In many ways, Nikun's suspicions are affirmed when one goes to a meat shop anywhere in town. With flies buzzing everywhere, you doubt if the butcher has washed his hands before touching the meat. Nikun furrows his brows when he sees the butcher raise a bloodied hand and scratch his cheek. After the transaction, Nikun is relieved to leave the shop and the area, where the smell of raw meat and blood overwhelms anyone who passes by.
Such experiences are sure to evoke concerns over hygiene and other issues in meat shops and slaughter houses. Many shops, like the one Nikun visited, are small and bring in meat produced in warehouses where the animals have been killed and cleaned. Bigger meat stores, however, just have the animals brought in and produce the meat at their own shops which also acts like the slaughterhouse. Ashok Khadgi's meat store, for instance.
Ashok has a meat shop at Sundhara in Kathmandu that would be considered big compared to other meat shops and this is where he does all the killing, cleaning, and washing of the animals after the dealer brings it every few days from various places outside the valley.
"The number of animals that are brought in isn't fixed," he says. But he guarantees that he brings in only enough to last until the next delivery. That is usually early morning at five every Thursday and Sunday, when the vehicle arrives from Chitwan. Ashok, with help from two of his workers, starts killing and cleaning the animals and producing the meat until 8:30 am when the shop opens and they welcome the first customer.
Though many consumers are concerned about the quality of meat, there are a very few who actually inquire about it. Unlike Nikun, many people have a trusted source from where they purchase meat and thus they don't question them regarding the safety and quality.
'I Kalu Meat Shop' in Baneshwor in Kathmandu, has regulated the system to check the medical report of the livestock they purchase from the supplier before the transaction. They, too, like Ashok, produce their own meat, but make sure that the animals were not diseased before purchasing it. Ballu Balram, the owner, says that it wasn't always like this. "Inspectors from the municipality regularly came and checked our products. We were more alert after that," he says.
Dr. Santosh Ghimire, a veterinarian, says that a lot strict rules have to be regulated when it comes to the meat industry. "Businessmen who have a profit motive find ways to make the livestock look big so that they can earn a lot from a single one. When produced in mass, the consumers might not always get the best of the meat because of that very reason. It is very tricky to ensure that the meat is safe for consumption, as even if one of the animals gets sick, it spreads. There are rules alerting the farmers and businessmen, and points to be considered, but I don't think they are being applied properly," he says.
Indeed, it is difficult to totally rely on the meat industry regarding safety and hygiene. That is one of the reasons that made people of 'My Own Meat Shop' in Sanepa in Lalitpur take things under their own hands and start their own meat business.
Gautam Singh, shareholder and chairperson, of the group that operates the shop says that frequent reports and rumors regarding the poor quality of meat scared them. "We wanted to be able to consume meat without any fear of falling sick. So our community came together to start our own meat shop, where we could eat meat knowing that there is nothing to worry about," he says.
Singh says that about 200 families from Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, and Banepa are involved in the business. Some of them are farmers and have their own animal farms. The meat that they sell in the shop is brought from those farms. They have their own slaughterhouse and use modern machinery to prepare the meat. The machines were an expensive investment, but because it is their own investment, the price of the products doesn't vary that much from the local market.
Though this example raises questions about the kind of meat being served in the market in the valley, there is nothing much that the local meat shop owners can do. Of course the availability of frozen meat products from foreign and local companies has provided a safer alternative for conscious consumers. But they are comparatively expensive, and a lot of people end up buying meat products from the local meat shops.
Tulsi Khadgi, a butcher in Chetrapati, says that they don't really have the option to look clean and healthy when there are many things to be taken care of. "With our business we just get by, and it is especially difficult in the off seasons," he says. It is only during the festivities that their business picks up. "It is not easy to run a meat shop, the work itself takes a lot of effort and is time-consuming, and there is always a lack of workers to help meet the orders," he says.
There are many meat shops like his that operate in small scale and just get by, but it doesn't mean that quality of the products should be compromised upon. Therefore, it is up to the consumers to be conscious about where they purchase meat products from. And maybe for that the public needs to be aware about what happens inside a slaughterhouse.
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