Beef and Pork Whole Animal Meat Buying Guide

Guide américain sur la commercialisation de vaiande  bovine et porcin. Le pourcentage  de cascasse est différent au Canada que les USA. Just a few decades ago, many Americans put up whole animals every year. Professional butchers traveled door-to-door, helping families cut and preserve the meat. Those folks who did not have their own animals to butcher contracted with a butcher shop, usually purchasing meat in quantity and storing it in a freezer locker to which the buyers had a key and access throughout the week. Meat counters in grocery stores replaced this system, making it possible to purchase fresh meats week by week. But today, as more and more beef and pork producers return to the marketplace to sell directly to consumers, it is again common for individuals to buy meats locally and in quantity—typically by quarter, half, or whole animals. Buying beef or pork in quantity allows you to choose not only what quality of animal you would like—how the animal is raised and fed, what breed—but also exactly how you want the meat cut and packaged. How thick do you want your steaks, for example? Do you want ground meat in one-pound packages, two-pound packages or made into patties? Do you want beef jerky, bratwurst, or ring bologna?