
LA Fresh Poultry: A Store Where Los Angeles Converges - clairity
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/21/style/la-fresh-poultry-immigrant-family-recipes.html
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WheelsAtLarge
I worked near LA's Chinatown and would often walk by the polleria on my search
for a place to eat lunch. I never got the guts to go in to see how they
processed the chickens. What I remember most was the smell. It was very strong
and rank.

It's been years since but one thing it did was to remind me where our meats
come from. The fact that they aren't just packages that come from a factory.
They were once live animals.

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Melting_Harps
What did you do down there?

And, yes, that is the typical disconnect People have with their food; and
possibly an explanation for much of the problems we have with the
environment/Nature. Its one of the many issues with the abject commodification
of Food, rather than an integral component of Life itself.

I think having to take the life and preparing a meal with an animal you
slaughtered should be a prerequisite for being able to eat meat in Society.
You learn a lot about yourself and sustainable practices, and the value of
something giving it's Life for your nourishment.

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WheelsAtLarge
I worked as a web developer for a company that had its offices near there.

A few years ago people were making fun of Mark Zuckerberg for saying that he
would only eat the meat he killed. I think he was right. By doing that you get
a better understanding of what you are eating.

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kilroy_jones
I think people made fun of him more because of the associated elitist
attitude. How many people have the time, space or resources to procure a live
animal? Though I admit the imagery of someone like a Manhattan broker
slaughtering a pig in his 15th floor apartment is darkly comical.

At the same time, I agree with you, he is right in that we've become detached
from what we eat, but that goes for all food. Even the idea that something so
routine for many people today, and to almost everyone prior to the 20th
century, would be an "experience" to most of us in the modern world is just
odd.

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dekhn
I worked with a few people who lived in midwest US. They hunted a couple times
a year and after listening for a while I realized it was a very impressive
money saver. In a week, they were able to bag enough elk to eat plenty of meat
all year, sold the waste (skin and parts) to a local processor. Apparently
this is not uncommon, even for people who live in suburbs.

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Melting_Harps
> I worked with a few people who lived in midwest US. They hunted a couple
> times a year and after listening for a while I realized it was a very
> impressive money saver. In a week, they were able to bag enough elk to eat
> plenty of meat all year, sold the waste (skin and parts) to a local
> processor. Apparently this is not uncommon, even for people who live in
> suburbs.

I live in CO now, and its definitely more normal than not outside of Denver
and Boulder area. I got my Hunter's license this year after putting it off for
so long and I will be applying for a tag this year. In addition to it being
economical its also very good for sustainability as the gear and the tag help
promote and fund wild life protection.

An elk can definitely feed an entire family, plus if you have never had game
meat (venison in this case) you have the challenge of preparing very lean meat
in the kitchen, I find that cooking the meat in animal fats (tallow and lard)
can change your entire perspective of how much to eat as it satiates you
quickly.

Its alarming how much meat is eaten in the US, even more so when you see the
ecological damage that comes from factory farming, so I highly encourage more
to explore this option.

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_hardwaregeek
There's something so wonderful about single specialty stores. I've started
getting chickens from this poultry store in Chinatown. No signs in English,
just a big picture of a rooster out front. They're very nice and plus I can
get other birds like guinea hen or duck.

One thing we've lost with American supermarkets is the diversity and quality
of meat products from a butcher. I love going to a butcher and getting whole
slabs of bacon, or in house cured ham, or a nice beef shin bone for stew. And
these aren't pricey hipster butchers reserved for the wealthy eating their
veal. If you know what to get (pork over beef, shin bones and short ribs over
steak), then you can eat well for cheap.

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ryanlol
> If you know what to get (pork over beef, shin bones and short ribs over
> steak), then you can eat well for cheap.

Especially if you have a sous vide setup, even the toughest cuts are amazing
after a few days at low temperatures.

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clairity
i remember driving by LA Fresh Poultry during the peta protest (mostly because
of the crazy rooster on the top of the building). it was a small number of
people but a big enough protest that cars were backing up on the road, which
made me wonder what it was and the purpose of the protest.

(multi-)cultural peculiarities like this makes what might be an otherwise
impersonal city a little more friendly and interesting. i have bookmarked the
real chicken house, mnetioned in the article, to try one of these days.

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forrestthewoods
I have no issue with seeing how the sausage is made. But halal and kosher meat
makes me uncomfortable. It’s just _needlessly_ cruel.

Maybe I’m just splitting hairs here. It’s murdering an animal to eat it either
way. But making an animal bleed out instead of putting a bolt through its head
is just needless suffering.

Anyone else feel this way?

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blahbhthrow3748
My understanding is animals die very quickly from halal butchery. Compared to
animals twisting their ankles walking over metal grates, or people stomping on
baby chicks with work boots, this seems like a weird thing to focus on

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darshanime
The world is crumbling, humans need to eat less/no meat if we want to survive.

