This article hit me at what might be a turning point in my life.

I raised chickens as a kid. We lived on an acre of land, not a farm, and I named all my chickens--every one--so when the family sat down to dinner, I never ate my pets. I just couldn't bring myself to taste "Betsy," or "Pumpkin." I watched the slaughter with great interest, (Yes, chickens do run with their heads cut off!) but biting into them would be, well, akin to eating your dog.

There were small chicken farms nearby, where I bought my feed, and the chickens there were lined up in pens. Their quarters were small, but clean, and the chickens made happy sounds while they did what chickens do--ate and layed eggs.

I never had a problem eating animals I hadn't met. We're built to be omnivores. (Look at your teeth. You've got canines, small as they are.)

But now things have changed. I am an incorrigible web surfer, and I happened upon a site that showed the treatment of food animals today. I am aghast! These animals are abused! Kicked, hit with hammers, left to die. Well, I'm sounding like one of those kooks, aren't I?

I'm not sure what to do now. Until I know I'm biting into an animal that had a short but happy life, I just can't do it. Until there is some sort of inspection process, cameras in the "farms," something to reassure me, I just can't do it. (Neither will I carry a sign while wearing a rubber skull mask, or accuse my friends of murder.) I guess, for the time being, I'm "in the closet."

One way to be sure about the treatment of your meat animals is to visit the farm. You can stay far enough away that you don't get on a first-name basis with the piggies and chickens, if you like. Or you can get right in there and nuzzle those porkers, knowing that their lives are happy and that their healthy diet makes them better for you, too.

I get about 90% of our family's meat from local farms whose owners I know. Visiting the farms is fun, especially for kids but also for curious adults. I haven't been to a processing plant yet, but I know I have a standing invitation. The chicken and beef is Halal processed, and the pork is handled similarly; i.e. without cruelty.

I don't visit in order to "inspect" the farms, but I trust the owners becaues I know them and their commitment to animal health and welfare. Cameras, government inspectors, and such would not reassure me; if a giant company (or a small farmer) wants to cheat, they'll cheat.

This meat costs more than typical supermarket meat, but it has a lot of other benefits. If it tasted worse, was less healthy, and did not support local businesses, it would be a much tougher choice to make just on the basis of animal welfare. Fortunately, all the stars align in this case (except price), so it's easy to decide to eat less, but better tasting and healthier meat from healthy, happy animals.

Thank you! I'm the kind who would be in there nuzzling up. (I go to petting zoos, and my kids are teenagers.) But I don't live near many farms. I've been looking at labels a lot recently. One brand of eggs in my store comes from a farm within driving distance.

Where do you get your meat? In the supermarket? From the farm?

Then there's the question of restaurants. I may have to be semi-vegetarian. My husband already calls himself a "meat-minimalist."

Actually the Halal point is a good one the same goes Kosher, in both cases you are assured of controlled process. Note that many other processors use the same kind of standards its just impossible to know if your meat was processed "ethically" or not otherwise. For my part I believe that the horror stories are the exception not the rule and your odds are pretty good with regular meat. Oddly enough MacDonald’s is right up there with a controlled beef process from birth to slaughter house to paper bag.

The folks we buy meat from sell at the local Farmer's Markets. Either we order ahead and pick up a packed order, or just buy what they have at the stand. It's all vacuum-packed and frozen, labeled with weight, etc. just like in the supermarket. You can also pick it up at the farm. Some products are now being sold in local markets, too, such as Earth Fare.

As far as restaurants, many promote their local products by name on the menus. I like supporting those places, too. I have no real desire to go to Chili's or Applebee's or the like. Some of the local-promoters ("farm to fork") are high-end, some are medium-priced. One local place has tapas for $4-$6 a plate. Yum!

My biggest reason for choosing "clean" meat, to be honest, is the taste. I'd rather eat one slice of pastured bacon than a whole pack of Oscar Meyer. And grass-fed beef is amazing. Can't really go back after a grassburger.

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