New Haven Independent

Posted by: Jessica | September 27, 2009 7:40 PM

Yes local is great. But why kill our animal friends when we do not have to?!

Posted by: Raina Spaziani | September 28, 2009 10:44 AM

What a SAD lesson we teach our children. The killing of animals is not acceptible any longer. To profit from their pain and slaughter is nothing to be proud of. These people should be deeply shamed by their actions. I am so happy that my children to not attend these schools. Pigs have the same intelligence as a 4 year old child. Would they slaughter their children for a meal??

Posted by: Wicked Lester | September 28, 2009 12:18 PM

The killing of animals for food has been nature's way since the beginning of mankind. Life feeds on life. Meat is the greatest source for life-giving protien.

So glad to see that Common Ground High School is not in denial of this fact.

Posted by: terrapin | September 28, 2009 12:39 PM

How charming that the school really personalizes these pigs giving them cutesy names and all, and then kills them. How about teaching the students what an inefficient way of feeding people a meat based diet really is?

Posted by: Hope | September 28, 2009 1:52 PM

I certainly would not want my child taught lessons about taking care of living creatures and then killing them. One thing almost all serial killers have in common is the torture of pets, so, why would we teach our children such things - even if the pigs were supposedly humanely killed, I am sure all the kids knew they would rather have lived. I am vegan and it is a wonderful life style which allows you to not have to participate in the killing of other living creatures in order to survive yourself. I eat all of delicious meals without a bit of guilt. I hope that Dean Sheffield enjoys the same wondeful feeling and that vegetarianism and veganism are also taught as options to these children in the future. I bet if you had another delicious vegan meal available and said to the kids that they could eat that and the pigs could be kept alive - most of them would have chose that option.

Posted by: Michael | September 28, 2009 2:22 PM

Common Ground doesn't hide the fact that those pigs are meant for eating. The fact that they teach their students where food comes from is a valuable lesson. Whether the kids toil in the earth to raise vegetables, gather eggs from the chicken coop or raise a pig for its meat, they are learning a lot about what they eat.

Posted by: Joe | September 28, 2009 2:43 PM

OMG! Poor Tallulah. I don't believe that none of the children was adversely affected seeing their friend Tallulah murdered, skinned, w/head intact, being readied to be roasted. This seems sadistic and frightening -- what a lesson to teach. And as far as Tallulah being "healthy" food, I think not. Animal meat and byproducts cause cancer, heart disease and other killer diseases. I hope Common Ground will rethink slaughtering animals as classroom fun.

Posted by: Volvo | September 28, 2009 3:16 PM

I'm astonished by all of the negative comments so far regarding the raising and consumption of a locally grown animal. To suggest that this is the "torture of a pet" shows an extreme lack of knowledge for agrarian culture. There is a tremendous amount of mismanagement, destruction and pain associated with the commercial farms in this country and other countries, however, this is the antithesis of those negative practices. This is the type of agriculture that should be taught at every school, not just Common Ground. Teach our kids where their food comes from and show them what responsible practices are.

Posted by: lance | September 28, 2009 3:36 PM

i'm curious about something. . the article says East Rock Alderman Roland Lemar and his wife Anika Singh Lemar toasted Common Ground�s recent success in attracting stimulus money to provide paid internships and work experiences for 30 students to train for �green� jobs.

i was wondering how much stimulus money they got. ... . thanks.

Posted by: Joel | September 28, 2009 4:09 PM

I'm sorry that the attention has gotten re-directed from what Feast from the Fields is all about: raising much-needed funds to create the next generation of environmental leaders, prepare students for college, provide access to organic local food, and make our city a greener, healthier place to live. On that front, Feast was a huge success, generating almost $40,000 to support Common Ground's mission and programs. Thanks to all the generous donors who made that possible.

It's true that Saturday evening's meal included meat from animals raised on our site. As a vegetarian, I understand concerns about meat production and consumption, and I chose not to eat the pork or turkey offered on Saturday evening. As Feast's organizer, though, I thought the most responsible way to include meat on the menu was to use animals grown locally and organically, and which I knew had been raised humanely.

At the end of the day, I hope that this event -- and this article -- continue a healthy discussion about food, agriculture, education, and the environment in New Haven. That, not a pig roast, is what Common Ground is all about.

Posted by: RAY WILLIS | September 28, 2009 4:26 PM

I'm 26 and dissected my fair share of fetal pigs and frogs in the New Haven public school system. The practical application of these dissections I've found in adult life? Zilch. HOWEVER, I do eat meat and until the past few years had no real idea where it came from/what it underwent prior to going in my mouth. The killing of this pig is completely relevant to these kids lives as the vast majority of them eat meat on a daily basis and know nothing about it. FURTHERMORE, perhaps seeing their beloved pig Tallulah slaughtered and eaten will say to them "OMFG, thats what I've been eating?!?" and they'll switch to vegetarian or vegan -ism. Also, the serial killer argument is incredibly weak and flawed. Its not worth dissecting how lame of a suggestion that is. Pun intended!

Posted by: Norton Street | September 28, 2009 4:33 PM

Ditto to Volvo.

"The automobile revolutionized farm life, in many ways for the better. But it also destroyed farming as a culture (agri-culture)-that is, as a body of knowledge and traditional practices-and turned it into another form of industrial production, with ruinous consequences.
Around 1900, fully one third of the U.S. population lived on small family farms.
...
The long term result was the death of the family farm in America, the replacement of agriculture by agribusiness. By 1940, the percentage of the population on farms fell to 23 percent, and by 1980 it had dwindled to 3 percent. In and of itself, this population shift might not have been a bad thing, but it was accompanied by another terrible cost. A way of life became simply a means of production. Human husbandry gave way to the industrial exploitation of land. Left behind was the knowledge of how to care for land, so plainly evinced in today's problems of soil erosion and in pollution from chemical pesticides and fertilizers."
Geography of Nowhere pgs. 93-94

This is a good lesson to teach students, this is the proper way to produce food.
This is not to be confused with the process that puts isles of red meat in packages in super markets. Completely different.

Posted by: robn | September 28, 2009 7:30 PM

I was also given a cute name and raised in a humane manner. I however, am being slowly devoured by the gourmands of unregulated capitalism. I envy the pig...at least she got it quick.

Posted by: Been Called Worse | September 28, 2009 8:24 PM

To Hope, Jessica, Raina Spaziani and Terrapin:

I don't know what your agendas are, exactly, but I am distraught at you pushing them on school children who made the CHOICE to attend a school where this kind of education is SPECIFICALLY taught. Because you have a moral objection to it, please do not assume everyone shares your same beliefs, or for that matter your sense of outrage.

This shows students a practical alternative to industrial farming and fast food diets and gives them the ability to make educated choices on what they consume (as opposed to morphing into serial killers for preparing a pig for a feast).

In closing, for every animal you don't eat, I shall eat two.

Seacrest Out.

Posted by: robn | September 28, 2009 10:31 PM

PS

I think I was being ironic... but I'm really not so sure because I've been slowly crushed by the Sisyphean wheel of progress.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | September 29, 2009 1:09 AM

Joel
If you are a vegetarian,You should know that organically animals are treated just as bad.

http://www.indypendent.org/2009/07/23/bacon-as-weapon/

http://www.goveg.com/organic.asp

http://www.alternet.org/story/141776/how_we_became_a_society_of_gluttonous_junk_food_addicts/

Posted by: Wicked Lester | September 29, 2009 8:04 AM

Why do you vegetarians have such pompous, arrogant, elitist attitudes?

"Serial killers"? "slaughtering animals as classroom fun"?

How can I take those platitudes seriously?

Posted by: Mister Jones | September 29, 2009 9:27 AM

The pigs were "processed" offsite. Process is a euphemism for slaughter. It's good these kids know from where there food comes--most kids these days only see farms on TV or out a car/bus window, and think food comes from the supermarket. But slaughtering is not for the faint of heart, hence the students who are bothered because the chickens are "processed" at the school.

BTW I used to get delicious tasty tender fresh-killed chickens from a shop on Grand Avenue. They processed them in the back. You could see them, defeathered and on hooks, through a window behind the counter.

Posted by: sandstorm | September 29, 2009 11:25 AM

The evening was absolutely uplifting!
The students were most impressive; they were motivated and enthusiastic. Common Ground is a wonderful example of curriculum that is relevant and responsible. There are interdisciplinary academics that are included in all of their work without simply "teaching to the test". There were even some budding entrepeneurs.

The "Three Rivers" cabaret performance was perfect for an audience that reflected all of the best of the mosaic that makes New Haven great. Everyone present thought they were given as much as they gave!

Posted by: steve ross, human | September 29, 2009 1:23 PM

Wicked Lester,

"Why do you vegetarians have such pompous, arrogant, elitist attitudes?...How can I take those platitudes seriously?"

You mustn't. Unfortunately such histrionics do more harm to vegetarian activism than they do good. Still, Wicked, don't you think that your generalizing all vegetarians as arrogant and elitist is just as intellectually irresponsible?

Posted by: Wicked Lester | September 29, 2009 1:45 PM

No Steve, not ALL vegetarians, just the ones who posted in this thread expressing such attitude. Although, I have to say, I've encountered this attitude numerous times elsewhere.

After reading through the comments here, you'd think that Tallulah was surrounded and pelted with rocks.

Posted by: Elizabeth | September 29, 2009 6:17 PM

Carnivores and vegetarians alike can benefit from more programs like Common Ground that teach our children the importance of agriculture, food security, and environmental sustainability. Anyone who has visited there realizes the mission of this organization is to instill kids with some level of responsibility for the choices they make. What was so great about the event this past weekend was the pride the kids took in the evening, talking about their school and how it inspired them. I also know that the restaurants and proprietors who participated in the event make choices every day that demonstrate their commitment to similar values.

This was a great event that raise some much needed funding for a very special program for our city's youth. I am dissappointed that people would read into it beyond that.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | September 29, 2009 8:49 PM

The people I find who are arrogant and pompous are the one's who Love to eat this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4088824.stm

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" ~Gandhi (1869-1948)

Posted by: Wicked Lester | September 30, 2009 8:51 AM

http://chetday.com/vegandietdangers.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/80436/health_dangers_to_watch_for_when_switching.html?cat=22

http://www.listen2yourgut.com/blog/gut/dangers-of-vegetarianism-vegan-long-term/

http://bjtoday.ynet.com/article.jsp?oid=55131434

Posted by: James | September 30, 2009 9:14 AM

Indeed! Why don't these kids just get their meat from a grocery store where it grows humanely and pre-sliced in cellophane packaging!

If you're going to eat an animal, you should know what goes into the production and consumption of that animal. It's far more intellectually and morally honest to kill the animal yourself. If you can't stomach the though of an animal being slaughtered for your nutritional benefit and gastronomical delight, you shouldn't be eating meat. That being said, if you don't eat meat there's a good chance you'll turn into a whiny, self-righteous jackass.

Posted by: Jason From Caseus | October 2, 2009 3:02 PM

If everyone writing these negative comments could have tasted just a little bit of those exceptional pigs that night they'd know it was all for the best! Nothing that delicious could ever be wrong! mmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm!

Posted by: Raina Spaziani | October 9, 2009 1:50 PM

Some people are just plain ignorant " Been Called Worse " and as the saying goes "You can't change stupid."