“Killing It” author Camas Davis answers your questions about ethical meat eating

This week’s Meat Month Q&A was with Camas Davis, a food-writer-turned-butcher who founded the Portland Meat Collective. Her new book, Killing It, explores Davis’s transition from editor to butcher while providing meditations on “life, death, and dinner”—lessons from the farm, butcher block, and dinner table that inform her life philosophy today.

Throughout Meat Month, we’ve talked extensively about what it means to be a “conscious carnivore,” examining the many ways we try to consume meat responsibly and humanely. On Twitter, Davis discussed her thoughts on ethical meat consumption, avoiding “meat porn,” and the roles butchers can play in educating the public about better meat.

Here’s a recap of the conversation that unfolded on Twitter.

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The first question opened the conversation by asking about Camas’ experience with butchery:

To which Camas suggested her experiences have greatly impacted the way she consumes meat:

The next question, received from a neighborhood butcher shop based in Nashville, Tennessee, was about how to “ease” customers to learn more about the whole meat production process:

Camas’ response vouched for thoroughly educating eaters and avoiding “meat porn:”

This was followed by a question regarding the contentious issue of “humane” meat production:

People believe what they wish to believe, Camas said, but it’s important to support a “holistic” and “regenerative” system of agriculture:

To follow up, The New Food Economy staff then asked about how to be a “responsible” meat eater:

“Read. Learn. Be suspicious,” Camas wrote:

…oh, and, take a class:

And finally, to wrap up the Q&A, a user asked about how confusing meat labeling systems affect local farms:

In response to which, Camas’ response was two-fold:

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Now you’re all caught up! Thanks to Camas Davis for a great Q&A. And stay tuned: We’ll be hosting one more #CarnivoresDilemma discussion to wrap up our Meat Month series.