Behind the meat

As I walk through the air conditioned grocery chain in the U.S., glancing over the assortment of ground, deboned, filleted, fresh and clean meats, I don't even give a second's thought to the people behind it all, who have raised, killed, cleaned, cut and packaged it all for the consumer's ease.  I just expect it to be packaged and weighed right, priced fairly and easy for me to buy.

As I walk through the hot, stinky, dirty and crowded market in the town of Pichanaki, glancing over the assortment of cow legs, whole chickens, sides of pigs, dripping chunks of beef, all hanging from hooks in the open air, I get to see the people behind it....there, literally, behind the counter.

The fresh meat is cut up and hung daily.  No cleaning is really done, because....well, why is it really necessary?  If I want beef ground, the kind sir will plop a chunk of bloody beef in his not-so-clean grinder and push it through with his bare hands.  He'll then bag it and tie it up nice and tight for me, also using those same bare hands.  If I want pork ribs, the kind lady will take down the huge pig hanging, hack it up for my viewing pleasure and send me on my way with my ribs, wrapped in brown paper, that may or may not keep in all the, uh, juices.  If I want a chicken, the lady may or may not chop its head and feet off, depending on how busy she is.  The chicken will inevitably still have feathers that need plucking and will definitely need to be cleaned thoroughly before cooking.

I am thankful for meat and the variety we do have.  I just miss the nice, labeled meat section at Wal-Mart.  That's all.