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Homesteading Is a Viral Trend, but 'Butchery Gone Awry' Is Its Dark Side

From Jessica Scott-Reid, SentientMedia.org
July 2024

For those homesteaders who express concerns about butchering animals, including the guilt they might feel, members of the online community are ready with tips on how to get the job done.... The trend even got a boost from the backyard chicken craze, which is sometimes referred to as the 'gateway animal' as more homesteaders are looking to farm their own meat and eggs.

sheep slaughter
'Backyard' sheep slaughter - image from Unparalleled Suffering

Since the early 2020’s, the homesteading trend has exploded in popularity. Off-grid in theory, but often online in practice, millennials in particular have heeded a desire to move to the country to grow and raise their own food. Some romanticize a simpler, more traditional life (see the adjacent “trad wife” trend). Others are looking to reject the burdens of technology.

The trend even got a boost from the backyard chicken craze, which is sometimes referred to as the “gateway animal” as more homesteaders are looking to farm their own meat. But the rise in homesteading has a dark side: countless stories of animal farming and butchering gone awry. Despite the wholesome fantasy you see on social media, experts warn would-be homesteaders that raising animals for meat is harder than it looks.

Push past the “cottagecore” Instagram reels and the “how-to build a chicken coop” YouTube videos, and you will find numerous online discussion groups and threads packed with homesteaders seeking how-to guidance. On Reddit, for example, the homestead subreddit currently boasts 3 million members, with questions about tree care, jam-making, weed control and tractor repair. But deeper into the subreddit, you will come across homesteaders asking more difficult questions — sharing their troubling concerns about animals, including sick livestock, wild predators and slaughter screwups.

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Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE, including:

  • 'Some of Them Went Quick, Some Did Not'
  • DIY Homesteaders Turn to Youtube
  • Different Paths to Homesteading
  • Legacy of Vegetarian Homesteaders

 

Posted on All-Creatures.org: July 10, 2024
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