Can You Cope with The Truth About Your FOOD?

[biff]

when i worked with my dogs,i only took what i needed per night,sometimes the neighbour would ask for a few and of course that was no bother.the greyhound people offered me 3punt a bunny to supply them live,my dog could place them at my feet totally unharmed and all i had to do was reach down and push them into the bag.i refused to supply the greyhound people because frankly there was a bad vibe of it.it should not have mattered to me,but it did.filling the pot was fine,but killing for pleasure was agin the grain.
      my main aim was to beat the hare,and anyone who knows about hares will tell you they run on rails,or paths,preferable straight up the side of a mountain,in order to break the dogs heart.the paths are littered with sharp stones,so your fast greyhound would be finished(maybe for good)in the first 100yds,so there is deerhound in the mix,for strength and stamina and collie for brains and cunning,,the finished product is most definatly not a pet. the dog seems to know what is required and when they get beat by the bunny(down the hole) or left behind by the hare,they scream in anguish and frustration.however if the breeding is right and the training correct,the time will come when the dog will keep a little in the tank and gradually haul the hare in,working with two dogs is a massive advantage,even if one of them is an ejit.the other dog knows to leave the ejit to run the hare ragged while it works out the circle and homes in at an angle,it is exciting stuff and quite addictive,especially hunting bunnies in a rushy field. however after getting to grips with the hare and figuring out how to catch them i suddenly went off the idea and stopped hunting them for good,we had plenty of bunny and there was no hanging around with bunny,just straight into the pot.we lifted pheasent if they were dumb enough to walk out,stick out their chest and crow,if my b,itch did not pull them down,she put the fear of god in them.she was a fantastic dog who lived for her work and if she was left for more than 3 days without a good run she became quite volatile.,we conspired together against the quarrie,a sheep dog will work for you and work with you, but the lurcher will conspire.the real deal is crafty in the extreme and will pretend not to see a bunny too close to the hole or hedge,yet should that bunny be foolish enough to wander farther afield the dog will adopt a sideways running mode which looks like it is running away while in fact is lining up to accelerate and shortening the distance.yet they are not pets, i would trust the most angry rottie or shepard not to bite the kids but my b,itch would sink the teeth quicker than she could think.her speed of reflex was simply invisible.
 one night while out lamping,i stepped in a hole and almost fell over,trying to keep my balance i stepped on my dogs paw,her reflex was instant and sunk her teeth to the bone on my shin,then the racket started,she fell over,howling and wetting herself,keening and crying as though she was being strangled,i had to forget about the bite and talk her down ,she was so full of remorse.when she licked the bite she fell over again and began the whole performance,she was looking for a good boot up the rump but it was not forthcomming,gradually we got down to the business of bagging bunnies.
  i really missed my dogs when i returned to the city,every sunday morning brough back memories of the warren and the hills,still,,,,,"to every dog their day"............biff

[Contadino]

Well, there's hunting and there's small scale, sustainable meat farming.  Nowadays, with the damage that's been done to natural habitats, I believe it's best to treat the two separately.

Around here, hunting is with a shotgun, and the prey are small birds. I'm afraid I don't know the name of the birds in English or Italian, but in dialect they're sturni and murli. Tiny little things, and the excuse is that these birds eat the olives. They don't bother my olives because we harvest earlier than most in order to produce green oil, but they still wreak havoc on my cabbages, rapa, brocolli, and caulis.  There are no deer, rabbits, boar, or anything else wild around here - it's all been hunted into oblivion.  Roast fox is the speciality dish of a neighbouring town, and the trattorie struggle to meet demand on the one day of the year when they make it (1st day of the hunting season.)

We don't get too wrapped up with EU rules about abattoirs either. Animals are slaughtered on site, and quite often butchered there too. Each butcher has a photo of the cow, sheep, pig, kid, and horse that is currently on the slab - it's almost an undocumented law, and people won't trust a butcher who doesn't put up a photo.  When I'm slaughtering animals, several of my neighbours will pop round to check I'm doing to right/help.  It's a strange kind of social event.  Similarly, making prosciuto, salami, or any other salumi is a group activity.  Kids around here know precisely what they're eating - but they don't get upset about it because southern Europeans rarely if ever get sentimental about animals.

[biff]

roast fox,contadino?
                       the very thought sends shivers down my spine.i used to join the big hunt,perhaps 20 people with various dogs and loads of shotguns.however after a few near misses i decided that my dogs were much too valuable to risk those trigger happy guys so i decided to hunt on my own or with only one other person.it was much smoother and more productive and less risk of getting shot.any more than 2 guns and i would get a bit nervous,some of these shoots had maybe 12 or 15 shotguns and there was always at least one clown,we would bag loads of foxs.      biff
                                                                                                             
               

[camillitech]

Aye Contadino,

the killing and butchery here is always a social event, usually my boy and some of his pals for the killing and the in laws for the cutting/sausage/hams. Whenever they are round for meals the question is always 'who are we having for dinner' and not what 

I spent some of my childhood in a remote village in Northern Italy, rabbits were kept in the cellar and my granny would go and haul one out for dinner. She'd pick it up put it under her arm and pull its neck without even stopping talking  Same with the chickens.

I returned to the old family home some six or seven years to show my wife and son, there had been many changes in my thirty year absence. The village has a road but know one lives there any more apart from the holiday homes  The next village now has a restaurant run by a local from Glasgow  He was born in the village but like me moved away as child, I nearly fell over when I heard him speak 

But do you know what really impressed me during my travels?? There were no mountains of toffee's, chewing gum or fizzy drinks at the supermarket checkouts. When you stopped for petrol you were not confronted by a wall of Mars Bars, Twix's or Coca friggin Cola and I did not see one single MacDonald's in Pisa, La Spezia or anywhere else for that matter.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Contadino]

Yep, Volpe Arrosto. It has it's roots in the extreme poverty here until il Duce confiscated lands off the nobility and divvied it out to starving families.  I remember once telling a neighbour that there were hedgehogs frequenting our veg plot. He gave me a recipe for preparing one to eat. That wiped the smile off my face.

On a more positive note, foraging really is part of life - from chicory to prickly pears to snails to old rubbish foraged from the communal bins (not to eat with - for building makeshift things.)

BTW, I didn't intend to sound snotty about hunting in my previous post. There is a new generation of hunters in Italy now, with more respect for people who live in the countryside. It's just a shame about previous generations who've over-hunted the land and been a PITA. Hunting is part of the Italian way of life.

Paul, a Macdonalds opened in Brindisi about 5 years ago. It lasted 6 weeks before being closed. The local kids used to pick up €2 panini from the surrounding bars and went to hang out in Macdonalds. They sold hardly anything. There was an article in the local paper and they were quite proud of the kids.

[camillitech]

Paul, a Macdonalds opened in Brindisi about 5 years ago. It lasted 6 weeks before being closed. The local kids used to pick up €2 panini from the surrounding bars and went to hang out in Macdonalds. They sold hardly anything. There was an article in the local paper and they were quite proud of the kids.

Where did we go wrong, the butcher in Portree is now selling Iron Brew flavoured sausages  Still at least we still have one and he does sell locally sourced produce too.

Cheers, Paul

[clockmanFR]

Totally agree about the difference at supermarkets, petrol stations etc, in the UK regarding chocs and excessive sweets.

Here in France chocolates are available but tend to be real choclate, so after a few chunks its so rich then you have to give up. Our local supermarkets tend to have chewing gum or pastels at the checkouts, (mostly for the smokers for good breath). Things are changing here and the McDos are in most major cities, but their menus are different with many items, salads, drinks, beer etc you will not find in the UK.

Now up our little road a couple of miles and just before the next village, we have Mr Mrs Marty who have 60,000 snails and they do some cracking good tastes. They are very large snails not the type you find in the Veg garden, however if you look around the hedgerows first thing you might find a couple. My boy's can totally commend the snails from "Chuamont". If we have English visitors they allways get some.  

Food is that important here that between 12.30hrs and 14.30hrs France pretty well shuts up shop.

Oh yes regards photos of animals, the local supermarket is constantly having adverts with pictures in the local newspaper, "Here is our latest purchase a prize winning best meat Bullock, and call tomorrow to our in store butchery department for some quality meat". Couldn't see that happening in the UK nowadays, 40 years ago maybe. (sorry to those who have seen this/my comment before).