Welcome to Meaty

Our CEO’s journey from opting out to jumping in

My journey to better meat started, ironically, with giving it up altogether. I read a book by a new father grappling with the daunting responsibility of choosing what to feed his child, followed by another book that described in graphic detail the horrors of factory farming, and decided that I’d had enough: I would become a vegetarian.

But just outside Boston, in the rolling hills of Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington, there were farms who seemed to have figured something out. Driving past them, it didn’t take a food systems expert to understand that what they were doing was about as far from factory farming as you could get. Slowly, it dawned on me that an alternative to opting out of meat altogether was to actively support a new, better way of producing it which, some day, might supplant the old way. 

So I started digging in, seeking first-hand experiences this time: visiting farms, volunteering at small-scale processing workshops, and eventually apprenticed at a whole animal butcher shop. Through these experiences, I realized that there was an alternative: supporting people who were raising livestock in ways didn’t just ‘do no harm,’ but that actively regenerated the environment, local economies, and our relationships with one another.

For me, learning first-hand how my individual food choices impact not just my own health but the world around me -- from environmental issues like water usage, greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen pollution to social issues like racial justice, the rural-urban economic divide, and immigration -- was a game changer. I realized that my individual actions were extraordinarily important to make real change in the food system, and that I had the opportunity to do so every single day, each and every time I decided what to eat.

I started Meaty so that everyone can have that ‘aha’ moment. Meaty exists to show that taking small steps to eat better meat can be one of the easiest and impactful ways for each and every one of us to work toward a better world. 

In the coming months we’ll roll out a series of butchery classes, cooking workshops, and farm tours that teach practical skills and provide context for why eating better meat matters in the big picture. You don’t need to brush up on your knife skills before taking our classes -- if you can chop an onion, you’re good to go. You don’t need to be an expert in cuts of meat, or eat a lot of it -- we welcome all levels of familiarity and consumption. You don’t need to get a chest freezer and start buying whole animals -- we’ll connect you with local farms and retailers that will make it easy to access better meat. 

All you need is to show up ready to get hands-on, make mistakes, and try on some new ways of thinking about, buying, and preparing meat. Wherever you are on the path to better meat, the most important thing is that you’ve started. We’re thrilled to be with you on this journey, and we can’t wait to get Meaty with you.

Samantha Garwin, CEO & Co-Founder