While driving through the countryside, I often see "pick it yourself" fields, where the customer gets a basket and can pick his/her own fresh produce.
It's a shame that meat-eaters don't get to enjoy this sort of thing, too. They must buy their meat at the supermarket---pre-slaughtered, pre-cut, and pre-packaged. This "hospital" approach completely separates them from the exciting, colorful meat-growing/harvesting process.
Therefore, I suggest the U-Pick Cattle Ranch. Each meat-eating customer is given a lasso, a stun gun, and a butcher's cleaver, and sent out into the herd to select 'n' slaughter the slow-witted, yummy-looking beast of his/her choice. There's nothing like harvesting your own food to make you appreciate each delicious, sinewy bite.-- Ander, Jul 26 2000 The Simpsons: Maximum Homerdrive http://www.snpp.com/episodes/AABF13In this episode of the Simpsons, Homer loses a steak-eating contest that takes place at "The Slaughterhouse", a new restaurant where patrons personally select their own cow to be slaughtered. [jutta, Jul 26 2000] I've used a U-pick sheep pen... In fact we're just about to enjoy part of the product of it for dinner tonight.
We have friends with a farm - I had my kids choose one of the penned sheep, which was then picked up (after a decent amount of time and out of earshot of the slaugherhouse) in frozen chunks.
There must be a market for this...-- Anchovy, Jul 26 2000 I'm voting for the statement the idea makes. Would we eat a lot less meat if we had more participation in the process? For that matter, what clothes would I wear if I knew about the entire process? This inspires another idea -- "wave to the workers" -- I'll post it.-- syost, Jul 26 2000 Meat should be aged a bit.-- StarChaser, Jul 27 2000 The reason why people do not pick their own cows for eating is that they cannot eat the whole cow by themselves. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this idea.-- Vance, Feb 05 2001 So create a U-Pick chicken farm, even better! But they already do this sort of thing. "Watch It Run Around Like... Well, a Chicken With Its Head Cut Off!" Or create pygmy cows. exept that wouldn't work because then everybody would want one for a pet.-- dragonette, Aug 10 2001 Cool. Better than the Disney farm approach, where the animals are raised for purposes unknown, but surely not for slaughter and eating.-- protean, Aug 10 2001 I saw a guy on tv who says he'll go home with your family if the portions are too big...i know he fits into this somehow-- gniterobot, Aug 21 2002 This happens regurlary all across america in the fall and early winter and those who participate swear it does make them more human remembering that something has to die for them to live. It is called hunting and fishing. And yes food does taste better after having been in on the preparation (harvesting included).-- Imathinker, Jul 18 2004 random, halfbakery