VC:VC Blood on the floor

In my venture cycling world I rarely see blood ... I didn't even scrape myself when I fell off my bike last year. However, I find myself drawing closer to a bloody side of Hazon's world ... the plan to shecht (slaughter for food according to kosher rules) a goat (or two) at the Hazon food conference in December.

This was first publicised in the Hazon sponsored food blog, Jcarrot, yesterday when Nigel Savage described the plan, and the apparent need for two goats, based on the need to hang the meat for at least a week before eating it. On this basis the plan described the need to shecht one goat a week in advance to eat at the conference, and a second one at the conference itself for those who wish to observe how it is done.

A second post on this topic on Jcarrot today brings more to the story. A blogger in failedmessiah.com picked up on this, and reminded Nigel that in Temple times animals were slaughtered and eaten almost immediately. Other comments included mention of the original Passover ritual in Egypt also, famously, eaten immediately. As can often be the case in the blogosphere the comments get heated and a little unpleasant in writing off Nigel and Hazon as all the wrong kind of (a) Jews, (b) food experts, (c) kosher food experts, and (d) environmentalists. Oh well ... more blood on the floor.

In venture capital we rarely see blood. The odd paper cut or two is an imminent threat at many board meetings. Sometimes discussions get heated, but I have not heard of too many instances when punches are thrown and blood is drawn. The awful times when either an executive is let go, or a company workforce has to be cut have been likened to bloody moments, but we generally try to make them as unbloody as possible.

In both sides of my life, venture cycling and venture capital, I am grateful that there is little real blood. Just thinking about the demonstration planned for the food conference is enough to make me blanch, and I don't even plan to be there.