooperate, the Haitian government helped to destroy all 400,000 Creole pigs in the nation over a 13-month period. They made promises to replace the pigs with “better” pigs. These “better” pigs from Iowa required clean drinking water, expensive imported feed, and roofed pigpens, none of which were attainable for peasant farmers. The Haitian farmers called the new pigs les princes a quatre pieds (four-footed princes).11 In the year after the devastation of the Creole pig, school enrollment dropped between 30 and 50 percent in rural areas because families could no longer afford tuition fees and school uniforms. All told, Haitian peasants endured half a billion dollars’ worth of damages.12 Further, the Creole black pig was central to the practice of the island’s religion.13 The 1791 ritual at Bois Caïman that launched the Haitian Revolution involved the sacrifice of a black pig. Houngan Dutty Boukman led the Vodou ritual, and Mambo Marinette, who was possessed by the Iwa Erzulie Dantor, a Vodou goddess of love and warrior mother, performed the pig sacrifice. This offering forged a bond of unity and pact of victory between the enslaved Haitians and Iwa Erzulie Dantor to rise up together and defeat the French.14
Pigs need access to food 24 hours per day, which is best accomplished with a self-feeder. They start on a 16 percent protein feed and can substitute a 14 percent protein feed once they reach 125 pounds (57 kg). Additionally, pigs can eat surplus produce. Throughout their lifetime each pig will consume about 700 pounds (318 kg) of feed. Pigs also need a continuous supply of clean water, best attained through an automatic waterer that the pig can turn on and off. Be sure to bury the hose running to the pen under an inch of soil to prevent the sun from overheating the water along the way. The food can be set up adjacent to the shelter. It is best to keep the water supply on the far end of the pen, since pigs tend to defecate near their water. According to Rhyne, it is also important to build a bond with your pigs, by staying with them for at least 15 minutes each day at chore time to play and walk with them and observe their behavior.
He explained, “I like to spend time with them to observe their behavior because the more you spend time with them, the more you’re able to detect or understand when something is wrong. If you have pigs that have a habit of getting out, most likely it’s because they either are bored or lack resources. As a pig farmer I have to make sure that my pigs aren’t bored, so I rotate them regularly to prevent boredom; it’s called enrichment. If they escape their paddock or enclosure, it might have to do with what I’m doing wrong. Do the pigs eat enough or are they escaping so that they can forage? Do they have enough clean water or did they flip it over in the morning and didn’t have water for the rest of the day? Do they have enough shade throughout the entire day or are they directly in the heat by high noon? If a pig farmer doesn’t take that into account, then it is very easy to get frustrated and blame the pig for the farmer’s lack of pig husbandry. Pig husbandry goes beyond just feeding, water, and shelter. That’s why it’s important to spend time with your pigs. It’s like having a relationship with someone. The more time you spend with someone, the more you notice the little details about what they enjoy, what they hate, their range of emotions, and how to avoid unnecessary conflict.”
Pigs require a three-sided shelter and plenty of space to forage.
Farmer Rhyne Cureton enjoys a “kiss” from one of his pigs. Photo courtesy of Rhyne Cureton.
Pigs can also be rotated through paddocks in the forest, orchard, or field to eat the harvest of the land. Dr. George Washington Carver lamented that a “great quantity of acorns produced in our oak forests” had “been hitherto practically a waste product … and the feeding values of this natural product [had been], in great measure, lost sight of.” He observed that acorns not only were free to impoverished Black farmers, but also provided an overlooked economic justification to preserve the forests from the axes of timber companies.15 Finishing pigs on acorns imparts a rich, desirable flavor to their meat.
With proper feeding, pigs will reach market weight of 250 pounds (113 kg) in approximately 100 days. Rhyne shared his method for “weighing” pigs without a scale. He measures the girth of the pig around its chest cavity. The heart girth correlates to weight regardless of the breed. When the hog measures 44 inches around the heart, it weighs around 240 pounds (109 kg).
To move pigs to another pen or to move them into a horse trailer to bring to the butcher, patience is key. Pigs prefer to be lured with food treats rather than pushed. Someone should walk behind the pigs holding a piece of plywood, called a pig hurdle, so they do not escape by turning back.16
The
blessing of having pigs on the farm extends beyond their value for meat and manure. Jon Jackson, veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and Georgia Black farmer, started Comfort Farms to help fellow veterans recover from PTSD. He has observed firsthand the therapeutic benefits of raising pigs. “Animals don’t care about your bad day,” Jackson explained. “They’re going to come up, and they’re like, ‘I want you to pet me.’ And you’re like, ‘Okay, I’m feeling really mad right now, but I’m petting you.’ Man, [these animals] don’t know the amazing stuff that they’re doing for our vets who come through.”17
UPLIFT
Collard Greens with Ham Hocks, Fatback, or Turkey Neck
Our enslaved ancestors were denied prime cuts of meat, allowed only to eat the leftover and undesirable cuts and the offal of the animal. We combined these meager rations with the vegetables that we could grow ourselves in provision gardens. Our ancestors used vegetables from the brassica family—collards, mustards, and turnips—as stand-ins for the greens we ate in our homeland. We flavored these greens with bits of ham hock, fatback, and turkey neck to impart taste and nutrients to the pot. While this practice was born of necessity, not necessarily desire, it provided a model for the sustainable consumption of meat. Using meat as a “spice” and not a “slab” may represent the correct ratio of animal to plant foods in the sustainable modern diet. Similarly, our ancestors and contemporary cousins around the world use meat as a special-occasion food. Chickens were slaughtered on Sundays and larger animals on special occasions, such as holidays, weddings, and funerals. Outside of these sacred days, our diets were rooted in plant foods.
Farming While Black Page 25
