Riverton Visit, Robert Guyton, Homekill Slaughterhouse

A lovely trip to Riverton, Colac Bay (thanks for correction Dave!) and Cosy Nook with INVSOC members Amber and Steve, along with Matt and Cathy :-)

To get anywhere in rural New Zealand however, you have to pass massive slaughterhouses, "stock trucks" taking sheep (mainly) to their deaths (horrible to watch the trucks turn into the slaughterhouses....), rural "home kill abattoir" butcheries.....

And constant Fonterra "dairy" trucks.

Arriving in Riverton, and the South Coast Environment Centre.  Seed savers, organic food, environmental information.....second home to the Guyton family :-)

Riverton bridge, GORGEOUS water!  Teal green!

Cathy jumps off the Riverton bridge into the beautiful teal water below :-)

Harbour jetties :-)

While at the Riverton bridge, I noticed this big "yellow submarine" :-)

Its actually a modern life boat from a Greek cargo ship, which washed ashore here in New Zealand, wow!

3 News video report on the vessel 

The Southland Times report on the life boat

Look where its from!  This huge boat!

A common road in rural New Zealand, as we head to Colac Bay. The metal band halfway up the power lines on the right are to stop Possums climbing up and shorting out the power!  The classic New Zealand story of an introduced species becoming a massive "pest", and the whole nation suffering forever on.  Possums were introduced to be killed for their hair, their fur.  And of course, they bred faster than we could kill them, and destroy our native forest, and supposedly spread diseases to our precious "dairy" cows, yet another introduced species.

Think about it, EVERY power pole in rural areas has to have a metal collar around it, to stop the animals climbing up to the top and messing around, bringing down the wires.  What sort of cost is involved in making.....tens of thousands.....of metal bands and installing them up there?

Colac Bay, a great place to surf.




Cosy Nook, where the movie Two Little Boys was filmed.  A few tiny little shacks out by the rocky point :-)



I visited the Two Little Boys premier, and had star Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit) pose with a fan made sign, "Figwit Lives" :-)

Part of the movie involves the three main characters breaking into one of these small houses, and living there :-)

On our way back to Riverton, we stopped by the home of the legendary Guyton family.  Environmental royalty to New Zealand, NO, the entire world, it was great to finally turn up unannounced at Robert and Robyn's door :-)  The duo host a radio show "Down to Earth" which was kind enough to let me appear to talk about World Vegan Day on behalf of INVSOC.  Robert also has a popular blog which he updates most days.

Their massive garden has an actual map drawn by a guest.  The Guytons house WWOOF-ers, Willing Workers On Organic Farms :-)

What a fantastic day :-)

Published Letters To The Southland Times, Eggs

The Southland Times editor recently wrote about ending "battery cages".  Notice the number of "egg producers", meaning the 47 different farms in all of New Zealand, and NOT the actual female Hens who PRODUCE their EGGS inside their bodies! :-)  They're just "livestock" you know, thousands of birds at each farm, property of "THE Egg Producer" :-)

My friend Jenny ALSO had a letter published in the newspaper, about being Vegan for christmas:




Seizing the chance, I wrote a reply to the editor, taking issue with the mention of  "47 egg producers"

Notice also the "Meat-filled Christmas" reply to Jennys letter.   "Humane Killing", two words which cancel one another out.  Euthanasia, certainly, but killing someone healthy because we want to eat their body as part of a religious tradition?  No thank you.

I've written a reply to Annette, informing her of the wonderful Vegan meals that are possible, sharing details of and a link to our Invercargill Vegan Society potlucks as example.


My letter was abridged, my best jokes were taken out! :-)  I wished the our friends the Guyton family well, three Guyton Jr's, and each graduated top of their year, well done!

My full letter, bold text was removed from the printed selection:

"Yesterday's editorial stated there are a whopping 47 New Zealand "egg producers".  A closer figure was also stated, of over 3 million egg producers in this country, female birds.

The lions share treated as batteries, linked together in parallel fashion, wire above and below.

Hen Friends are A+, not AA.  If you confuse the two, expect a lack of electrical power for your cordless toaster, and a sharp nip to your fingers.

Eggs are the product of the female reproductive cycle.  Whether deposited internally or externally, they are equally unappetizing.  

I came home from our monthly vegan potluck last night and checked my Hen Friends were ok.  I heard a noise exactly like a kettle boiling itself dry.  Obviously the correct batteries had been been installed!  

"HSSSSSSSSSsssssssssssssssssssss".  Home Hen finished laying an egg, a painful and upsetting process which involves a hard white shell filled with fatty cholesterol oils being squeezed from her ovary and out of her bottom.

It's rather easy to live without eating Hens eggs, just as we somehow manage without gulping down Thrush, Kiwi and Tuatara eggs :-)

Try the egg free recipes on our website, and support businesses who provide animal friendly Vegan options, like Waxy O'shea's, Zookeepers (the best kind of zoo, in name only), Pita Pit, Hell and Subway.  Ask your favorite restaurant what culinary delights the chefs can prepare that do not involve animals, and prepare to be delighted.

Go Vegan :-)

Jordan Wyatt

INVERCARGILL VEGAN SOCIETY

"all animals are equal"

http://www.invsoc.org.nz

P.S Well done Guyton family on your achievements, this letter is about respecting Hens, but Dux should be congratulated too!"

About the abridged note

""At the risk of stating the obvious, the 47 egg producers we cited were businesses, rather than individual hens - Editor"

Theres nothing "obvious" about the millions of Hens in New Zealand, 3 million being the figure stated.  These Hens are the true "producers" of eggs, the eggs entirely belong to the birds, they come from inside their ovaries, they pass through their bottoms, they are Hens eggs, not "humans eggs" :-)

I've written a second letter, trying to be fit in the ~200 maximum word limit.  Given more space, I'd mention that "Egg Farmers" are no golden goose, they produce no eggs themselves, caring only for pooping out gold, taking our money" etc.

Lets see if my second letter is included tomorrow :-)

"What animal products at the supermarket show how they are actually "made"? Cheerful cows, peaceful pigs and happy hens are shown, the last often surrounded by her chicks!


The lions share seen as batteries, Hens are linked together in parallel fashion, wire above and below.

Hen Friends are A+, not AA.

She'll never have been "allowed to keep" her eggs, and a laying hen will never see daylight, much less a male bird in her man made miserable life.

Jenny Moxham has a great suggestion for Annette Gunther - try a Vegan holiday feast :-). The religious reason for the season is to celebrate life, correct? So why horrifically kill and butcher other animals?

Do you care for Cats and Dogs? Are they possessions to fence and cage, an "it", or do you respect and recognize them as a "he" or "she"? A member of the family, or an ingredient in the feast?

The Invercargill Vegan Society is having an animal friendly celebration, similar to our monthy potlucks

http://www.invsoc.org.nz/potluck/

Cranberry cashew loaf, pecan and pumpkin pies, lasagne, calzone...... and great friends. It'll be superb.


Jordan Wyatt
INVERCARGILL VEGAN SOCIETY"

***UPDATE  Second letter published as well :-)***

Southland Times Newspaper On Eating TESTICLES!

The Southland Times newspaper on eating freaking TESTICLES!!!  You can't write this stuff folks, Go Vegan! :-)

"I had the occasion to present a "Lunch with a Difference" to a group of management for the Alliance Group recently.

The dishes presented included lambs fry, kidneys, tripe, sweetbreads, hearts and lamb's testicles, not too often seen on the butcher's shelf.

Often referred to as the "nasty bits" they are also known as mountain oysters, rocky mountain oysters, man oysters and lamb "fries". The singular of testicles is testis, meaning "witness" in Latin from ancient Roman times when a man would put his hand on his testicle when taking the oath in court.

Testicles as such are not a common culinary item in this country, whether they be lamb, beef, veal or duck.

Most of our millions of lambs are castrated reasonably young, removing the opportunity for people to enjoy the delicacy, unlike in Spain, France and even Canada where they are more easily obtainable. They are also not quite so uncommon in the Asian butcheries of Auckland.

In the United States several "fairs" are held annually where crumbed and fried "fries" are served with the perception they are an aphrodisiac. I am not sure how factual that perception is but they are a power pack, with somewhere around 140 calories, 25 grams of protein, 3g of fat, 1g carbohydrate and 375mg of cholesterol per 100g. They also contain useful amounts of potassium and sodium.

I did read about a couple of roughneck shepherds who were part of a team of a dozen or so tasked with castrating 1600 lambs over a few days. The story goes that these two tough guys decided to perform the castration by using their teeth. In my view they deserved the discomfort they endured for the few days following.

Like most testicles, lambs' can be cooked by simply barbecuing or poaching then crumbing and pan-frying them.

They are also useful sauteed in a little butter with lemon juice and parsley or battered like sweetbreads.

I recall a scene from a Chevy Chase movie where Chevy and his wife were trying to adjust to life in a new part of the country.

They were out enjoying an evening meal at a local cafe.

The cafe had a record of someone eating more than 25 or so lamb "fries" in one session and Chevy being Chevy decided he could easily beat that so started to enjoy them with gusto. He managed to beat the record but things weren't so good when he was told by their wait staffer just what the "fries" really were.

Finding a reliable source for the testicles will be as simple as chatting with your butcher (who should be able to source them through Alliance).


Have your butcher remove the outer membrane for you so all you are receiving is the clean, edible portion which will have a fresh lamb aroma. Allow one testicle per person.

PAN-FRIED MOUNTAIN OYSTERS WITH GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE (for 4 people)

4 lambs' testicles, membrane removed

1 free range egg

cup milk

1 cup seasoned flour

2 cups panko crumbs (dried breadcrumbs will suffice)

1 Tbsp oil and butter

2 tsp green peppercorns

1 Tbsp brandy

cup cream

sea salt and black pepper

Method: Cut each testicle into 4 slices.

Beat the egg and milk together.

Pass the slices of testicle through the seasoned flour then the egg mixture and finally through the breadcrumbs.

Heat a tablespoon oil and butter in a heavy-based pan and cook until nicely browned on the first side, turning over and continuing to cook until brown and crisp on the second side. Drain and rest on absorbent paper.

Continue until all 16 slices have been cooked and are resting.

Lightly rinse the pan with a little water to clear away any breadcrumbs and place the pan back on the heat.

Add the peppercorns with the brandy and ignite to flame very quickly then add the cream.

Allow to cook for about a minute until the cream thickens.

Season the sauce with sea salt and fresh black pepper.

Pour the sauce alongside your mountain oysters and enjoy.

- © Fairfax NZ News"

New Zealand Schoolchildren Reject Free Cows Milk!

New Zealands largest company, "dairy" monopoly Fonterra started giving out "free cows milk in schools" as a PR stunt.   Barely any negative coverage gets out about the New Zealand dairy industry, of how 89% of rivers in my region are "poor" or "very poor", and of the astonishing cruelty inherent to the dairy industry.A recent report about tonnes of cows milk spilt into the already poor Mataura River.  On the Southland's History page of the Invercargill Vegan Society website, you can look through slaughterhouse industry books about how one Alliance slaughterhouse was built and currently runs dumping its blood, "effluent" and other goodies directly into the formerly gorgeous Mataura River.

"Around 150 electricity customers were without power in Mataura, Southland early today after a milk tanker hit a power pole around 3am.

Between 12,000 and 15,000 litres of milk spilled into a drain which led directly to the Mataura River, Environment Southland said.

Fortunately, from an environmental perspective, the lower reaches of the river were in flood overnight, so the milk would have been diluted immediately and was unlikely to have any lasting environmental impact."

Thank goodness the river was so full, although adding that level of cows milk is still a disaster.

As the mega company felt mounting media pressure though, they relaunched cows milk giveaways in schools, to get future customers hooked, and to look like they cared about poor school children.

Being photographed kissing babies hasn't worked out so well for them though!

As New Zealand newspapers report:

"Free milk has left a sour taste in the mouths of some of Northland's schools and a large numbers of their students have dropped out of the pilot programme which was launched on March 19.

After an enthusiastic take-up, some schools have seen nearly a 90 per cent decline in the number of kids receiving milk each day, with many blaming the taste of the ultra heat treated (UHT) milk.

"The kids wrote letters to Fonterra thanking them for the milk, but fewer were drinking it because of the taste it left in their mouth," said Dave Bradley, Wellsford School principal.

The school said half the 240 children initially drinking the milk have opted out.

At Kaiwaka nearly 70 of the school's 86 children were drinking the milk. It is now down to 10.

"I am beginning to wonder if kids are so used to sugar that they don't want to drink milk anymore," said principal Barbara Bronlund."

Maybe its simply offputting to drink milk once you're old enough to talk? :-)


"Holly Walker, spokeswoman for children from the Green Party, said trying to use a 1930s era scheme for modern children was flawed, though she also acknowledged the scheme was not very popular when Labour started giving free milk to schoolchildren from 1937. The policy ended in 1967.

"There was a lot of nostalgia about the programme, but there were flaws - the milk would get warm in the sun and be awful by the time they drank it. Now we've come full circle."

My parents both remember "milk monitor" duty, each day a child would be let out of class to handle the wooden or metal boxes with the cardboard cartons of cows milk.  Apparently each day there was a cows milk delivery, and no refrigeration, it was all dumped somewhere?  "No refrigeration", sounds like we were really......not up to date......as a nation!  And as the calf food warmed up...the smell was horrible!

"Fonterra said the decline was expected and the numbers are now stable.

"It started with a big hiss and a roar and now the numbers are naturally settling down," said Craig Irwin, Fonterra's business manager for beverages."


"Fonterra's website says the pilot will be used to test logistics, such as installing fridges in schools, arranging for the milk to be delivered and putting recycling programmes in place for the packaging, which has also unexpectedly proved a problem.

Several schools said the 250ml cartons were difficult for young children to finish and the folding and disposal of the containers was time consuming.

"My staff are busy teachers and it's not easy managing the milk if you have half-empty boxes," said Adrian Smith, principal of One Tree Point school. "It is smelly."

Those practical difficulties led Riverview Primary School to withdraw from the programme."
Also reported on by Robert Guyton, "Another Problem for Fonterra"
I for one blame Vegan activists spreading their evil message of respect for all animals in our public libraries!!!  And targeting the young with colourful children's books too!!!

"Dairy" Dung Beetle Release Delayed

The Southland Times "Fear Of Disease Puts Off Beetle Release"

"A programme set up to release dung beetles on Southland farms so they can eat livestock dung has suffered a setback after concerns were raised about the spread of disease.

An application was approved last year for the Dung Beetle Release Strategy Group to release up to 11 species of beetle to manage livestock dung.

Strategy group spokesman Andrew Barber said the beetles were set to be released last summer but objections were raised shortly after they were given approval.

Concerns were raised about the beetles' ability to spread bovine tuberculosis (TB) and Johne's disease as well as other public health issues, he said."

"Dung beetles removed livestock dung and improved soil drainage and nutrients. They also helped reduce runoff and water quality, he said.

It would be a long time before we could expect to see dung beetles making an impact, Mr Barber said.

"It'll take a while. It'll take about 15 years plus.""

Its our own Environment Southland FOR this crazy scheme!  You'd expect our environmental guardians would be AGAINST it!

So we're going to set loose "up to 11 species of [dung] beetle"......hoping they'll bury and eat up all the cow....poop........and we're told "It'll take a while", over FIFTEEN YEARS???

Absolutely insane!  In fifteen years time, who the hell knows what our "dairy" industry will look like, presumably cows indoors, with crazy robots cleaning up after them.

 No more immigrant workers being exploited for as long as possible before they're sent back to their home countries.  We currently grab as many Filipino workers as we can get here in Southland, working their fingers to the bone, and then we boot them off again, not allowing them to stay as citizens.

As we see here, the Waituna lagoon area in particular is under threat by our uncontrolled "dairy" explosion.  According to the video, in 1992 there were 50,000 cows used as "dairy" machines here in Southland.  By 2000, there were 170,000.  And by 2010, there were over 458,000.

Now tell me, what kind of numbers are we going to be looking at in 15 years time from NOW, from whenever these freaky beetles are finally introduced to our unsuspecting land?  Millions?

Ah, but dont worry, the introduced species of crap eating beetles will have kicked in by then, they'll be "dealing" with ~2013 pollution levels......thats a start.....right?

Hasn't anyone from Dairy NZ seen "Bart vs Australia", where The Simpsons accidentally introduce Cane Toads to Australia, causing a plague?

Absolute lunacy.

Go Vegan! :-)

Eco Festival 2012 Press, INVSOC Muffin Mention!

With the 2012 Transition Towns Eco Festival coming up next-next weekend, press releases have gone out to drum up support.  Hard to believe its been a whole year since the 2011 event!

And with "....the Invercargill Vegan Society.....offering free vegan muffins", who WOULDNT be interested in attending?!?!? :-)

The Southland Times "Spring Eco Festival Promotes Sustainable Living"  Entry is $2 for adults, free for young children, towards hall rent.


 I saw the reporter Jamie at INVSOC members Steve and Amber's flat, playing in his band "Concubine".  Lead vocals and guitar, Jamie had a grand time telling we crowding appreciators "I'm gonna break your eff wording necks", although in slightly different language :-)

I'm the taller guy by the white door, I think that gleam on my jacket is my INVSOC badge - all those sharp corners, I did well to stay out of the "mosh pit".  As large as I am, the frenzied (on drugs?) participants slammed themselves against every surface.  "Stay back, I've got a multi sharp sided membership badge for our local vegan organisation and you could sustain a serious eye injury!" might not have been heard over reporter Jamies howling voice.

Jamie's long hair visible in the bottom right corner.

It was lovely to be contacted through the INVSOC website about covering the Eco Festival :-)

"Hi there,Jamie from the Southland Times here. Im looking at doing a wee write up on the Spring Eco Festival and Huia pointed me your way. She said you had a stall there last year and have one again this year? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about it? How was it? What was your favourite part? How do you think it effects the town? Do you think the turn out this year will have increased? Did you get a postivie reaction last year?
Also if you have any contact details for the event organiser that would be immensly appriciated.
Thanks very much,
Jamie"

Last year was great, I had a whale of a time next to the Sea Shepherd conservation society, and this year will be bigger and better! :-)

For more about the Spring Eco Festival 2012, please visit our Facebook page.

"Hi Tech Route To Perfect Venison (Deer flesh) Cuts"

The Southland Times "Hi Tech Route To Perfect Venison (Deer flesh) Cuts"


""Just say we're large scale, intense farmers."

The Wilkins family run one of the largest agri-businesses in Southland, with a deer, sheep and crop farm in Wendonside, a deer and crop farm in Athol, and a dairy farm at Five Rivers.

The large fire engine sitting in the tractor shed is an indicator of the scale of the operation.

Of the deer on his farms about 10 per cent are bred for velvet and trophy, the rest for meat, he said.

And for the past decade, Mr Wilkins has sent in 100 deer for slaughter at Makarewa venison plant, near Invercargill, two or three times a year.

Usually the whole carcass gets weighed once but Mr Wilkins gets each muscle group individually measured, like the depth and width of the loin, he said.

When the euro was stronger, Europeans paid $54 per kilogram for loin and the difference between a good and a bad loin could be 1.1kg, he said.

"If an animal is yielding $50 more for a cut, then you want more of that one . . . you have to find out what they are buying most of and produce it."

The individual cuts could be traced back to the hind and sires so he can identify the genetics to breed high value animals.

The 100 deer come from about 10 different sires so the detailed yield information would mean genetic gains could be made quicker, he said."

"The daily kill at the venison plant is 185 because that has the chillers at capacity.

Meatworkers at Makarewa are paid to work from 6am to 2pm, but when they've filled the chillers they can knock off early.

But now a new piece of technology called VIAscan installed at the end of the slaughterboard in February means Mr Wilkins can bypass the bottleshop on the way to Makarewa.

VIAscan shines a beam of light across the carcass and captures its image.

The image is analysed and compared to the shape and colours of carcasses from a large database of results of boning trials to measure the meat, less the fat and bone of three areas - the leg, middle and shoulder."



"The low grass growth during Southland winters made it difficult to keep deer in good condition so farmers sometimes sent them in earlier, or later, than when they were needed for market, he said.

To get more deer, Alliance paid farmers more, but the incentive of an extra $60 to $70 per carcass was not enough to attract enough stock, he said.

Ideally there would be enough deer to warrant starting up the night shift now, but that started in October when more stock was available, he said.

Despite the cold southern conditions about 80 per cent of deer farming in New Zealand took place south of Christchurch and Alliance processed for about 300 farmers in the South Island in their Makarewa and Timaru plants.

Most of the carcasses were red deer, then wapiti/red cross and some wapiti, though the payout for the farmers was the same for each breed, he said.

Alliance Group venison production manager Marty Donnelly said the ideal deer for farmers to focus on genetically was one that grew fast, had about 26 per cent muscle confirmation with a total meat yield of about 70 per cent."

The Southland Times "Hi Tech Route To Perfect Venison (Deer flesh) Cuts"

Homekill movement: "Industry Does Well Slaughtering Meat Prices"

The Southland Times article "Industry Does Well Slaughtering Meat Prices" covers "homekill", when a small operator will drive out to a farm and shoot animals to death, before dropping their body off to a registered butcher to handle the rest, then delivering the "meat" to the animals "owner". 

"Homekill in Southland is humming but competition can be cut-throat. Shawn McAvinue talks to four companies making a killing in Southland.

Homekill is nothing new but more slaughtermen are surfacing in Southland.

Lumsden slaughterman Ray Orchard said killing beasts has grown his business steadily since he started six years ago.

The sole operator used to kill about four cattle a week and about 140 sheep, but now he slaughtered about a dozen cattle and 60 sheep, and the odd pig and alpaca, he said.

"Eighty per cent was for dog tucker. Now two thirds is for the table."

After the television show Sunday investigated the popularity of homekill in April his business boomed, he said.

Business had been so good he bought a new refrigerated truck.

Mr Orchard slaughtered animals for clients and then recommended a butcher."



"Slaughterman Trevor McMullien said he was empathic when slaughtering animals by ensuring no children or women saw."

Goodness, cant let any children or women see as we big strong men kill animals for the children and women to then eat!!!


"He slaughtered about 15 beasts a week but sheep slaughters dropped to about 30 a week when the meatworks gave farmers better prices, he said.

However, lifestyle block owners around Invercargill were becoming a bigger part of his regular clientele, he said.

His partner Catherine Julian free-flow packed the meat beautifully, he said."


"Most beef was slaughtered before winter when the cattle were in the best condition so there was a spike in slaughtering, he said.

He did not advertise and in a busy week his company would kill for 200 customers, he said.

Half the slaughter was beef, then sheep and a few pigs and deer, he said.

Homekill was popular because people got fillet steak for the price they were paying for mince in the supermarket, he said.

Isla Bank butchery slaughterman Tim Ellison said knowing how to walk into a paddock with his .243 calibre rifle was a skill.

"There's a lot more to it than you think. What is the animal thinking? What if he gets toey? Could he jump a fence?"

Aranui Skins managing director Darryl Gerken said most slaughtermen dropped off their skins to his business in Gore.

He sold the skins to exporters in Christchurch and was the only company accepting cattle and sheep skins from slaughtermen, he said.

"Homekill is getting busier and busier every season."

He had owned the company in Gore for seven years and he bought more skins this season than the past one, he said.

When the recession hit in 2008, hides were worthless so slaughtermen threw them away, but good prices returned in 2010, he said.

Prices for sheep skins were falling, mirroring falling wool prices, but the price of cattle hides was stable and they sold well to Italy, he said.

About 15 years ago, the company got 1500 sheep skins but now it was about 350, he said.

Good prices for mutton at the meatworks meant farmers bought rolls or biscuits for their dogs rather than killing a sheep, he said.

He estimated about 4000 beasts would be killed by slaughtermen each year in Southland"

The Southland Times "Industry Does Well Slaughtering Meat Prices"