Country people love meat. They eat meat at nearly every meal and often in between. At dinner (the noontime meal) and supper country people include meat in every dish. A typical dinner consists of a “cold meat sandwich” on white bread and a pasta salad of bowties, miracle whip and bacon bits. For supper country people “fix” either pork chops, fried chicken or ribeyes with a side of green bean casserole made from canned green beans, cream of mushroom soup and diced ham. A baked potato with butter and bacon is optional. On weekends country head to their local “sit-down restaurant” for a breakfast of ham with side dishes of country sausage and bacon. Most sit-down restaurants will substitute sausage links in place of the bacon. (On weekdays country people eat cereal from a box) Beef jerky, turkey jerky and deer jerky are popular meat snacks consumed by country people between meals.
Country people buy their meat from their friends and neighbors. Several families in every rural community raise cows and pigs for community consumption rather than for commodity exchange. Meat is purchased in either whole animal units or half animal units directly from those families in late August immediately after the families’ children have completed the summer 4H fair circuit. The meat from the animal is butchered at the local meat locker where country people can buy smaller portions of meat as well.
Country schools teach youngsters the importance of meat from a very early age. In middle school country students spend one semester each year in agriculture class where they learn cow and pig breeds (7th grade) and cuts of pork and beef (8th grade). As teens, these youngsters can either take courses in animal science, agribusiness and agriscience at their high school or receive dual credit from their local community college for courses in swine production and beef management.
Wow, pretty accurate! We didn’t have ag classes until high school though. I did always enjoy when we got our half beef each year!!
It’s close, not Ag until High School. Where is the author form? he’s off on a couple things, “sit-down restaurant”, is there another type?