THE MEAT WE EAT
BY ANKI GRØTHE
In minus 30 degrees everything is frozen and still. It's December and the sun will stay low and it's daily visit will be short. In the distance I can hear a light pandering noise. It is about 4000 reindeer, hearded here to this particular place for the yearly slaughter. Half of the reindeer pack is to be killed. The other half set free roam the wide mountain range of southern Norway again. After visiting the reindeer slaughter at Golsfjellet in Norway, I have learned something new. I have always had a strong relationship with nature growing up with a family that like to spend their freetime outdoors. This has made me believe we all need to be aware and do our best to take care of earth and all our resources. The reindeer is a wonderful animal and resource, and at this particular area they are hearded then killed in it's own habitat. They are lucky like that. Avoiding the stress that a long ride in a trailer have on the animal. Killing an animal is a brutal act, it is no way around that. I think it is interesting how some places today, kids or people in general have no thoughts on what they eat, how the animal lived, died or got to their plate. In Norway we have strict rules about animal welfare, but it is just as important to take a personal moral standpoint. Witnessing this slaughter ritual has made me more selective and appreciative of the meat I eat.
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About the author
Anki Grøthe lives in the mountain village Hemsedal, in Norway. She is educated in traditional photography at Strømmen High School, 2002. And in 2011 she finished Bilder Nordic school of Photography in Oslo. She specializes in lifestyle documentary photography, and is forever curious about mountain life, peoples various lifestyles and their relationship with nature and weather. She participated in "The censored exhibition at the Copenhagen photo festival". In 2012 she attended the world famous "Arno Minkkinen Spirit Level V" workshop. In 2014 she also had an exhibition at Grims Grenka Oslo. Her contribution in the trending book The Outsider, was published by Gestalten the same year. Her last accomplishment was the release of the book "Emma og usynligheten" in February 2016. A poetic documentary about the everyday life of a girl with epilepsy. She is also awarded New and Emerging Photographer by PDN fall 2016.