Sustainable Tongue

This is Charlie, from Sea Breeze Farm. They butchered a couple of cows last weekend and he was having a good time with the organ meats at the market on Sunday. I was looking on with a "boys will be boys" kind of attitude, but then it occurred to me to ask when was the last time they'd slaughtered a cow.

He thought about it for a moment, and said that they'd never done it before. He explained that grass fed cows have much longer life expectancies than cows on factory farms because they're much healthier. It doesn't make sense to kill them for their meat if they're still producing milk.

I saw a cow's tongue in a delicatessen when I was a kid. I was horrified. I think seeing this one up close helped me heal that experience. I touched it. It was scratchy, like a cat's tongue. Apparently that helps them get a better grip on the grass.