Waxman Farm/photo: David Rosenthal
Editing: Gilad Man Mannheim
On the one hand heavenly, on the other scary.
There are not many words that contain such a contrast as "research".
It's a word that shouldn't make you click, but the headline that follows it does - especially when it's about meat.
So many articles have been published about meat consumption and its consequences, about the infectious diseases and potential dangers with titles like "Research: Red meat will kill you in twenty years, maybe even in a week. In fact, it's a wonder you're still alive, a breeding ground for microbes like you."
Why believe?
For all the studies and maybe, actually, for none of them.
One thing is certain: with or without scientific analysis, there is a very high chance that the meat you eat is infested with germs, bacteria and all kinds of contaminated elements.
Just think about what you know or worse - don't know - from the moment the animal is bred, let alone born, until it arrives on your plate.
What could possibly go wrong in the countless stations through which beef is flown here from Argentina?
An experience from another world.
Waxman Farm/David Rosenthal
You won't be sorry.
Waxman Farms/Waxman Farms
After many postponements due to the heavy rains of February, I finally managed to get to the Waxman farm in the beautiful Moshav Ofer, at the foot of Carmel.
The farm, which specializes in independent meat production and selling it to the consumer without intermediaries, was established in the 1960s by Sarah and Shauli Waxman, and is currently managed by their sons Bez and Aram.
It is about several acres where calves are raised freely, the meat is dry-aged for ten days, then rationing, packaging and sale.
Once a month there is a sale of fresh meat "from the nose to the tail" in different kits, which can be ordered on the website, with the deliveries delivered to the whole country according to distribution areas, on specific days.
Since I came for a "tasting dinner" along with a few dozen other potential buyers who came mostly by word of mouth, I was first expecting one of the smokehouse experiences where you sit for several hours and enjoy a non-stop serving of meat in stages, but it was made clear to me in advance that this was not the case and it is important that you know this as well, In case you arrive yourself.
The main event here is not the entertainment and dining experience, but the presentation of the practices of the farm, tasting and feeling the quality of the meat.
The hospitality itself is very generic - arrival at the farm, a not very long explanation in the pasture against the background of the freely roaming calves and then a tasting of various meats in an all-you-can-eat method on disposable plates.
The taste and quality of the meat is the highlight, and we'll get to that later.
The highlight.
Dr. Selva Berger (center) with Bez Varam Waxman/David Rosenthal
free environment
The calves of the Waxman/David Rosenthal farm
I've never been ashamed of being a meat eater and I don't feel the need to apologize for it even now, but it's not easy to look your food in the eye
The presentation was delivered by Selva Berger, Doctor of Medical Sciences and lecturer on ketogenic diseases, who among his other occupations in the field began working with Bez and Aram on the farm, a surprising change of direction that I will always appreciate.
Here I must put a personal *asterisk* and say that this part was not easy. Never I was ashamed of being a meat consumer and I don't feel the need to apologize for it even now, but it's not easy to look your food in the eyes, even if it is currently happy, kind, beautiful, healthy and raised in optimal conditions (and they really are optimal).
I remembered that famous moment when Chef C "Jamie Oliver butchered a lamb in his show in front of the shocked viewers. We, the meat consumers, are used to the fact that the patty that is served to us sits on the plate. We have no interest in thinking that it was once part of an animal, a limit that Oliver tried, and succeeded, to protest.
The knowledge that these animals had several months left to live caused I have to detach myself from large parts of Selva's explanation. What I did manage to absorb and also see with my own eyes is that these calves are healthy, beautiful and above all do not suffer in their short lives. This is very non-trivial when it comes to cattle and everything we hear about newborn calves, separated painfully from their mothers and raised in harsh conditions No conditions until the brutal death. Here they are in the mother's lap for about four months and grow in conditions of freedom, without growth hormones and antibiotics that are given regularly.
Yes, there is definitely comfort in that, both from their point of view and your health.
Detection through smoke.
Waxman Farm/David Rosenthal
This is not a cliché.
Waxman Farm/David Rosenthal
This stage is over and we have reached the main part, of the food itself.
Considerable quantities of meats - from hamburgers and chorizos to pulled meat and brisket - were placed on the long table.
Although it was a large amount, after about fifteen minutes there was almost nothing left on the table.
The meat was perfect, also due to Selva's excellent grilling, but anyone who has eaten good and less good meats in his life will be able to recognize through the smoke and taste the high quality.
This is not a cliché, there is value in a healthy and hormone-free free life and fresh meat that has not been brokered and treated with all kinds of dubious means.
With the arrival of spring, the number of tours will increase, and you can find the details, prices, estimates and distribution areas on the website or be updated on the Facebook page of Waxman Farms.
Again, it's important to emphasize - this is an experience "on the road" and not an arranged tasting meal in the classic sense, but whether you chance upon the place or whether you choose to order through the website without any prior impressions, you most likely won't regret it.
Waxman Farm, Harimon Street, Moshav Ofer
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