Butchers’ Week

The butcher, baker, and candlestick maker have been around a lot longer than supermarkets and Wal-Mart.

Joel Salatin

Butchering may not seem like the best job in the world, but in a world that thrives off of the enjoyment of meats, it’s considered a necessity and a pleasure. Family-run butchers have it cut out for them because acquiring success in a world that thrives off of fast-pace demand can be hard to develop and can hurt right down to the bone. Butchers’ Week exists to remind people to support these businesses because they’re the ones with the better meats.

History of Butchers’ Week

Butchers have been around for the longest time and have been the oldest craft since 30 AD when the topic of butchering was mentioned in a parable in the Bible. Butchers have long since been cutting up meats, creating guilds, helping form safety guidelines for butchers, and eventually creating companies that help expand the butchering process to meet demand.

The meat-processing industry advanced further through technological developments such as better refrigeration and electricity, making the process easier to handle and allowing people to have more access to their favorite cuts than ever before.

However, once the developments of the supermarkets came around, the need for butchers became less of a necessity and more of a specialty and a niche.

While it’s faster to get your cuts from places such as Walmart, butchers can create meats that are distinctly their own. Butchers’ Week highlights the great work was done by these family-run businesses, including celebrating the long ling of history the craft has done for society and gives customers and meat-lovers the opportunity to support their local businesses.

The holiday is sponsored by William Reed, an event organizing business, and Meat Trades Magazine, a magazine centralized around the craft of butchering. Each year a new theme is chosen, and butchers all over the world get to create their own celebrations for what they do for their business and their customers.

How to Celebrate Butchers’ Week

Start by hosting an event. Throughout this event, you can showcase a new product that you have created for your customers. You can also use this day to advertise special deals on high-quality meats in your shop.

If you’re a customer, take the time to go to a local butcher shop and see about the great deals they have to offer and say thank you to them for their services. Share this holiday on social media using the hashtag #ButchersWeek and let your friends know that this is a time to appreciate your butchers when you’re wanting the best cuts.