Nowadays we preach sustainable food consumption but rarely practice; however, Mongolians accounting less than 4 million have been applying a minimalist lifestyle and desired food consumption since ancient times. If any of you guys kept up with my report, you would know that many herders are using solar panels to support their life with electricity. This time, I would like to present one of the rarest, authentic traditions to butcher an animal in the world that has zero waste. 

People assume Mongolian nomads’ diet consists mainly of meat and fat because of our cold winters and continual work of herding. That is not entirely false but in the summertime, most households consume no meat (Bit of an exaggeration there as herders have one full meal in a day but it’s usually light with a mix of vegetables and flour.) but only dairy products. Only for holidays, special occasions or necessities, Mongolians slaughter sheep. (no more than 5 sheep a year) Although livestock has overtaken the number of people, Mongolians still value sheep with the uppermost respect as its wool, milk, meat to even bones are worthy of a dime.

Because every part is used -- including blood -- methods to kill a sheep are fit and contain tight rules for even the slightest procedure; so, I can’t go through all the rules one by one but only general stuff. First, a small incision is made in the belly (see below) and the person reaches in and tears the aorta -- usually takes 1 minute while excreting no blood. After that, the sheep is skinned in which its skin will be sent to a wool factory or will be used as a coat for the next zud: extremely severe, snowy winter. 

Then, each and every part of the sheep is either eaten or used as a component for toys such as “shagai” which is a dice made out of an ankle bone or various other puzzles. (see below) When I say every part is eaten, I include literally every single one from its brain, eyes, intestine, blood, liver, heart, tail’s fat, feet to ears. Even though you might be grossed out by the scene, it’s quite remarkable how there is no part left behind as it embodies the humans’ connection to the land and respect for the feast. The herders are intimate with their livestock as they kill them the way only respected heroes die with no blood and waste -- nothing will be taken for granted. 

If you need more insight, go to this link as it includes detailed, precise explanation of the whole procedure: https://livefromub.com/2012/04/18/what-herders-do-best/