February 7th, BG Member Interview: Michael F. Dulock
City of Residence and Workplace(s): Methuen, MA (residence) Concord, MA (workplace)

1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you? It is an honor to be a member of an organization that is focused solely on the promotion of our industry. I appreciate having a forum to share ideas, tips, and concerns with like-minded people. I believe this collection of true artisan butchers will help in working towards more sustainable, regional food systems.

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices? My career as a butcher started on October 15, 2008. I remember the date exactly because it was the day that I opened my shop. In the style of my personality, I put the cart before the horse and opened a butcher shop without any knowledge of butchery. I was fortunate to cross paths with fellow BG member Adam Tiberio. A few weeks after I opened the shop I hired Adam as my lead butcher and manager of the shop's meat department. I learned quite a bit working with Adam for the year that he was with me. After his departure, I was still a little shaky and lacked the confidence I needed to be successful. I bought a few animals a week. I cut beef, pork, lamb, and fingers. Through the process I made more ground meat (tenderloins included) then I could possibly sell. After a few dozen "burger animals" I got the hang of what I was doing.

When I opened the shop the demand was 80/20 for USDA Prime Grade v. Local Sustainable Beef, as time has progressed the pendulum has shifted to the inverse. In addition to my personal beliefs about supporting our local economy, customer demands have also changed.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?I think it's sort of a double-edge sword. I appreciate the focus on the industry and the customers it brings to the shop. As butchers, we have an opportunity to show people the importance of what we do, the amount of work it takes to produce retail meat, and provide educational information that may assist in precipitating a change in consumer buying habits. What concerns me is the overwhelming amount of information can be confusing to some consumers.
4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry? The challenges we face in a truly sustainable meat industry are a lack of regional slaughterhouses (There are two in Massachusetts and only one in New Hampshire) and processing facilities. We need to remember that we are asking people to eat differently and to pay more for it, if our customers are willing to make those sacrifices, then we need to be able to produce the meat in a timely fashion. As butchers we need to work towards developing a better infrastructure and try to make connections between farmers and consumers, whether at the retail or restaurant level.
5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe. My motto is…"the closer to the ground, the better it will taste." I'm a big fan of braised shanks. We don't have a kitchen at the shop so I tend to rely on the slow-cooker for lunch and dinner.

January 23rd, BG Member Interview: Stephen Pocock
City of Residence and Workplace(s): Oakland, CA. Boccalone (Salumiere, Manager); Damn Fine Bacon! (Side gig, owner) www.boccalone.com, www.damnfinebacon.com

1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you? Being a member of the Guild reinforces a sense of community amongst artisans who are also enthusiasts. It provides a frame for the exchange of knowledge, ideas, resources, and technique. I was honored to be a Charter Member as a curer and hope to be participating in the Guild more as it grows.

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices? To be completely clear, I don't regard myself as a butcher in the conventional sense of the word, someone who breaks down animals into component parts for sale out of a shop. I'm in awe of these people – these artists! I take a pig, or often parts of a pig, and turn them into something else. At Boccalone we make almost 30 different products, using all parts of the pig. I got my start working on my own as a smoked meat (barbecue) nut. I was fascinated by what slow heat and smoke could do do the "trash" cuts of meat. All this was when I was a TV producer. When I moved back to the Bay Area and turned my back on TV (miserable work, but it pays well – unlike butchery which is soul-affirming but less pecunious…) I found myself going through cooking school and then at Incanto Restaurant (because I had to learn from Chris Cosentino). I came over to Boccalone from there several years ago and learned the trade under Chris. Incanto and Boccalone share a dedication to sourcing meat from farmers who care about the way animals are raised and the impact that raising animals has on the land. Always have, always will.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?  It's easy to scoff and say about the hype and urge to butchery, dude, is that you get folks who are long on tattoos and short on skill. However, as someone with plenty of tattoos who came to this career later in life, I support the trend towards artisan food endeavors – whether it's butchery, preserving, whatever. We all need to care more about our food. As a dedicated omnivore, without any dilemma, the meat world needs more young inventive people going at it full bore.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry? Sourcing your meat from responsible farmers sends the important "here's where my dollars are going" message. Using the entire animal in your product line is another thing – throw away as little as possible. There's a recipe/technique/use out there for everything. Salumi is food born from poverty, where every scrap of an animal had value. We can wax poetically about how we need to honor the animal by using all of it, but it's also a economical and political expedient. If you are willing to spend more to get away from the evil CAFO empire it makes sense to use as much of the animal as you can. Plus we need to honor the animal. What holds the vast majority of people back from buying artisan prepared meat (or anything) is the cost. Big business farming with all its subsidies and corn this and soy that and stacking animals on top of each other to save space so I can sell $2 happy meals created the expectation of cheap food now. Until we can figure a way to make good clean food affordable to anyone other than the perceived "food elitists", we're going to be trudging uphill.

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe?  No matter what cut I use, it's always about the pig itself. A lot of what we do involves cutting, grinding and blending the meat. Where it comes from, how it's raised, what it eats, and also the breed is where what we do starts. At Boccalone I love our Pepato Salami. I also love the Capocollo – the eye of the shoulder rubbed with a little heat and cured over several months. With our stuff, it's the pork that's the most important and that's the flavor you're left with. On the other side of my meat life is the bacon. I've worked on the recipe for ten years and I'm really proud of it. But the most important ingredient is the pork. As always.

January 10th, BG Member Interview: Robert Young
City of Residence and Workplace(s): Vancouver, WA  - Whole Foods Market & Instructor in Clark College Culinary Program

1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you? Fraternity, access to current trends and info in meat biz, opportunity for professional development

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices? I started 50 years ago in my family's neighborhood grocery store. I grew up in the business and have seen it go from working with local farmers, to all big Agri business and factory meat production and now back to small farmers. Full circle for me.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general? Anything that teaches people about where their food really comes from and the skill of those who provide it is good with me.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry? I would like to see farmers and butchers working together again and I would like to see butchers teaching regular folks how to do more with their meat. The biggest impediment is not having enough slaughter and hanging service so that farmers truly can get there meats to market.

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe? Thick cut lamb chops, marinated in garlic, balsamic vinegar and rosemary, thrown on a hot grill, charred and cooked to medium rare topped with a gremolata of italian parsley, garlic, lemon, olive oil and coarse salt. The best!

January 3rd, BG Member Interview: Aaron Rocchino
City of Residence and Workplace(s):Oakland (Residence), The Local Butcher Shop Berkeley

1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you?
Being a member is about being a part of a collaboration. It gives people who are passionate about supporting good clean animals a place to come together and support each other. It is kind of like a society that extends across the country with tons of helpful hands at your disposal. Everyone is in it for the similar reasons; to help others understand where their meat comes from and get people connected to the real source.

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices?
I come from a restaurant back round. I really started to get into whole animal butchery while I was at Oliveto Restaurant in Oakland, CA. Not only was I exposed to whole animals, they were also sustainably raised and came from local ranchers, that I actually got to meet. I still have close relationships with some of them and they supply some of our meat at The Local Butcher Shop. Once I moved out to California (to work at Oliveto) from Pennsylvania, my entire culinary experience opened up and I saw a whole new world of food that I fell in love with.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?
I think all of the new exposure of artisanal butchery is a good thing. We need all the help we can get to help people eat what is good for them. I don't think of any of it as competition. I say that we need to all work together to bring back what was once a great thing.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry?
Butchers are the conduits between sustainable farms and the general public. Without small-scale butchers, small-scale farms would not have a way to get their product to consumers. The big butcher counters in large grocery stores are set up to deal with large producers. These producers have marketing people, sales people and farmers. Smaller farms usually have 1 or 2 farmers who have to do all of those tasks. Butcher take some of the pressure off the farmers to sell and market their product and allows the farmers to do what they do best – farm.
I think the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry is the regulations around slaughtering. It is unsustainable to have only a few slaughter houses throughout the state that cater to small farms. The cost to each farmer of having to load up the animals, drive them hundreds of miles, and then drive the product back is significant (not to mention the unnecessary stress to the animals (therefore a lesser quality product) and the carbon emissions from the trucks driving the animals back and forth). The most sustainable solution would be for the USDA to fund hundreds of mobile slaughter units throughout the country that would go onto the farms directly or the USDA should allow farmers to slaughter animals themselves and then the product directly to consumers or retailers/restaurants. Without a drastic change in the "Slaughterhouse Problem", sustainably raised meat will never achieve the price efficiencies of mass produced meat nor will it ever be truly "sustainable".

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe?
My absolute favorite cut comes from a hog (surprise surprise). I love the coppa. It is this magical muscle that extends from the back of the neck and goes into the shoulder. It has the perfect amount of intramuscular fat, tissue between the muscle to give it a great texture, and an awesome fat strip along the top of it that renders nicely. It is the perfects piece of the pig because it has great flavor, and can be used in so many different applications. It can be roasted and cooked all the way through or kept on the pink side. It can be braised or stewed. It can be cut and eaten like a steak. You can confit it. It helps make great sausages, pates, and salumi. That just about covers all the bases. See, I told you it was a great cut!

December 28th, BG Member Interview: Marsha McBride
Name: Marsha McBride, I live in in Oakland and own Cafe Rouge in Berkeley

 1.What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you?I only recently have become a member and have yet to attend any of the Guild's functions. Hopefully it will bring me into the growing community of butchers and provide me contact with new ranchers and growers. Also I would like to share in the carnivore conviviality.

2.How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices?
I have been doing charcuterie since 1983 after attending culinary school. My first job was with Judy Rodgers at the Union Hotel in Benicia. We would make garlic sausage in sheep casings and hang them to cure in the back room. After that I worked with Judy at Zuni for nine years where I really got into sausage making and curing. Quang Nyugen was a cook at Zuni and he taught me the elementals of butchering of whole carcasses of pig and lamb. His was a boat person from Viet Nam and his first job in the United States was at a meat plant in Texas. I have been very fortunate to always have access to "sustainable" meats. I was one of Bill Niman's first customers in 1986 and introduced Bill to my cousin Jeanne McCormack. Jeanne is a sheep and goat rancher whose family has been ranching since the late 19th century in Rio Vista. Jeanne introduced Bill to Paul Willis, a pig farmer in Iowa. Both Jeanne and Paul still sell their meat to Niman Ranch. I never have had to buy commodity meat or poultry.

3.What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?
I am a bit amused by all the media attention around butchers. I feel old [ which you can say I am ] when I hear about "seasoned professionals" who have been butchering for less than five years. And the tattoos, that makes me feel ancient! I do enjoy the enthusiasm and spectacle surrounding the whole beast movement.

4.What do you believe is the role butchers play in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry?
I think it is foremost the role butchers play in the sustainable food movement. I have experienced first hand our influence on ranchers, purveyors and the public. It used to be rare that you could buy a pig grown outside the Midwest; now weekly I get calls from California pig farmers wanting to sell me their product. The same for grass-fed beef and poultry. My customers are far more informed on humane animal husbandry and breeding. Purveyors are less likely to be trying to sell you New Zealand lamb and frozen ground beef. I think the biggest impediment is distribution and the consolidation of slaughterhouses. Even in my short lifetime, I have witnessed the elimination of meat jobbers and small state regulated abbatoirs. Connecting the grower to the consumer is our biggest hurdle and ultimately our responsibilty to solve as butchers.

5.Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe? I love the shoulder of any animal: pork, beef , lamb or goat. I usually slow braise this cut with wine, aromatics, stock and root vegetables. The method is the same, the recipe with endless variations.

December 21st, BG Member Interview: Chris Fuller
City of Residence and Workplace(s):  Durango, CO -  Employed at the Ore House, independently cutting meat in various places throughout the region and beyond as Meat Chris.

1.What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you?
The Butcher's Guild allows me to connect with like-minded people in the meat industry all over the country.  These connections help to keep me inspired and excited, and also allows me to share knowledge with a very talented group of people.  The Butcher's Guild keeps me driven and connected.

2.How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices?
I've been a butcher for four years but I've been working with food for over ten.  After culinary school I realized that I wasn't up for a life of a chef, mainly due to the odd hours, and I wanted to do something more meaningful with my skills.  I went back to school for Anthropology and that is where I developed an awareness of how important a local, sustainable food system is to a community.  This might sound like a joke, but one day I woke up and ran downstairs to tell my wife that I had just dreamt I was standing at a counter cutting meat.  You could say it was my "aha moment" where I realized that the meat industry is where culinary, community and environment overlap and connect.

I continued this journey by cutting meat at a small, USDA-inspected processing plant in Durango.  Eventually I became the Plant Manager and every day was working toward strengthening our local food system.  Facilitating the connection between ranchers who pour their hearts into raising their animals in a responsible way and the customers who are so appreciative to be able to purchase their meat, that is why I love being a butcher.  Now I am continuing to cut meat on a freelance basis and also teaching courses.  All of these outlets have enabled me to promote awareness of the importance of sourcing sustainably raised and processed meats.

3.What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?
Any media attention is helping to educate the public on the importance of conscious eating and responsible meat.  The butchers who have been highlighted in the media are great role models for young people who are interested in making a difference in our food system.  It is important for the public to see that meat production and processing can be done in a way that is healthy for the environment, the communities we live in, and for the people who work in those industries.

The media attention is well deserved, but sometimes I feel that the focus needs to be shifted to processing.  I understand that retail butchery is glamorous and sexy, but right now the harvest and processing industry really needs motivated, value-driven leaders.  There are a lot of things our country needs to change about food policy, but while we're working toward those changes we need to do the best with what we can in the meantime.  That means creating local places for producers to be able to process their animals with care and respect.

4.What do you believe is the role butchers play in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry?
Butchers are often the face of meat production in our communities, because many times that is the only interaction a customer will have with their meat supplier.  Butchers have a chance to be an educator every time they interact with a customer, whether its a producer or a purchaser.  Thankfully this movement back toward the local butcher is helping to show people how important it is to make sure their meat comes from responsible sources.

There are two impediments to a truly sustainable meat industry for me, and that is processing and whole animal utilization.  When people are familiar with only a few popular cuts, there can be an enormous amount of waste when the rest of the animal is not utilized.  At many retail shops they can order as many cuts of a certain type as they want, but in small scale production, the farmer, or wholesaler has to find a way to sell the rest of the animal.  It will be the value of the whole animal that will decide whether a farmer will be able to raise animals for a regional market.

For most consumers, processing unfortunately is still a mystery step that occurs between seeing the iconic image of a cow in pasture and the local artisan butcher.  In between, someone needs to humanely kill and process that animal.  Can you really call it "local" if it had to travel 500 miles and back to be processed?  If it was slaughtered in an inhumane way is it still "sustainable" or "responsible"?  That is a huge issue for me right now, because you might know who grew the animal and who is cutting it up, but not a lot of people know how it was harvested, and how far away.  If you can answer the question "who's your farmer" then you should start asking the question "who's your processor".

5.Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe?
My absolute favorite cut right now is the flat iron filet.  It is tender, has great beef flavor, and is easy to prepare.  I like to season with salt and fresh ground pepper, grill and serve it with some sauteed mushrooms and onions.  Plus, the flat iron is about as fun to cut as it is to eat.

December 12th, BG Member Interview: Denny Trantham
City of Residence and Workplace(s): City of Residence: Canton, NC. Workplace – The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa. www.groveparkinn.com
1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you? Being a member of the Butcher's guild gives me the opportunity to assemble myself with other professionals within our craft and allow innovations to be practiced & respected through age old traditions.

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices? I have been 'butchering' in my occupation for 20 years – taking my first meat cutting class with Chef Michael Koons at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC. Have had numerous opportunities with family, friends & colleagues to process a multitude of items learning a vast array of techniques.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general? I feel that it is positive in the direction that allows the general public to comprehend a direction that society in general needs to revert back to, tradition. I feel that this will allow butchers alike to share specific knowledge and information with the consumer in an unbiased arena to further educate the customer.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry? There are times that I feel much of society has been concerned with making the 'almighty dollar' at all costs. I feel strongly that we must coordinate many efforts to ensuring both sustainability and that the very rudiments of our craft must be upheld, appreciated and shared.

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe? Simplicity: Center-cut Prime Filet Mignon, Grilled to Medium Rare, topped with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat & finished with a classical Béarnaise Sauce. Enjoy with a 2001 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon.

December 5th, BG Member Interview: Rusty Bowers

1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you?
The Butcher's Guild is exactly what we need. It's a way to connect with like-minded butchers who also support local, sustainable meats and farms, and believe in the art of butchering, the old-world way. This is not just a job to us, this is who we are. I love the idea of a national group that can share ideas, stories and truly support each other.

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices? I had been a chef for over 15 years, working all over the country, and always gravitated towards being the butcher. I feel like it was what I was meant to do. We started our business back in 2008 as we saw the demand locally grown and made meats begin to rise. I have always been fascinated by the art of charcuterie and I am so lucky to get to do it for a living.

We didn't start off using sustainable meats, I'm not proud of that. It took a little bit of time to find the right farmer and the right size of pig for us to use. We are very lucky to have found Tommy and Gum Creek Farms. That is the relationship that I am the most proud of. He is as passionate about raising the animals as we are about cutting and curing them.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?
I don't believe this is some fad that will eventually go away. For so long meat has been that dark, evil part of the meal that the general public either ignored or spoke of like a ghost story. Now we are willing to celebrate meat, from how it is raised to how it is cared for and presented. Meat does not have to come from a factory; people want to meet and understand every step of the process of how they get their food.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry?
In the US the protein is the king of the plate. Proving to people that you can have a sustainable food system without having to be a 80-pound vegan means that anyone can do it. The biggest problem ahead of us is getting all of us small producers and farmers together to have a voice against big business and their lobbyists. That is why organizations like the Butcher's Guild are so important. We can't tackle all of this alone we need to work together.

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe
My favorite thing right now is to take ribbons of our Beechwood Smoked Speck, wrap them around peach wedges and roll them across the grill. Then onto a bed of Arugula with Decimal Place Farm's crumbly Feta cheese and a mustard vinaigrette. Now I'm hungry!

November 28th, BG Member Interview: Jason Story

1.What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you?
In 2006, the word around the Culinary Institute of America was that butchery was dying; dying fast. Johann Sebald (Instructor of butchery) told me that the food industry was becoming too reliant on convenience cuts and the likelihood of applying old-world butchery methods in the future was marginal. But, much like a phoenix, the craft found new life when all signs of it were fading. The local/sustainable movement, artisan producers, and a heightened interest in food from the general population have re-ignited the flame that was nearly extinguished.

To me, advocating the Butcher's Guild means ensuring the longevity of this craft in the United States. It is humbling to be part of a network of such dedicated professionals throughout the country, working together to rebuild the pivotal role that butchery plays in our food system.

2.How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices?
I have been butchering since 2007. I took on the role at The Edge restaurant in St. Lucia. For them, sustainability was a given. There was no concept of "certified organic" labels. There was no need to delineate between feed lots or free range. Pasture raised and pasteurized didn't play the same role on this island as they did back home. The food system was organic because it never made the decision to deviate from that. I returned from the experience knowing which industries and practices I would support, and those I would not.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?
I think it's great and right on time. Butchery is the big thing right now. The perception has changed. It is rock & roll, it's carnal, it's sexy. Most importantly butchery now has an image, an identity. Before, the notion of a butcher was a big bellied man in a paper hat, white t-shirt, and a blood-stained apron. Now, we are seeing personality and expression. You are seeing tattoos with black shirts clutching knives in crossed arms with demeanors that say "We mean business."

Thanks are due to the television industry for dedicating so much programming geared toward food. Networks such as Bravo, Fox, and Food Network have brought what we do to America's living room, converting those once apathetic toward food into hard-core foodies.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry?
It all comes down to true value and perceived value. Money talks and we as professionals need to understand that it is our responsibility to put our customers before our wallets. Not to say that a business should disregard being lucrative. What I am saying is that we as producers need to be conscientious about charging a fair price so that our food can make it to the hard-working blue collared man's dinner table. To produce a product that only a small margin of people can afford does not do our industry justice. We need to be cognizant about providing honest food to honest people.

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe.
Although not as utilitarian as a pig trotter, calf's liver, or cockscombs; there is something to be said about the classics. A braised short-rib was my introduction to what alchemy can take place in the hands of a skilled chef. I continue to work at refining my approach and technique to the process.

November 21st, BG Member Interview: Jesse Griffiths
City of Residence and Workplace: Austin, TX, Dai Due Butcher Shop
1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you?I am honored to be a member of a national community of like-minded food professionals. I am a self-taught butcher and still new at this, so being a member of the Butcher's Guild is way for me to learn more, be inspired and be a part of a group of people dedicated to serving better food to our customers.

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices? I have been butchering for about six years. I have worked primarily with locally raised and sustainably raised meats throughout, but have made that the focus of my own business in the last five years, and have only used locally raised meats in that time. Participating in the slaughter of animals through hunting or the processing of domesticated animals has only reinforced this belief that animals deserve a good life and death if we are to eat them.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general?
Just like the focus on organic, then local foods, I feel that the current and temporary attention devoted to the 'rock star' butcher is a positive trend towards normalizing the role of the butcher as the person in the (small) community in charge of delivering meat to our neighbors. It was out of favor due to cultural and economic factors, but is now and will be a viable role.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry?
Butchers need to educate the eating public about the many parts of an animal, how to cook them with the most thrift, how to enjoy the rare (and more prime) cuts, and how to respect the animal through frugal cooking. The biggest impediments are the American notion of convenience (having whatever you want whenever you want it), the amount of meat that people expect in a meal, and the lack of connection with living, sentient creatures.

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method?
Stuffed venison flank. In Texas, deer hunting is HUGE, and this cut is always thrown away or given to the processor to fuck up in the form of jalapeno cheese sausage. We roll it around sausage, breadcrumbs and egg, then braise it for 5 hours with tomatoes and onions and serve it with grits.

November 15th, BG Member Interview: Sarah Wong

1. What does being a member of The Butcher's Guild mean to you?
Being a member of The Butchers Guild is both a tremendous opportunity and responsibility. It will be a major forum for us to share our knowledge of local food systems, techniques and practices. Also, I hope to be able to connect with other butchers from various parts of the country with diverse backgrounds to see how we use our knowledge to benefit ourselves and our community

2. How long have you been a butcher and where did you get your start? Have you been working with "sustainable" meats the whole time and if not, what precipitated your shift in practices?
I have been actively butchering for about 2 years, seperate from my 20 years  in the culinary industry. All of my formal training was initially in culinary school, where our meat fabrication instructor was a butcher from Chicago, it doesnt get anymore old school than that. Once I realized that my culinary passion was butchery and charcuterie I began to seek out farmers and butchers who could teach me seam style butchery and curing. When I was in culinary school, we were given commodity meats to butcher, and it wasnt until I was the banquet chef in Eugene that I was offered the opportunity to work direct with a local farmer to source his pigs for my kitchen. There is a lot of talk in sustainable food systems about food deserts and access. I believe that sustainable meat is not a progressive concept, it is a tradition that needs to be brought back and everyone should have access to it. This means that we need to approach all aspects of the system responsibly; supporting the farmers with fair market prices and infrastructure to distribution to the broader community.

3. What do you think about the current media hype and attention on butchery, butchers and meat in general? Butchery, like many other aspects of food in the media has been getting lots of attention in recent years. Metropolitan chefs are holding butchery and charcuterie classes, small scale processors are putting up videos on youtube, and national events are bringing lots of attention to the more commonly used meats like beef and pork. I think it affords us a great opportunity to use that attention as a platform for educating people about the diversity of choices beyond the mainstream and why local butchers and their sources are so important. I would love to see these articles highlight the partnerships between the farmer and the butcher. NPR did a great job a few months ago when they interviewed Lefty Ayers.

4. What do you believe is the role butchers in the movement for a sustainable food system and what do you see as the biggest impediment to a truly sustainable meat industry?
I believe the current butchery community is already embracing its role as educators and activists. Farmers do a great job of managing their livelihood and actively protecting it by participating in policy changes, political forums, and educating the public. Its not just a nine to five job for them, and for the butchery community that sources from it, the responsibility and time commitment is the same. The biggest impediment is that the large scale processors and government support it receives devalues the efforts and quality of the small scale local growers and processors. If we can educate the public about the huge gap in quality and ethics between these two systems, and make local meat more accessible, then hopefully the presence of the commodity processors in the marketplace will shift.

5. Your absolute favorite cut and preparation method/recipe.
I love the coppa, roasted or cured.