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>>Erik: In The Shameless Carnivore, you spend a weekend in upstate New York butchering a
steer named Ernie. What did you learn about yourself in that experience?
>>Scott: I learned that I had taken my meat for granted for way too long. And it`s important
that I experienced that process. And I initially, that wasn`t in the book proposal, it was just
an opportunity that came my way. I very easily could have said, Oh that seems like it could
be difficult, and I`m under no obligation to deliver that to my editor at the end of
>>Erik: To butcher a 700 lb steer.
>>Scott: Exactly. But I saw it as an opportunity to experience what life on the farm was really
like. And to experience meat from the beginning, from a living *** animal who is chewing
at my coat and mooing and pooping on the farm, to at the end of the very, very long both
physically and emotionally day, to going home with steaks and chops in a cooler in a car.
So it was important for me to experience that because I`m a fun and entertaining writer,
I use a lot of humor in my writing, it`s the way I am and how I like to write and tell
a story. But I really didn`t want to come across as glib. Because when you eat meat,
however indirectly, you`re experiencing the death of an animal. And it`s very important
to take that seriously. Not just to have reverence for life, but to also appreciate where our
meat comes from. And when you do, you might not be as non challant about your meat consumption
and you might take it a little more seriously, which is important not just for the animals
but for you as a person. I certainly eat less meat now, believe it or not, than before.
And being on that farm and going through that process was instrumental in that happening.