A BYPRODUCT OF OUR CHOSEN LIFESTYLE

Though this was not the specific goal, it is an amazing byproduct!

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I've been thinking about a lot of different aspects of our lives recently, especially after a recent visit from some relatives and a phone conversation with @humanearl. I'll be sharing more about the life that we live and the reason(s) why, but I thought that this would make a good post, because it has been blessing us a lot lately.

HOMESTEADING & FOOD

Though homesteading is the lifestyle that we are choosing to try to live out, it is ultimately not our complete goal. I'll be sharing more about that later. Within the reasons that we homestead is that we desire to live a more self-sufficient life in order to decrease our cost of living. Along with that goal comes providing more of our own food.

Though not everyone makes the same dietary choices that we do, we personally choose to eat both meat and vegetables, both animals and plants. In order to eat meat, animals must die. This does not particularly bother me, because all animals die anyway. If an animal has a great life, and then is killed to provide food for a family, I am okay with that.

Our animals all have their own purposes, but each one has a role to play in our food supply as well. The chickens provide eggs and meat. The ducks provide eggs and meat. The guinea fowl provide eggs and meat, plus do a great job at eating ticks! The rabbits produce fertilizer (manure) and provide meat. The pigs clear land for us and provide meat.

As you can see, a common theme is that many of these animals will be killed and eaten. However, it is not all death around here, it is also life.

LIFE

Since each kind of animal reproduces after its own kind, we can have a lot more of a certain kind of animal if we start off with at least two, a male and a female. We have already seen this happen with our rabbits, pigs, ducks, and chickens. Hopefully, one day our guinea fowl will be doing the same.

The reason that we breed our animals is so there will be more animals, and we can have some to eat and others to provide the next generation. Rather than having a pet rabbit that we never breed who dies of old age one day, we would rather get to meet a bunch of baby bunnies for the next few years. Everyone in my family is comfortable with this right now. Perhaps one day we will change our minds, but for now this is our life.

OPTIONS

Since we do eat meat, we have two basic options. Either we will raise our own or we will buy someone else's. In these peculiar times, I think that it is better if we have more control over our own food supplies and provide ourselves with fresh and trustworthy food. This is important with both plants and animals.

So, we could just buy some bacon and have that be it, or we could raise our own pigs and enjoy them from piglets all the way up! We could just purchase some drumsticks and eggs at the store, or we could have fun and enjoy our own chickens, collect our own eggs, and hatch our own chicks. Likewise, we could buy some meat from somewhere else, or we could have a constant supply of newborn bunnies to play with and enjoy.

If you have ever seen little children with newborn animals, you know how cute and entertaining it is. Sadly, many children around the world will never experience what my @little-peppers are.

A BLESSED BYPRODUCT

Having baby animals for the children to enjoy was never our goal, but it is a blessed byproduct of the lifestyle that we are choosing. Just like a child who plants a seed, weeds and waters a garden, helps in the harvest, and learns to can that food will have a respect and appreciation for that same food when they eat it, children who raise their own animals will have a connection to their meat too.

Far too many have become far too disconnected from reality and the real world, especially when it comes to what they eat. Remember people, what we eat actually enters our body and ends up being inside of us. This can be dangerous. I want my children to have a real understanding of the world around them, and where things like meat or vegetables come from... or at least where they are supposed to come from.

If one day they conclude that killing animals for meat is wrong, then they can choose to do so and eat all the pink slime that they want. If one day they decide that uprooting plants or picking their fruit is wrong, then they can purchase the chemical concoctions lining the shelves at the grocery store like everyone else. For now though, we will continue growing and raising what food we can, and enjoying the amazing benefits of that lifestyle.

One of my favorite parts is that when an animal grows up and is ready to eat, there are always much smaller, cuter ones that we still get to enjoy. As a parent, it is a huge blessing to be able to look at photos like this and contemplate the blessings of the lifestyle that we are choosing.

As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:

proof-of-a-byproduct-of-our-lifestyle

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Until next time…

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