One of my favorite blogs/vlogs/websites is the Perennial Plate site. According to the website:
The Perennial Plate is an online weekly documentary series dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating. The episodes follow the culinary, agricultural and hunting explorations of chef and activist, Daniel Klein. Season One took place over a calendar year in Minnesota where very Monday for 52 weeks, Klein and cameragirl Mirra Fine released short films about good food. In Season Two, Klein will be traveling across America, taking the viewer on a journey to appreciate and understand where good food comes from and how to enjoy it. Starting on May 9th, the weekly videos will continue, bringing the audience along for stories of urban gardens, long drives, blood, hunting and guts…
Last spring, Daniel visited Lorenz Meats in Cannon Falls, MN. Lorenz is a family owned butcher operation near us. We have all our beef processed there and had our hogs processed there as well. Unfortunately, Lorenz will no longer be doing hogs in the future, so we were are looking for another butcher for next fall. Organic Prairie (the meat side of Organic Valley) also has beef processed at Lorenz Meats. What we like best about Lorenz is that they are family owned, when you call you actually talk to someone and they have a viewing area for their kill floor. The viewing area is important because is shows they have nothing to hide and respect the animal even through death. Lorenz Meats was also popularized in the best-selling book Omnivores Dilemma by Micheal Pollan.
A sign hangs at Lorenz that reads:
“We cannot live harmlessly at our own expense; we depend on other creatures and survive by their deaths. To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. The point is, when we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament; when we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is a desecration.” Wendell Berry
The following video from Perennial Plate is of the kill floor and the cuts of meat in beef. If you have never seen a kill floor before, this is a great example of a well run and clean facility (hence why we only trust Lorenz Meats for our beef).
Pretty cool video, huh? Who knew you could turn cutting meat into a music video? Well done Daniel and Mirra!
Do I have you hooked on the Perennial Plate yet? If so, check out what they are doing next:
In May, they will be traveling across the United States filming real food stories. What is great is that they are looking for more than just the CSA and small farmers (which is good too). They want to film is all. This might mean a cranberry farmer in Wisconsin, a bison farmer in North Dakota or a popcorn farmer in Nebraska (hint, hint Zach @zjhunn). Please submit story suggestions to help them plan their trip. They are also in need for financial contributions. Please consider a donation.
I hope you enjoyed!
Emily
Zweber Farms is a 4th generation family operated organic dairy. We are proud Organic Valley farmer members and sell our milk under that label. We also specialize in sustainably raised beef, pork and chicken and sell it directly to customers in Minnesota.Visit our website to learn more, www.zweberfarms.com. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitterand YouTube.
I looked for the video on the killing floor and couldn’t find it. I did find the video from Daniel and his appeal for The Perennial Plate; it was cute! Please help me find the Lorentz Meats video…thx,
s
The video was embedded so you should be able to see it. If not, it is video number #14 Meat on their website. Hope you can find it. The video seems to be working fine on my computer.
I did not know all these things about Lorentz Meats. Thanks for sharing, Emily!