dear all,
something i want to share from my sustainable agriculture class on the treatment of factory farm chickens:
http://www.chickenindustry.com/cfi/videogallery/
i am usually wary of seemingly anti-meat promotions that "tug on the heartstrings" but the sort of treatment towards chickens documented undercover in this film is inhumane and wrong. for example, the film brings up points that chickens are bred now to grow so fast (45 days) that the organs cannot keep up and the chickens die from congestive heart failure. chickens (and chickens for eggs, cattle, hogs, etc.) should not suffer in this manner; it is disrespectful to their existence and, i feel, not a biblical way to treat our fellow creatures.
however, i must say that i disagree with the end of the film promoting only vegetarian options. i am a vegetarian, but buying processed veggie foods is not really 100% great either, for your health (salt, etc) or the environment (transport, packaging, etc). i still feel at this point that killing an animal for meat is not morally wrong in and of itself, as long as it is done humanely and the animal is raised with respect (whether we should eat meat at all is another discussion).
bottom line from me: be mindful about what you eat and from where it comes. if you are in athens, ohio, we are very fortunate to have a great farmers' market that offers not only locally raised (some certified organic) veggies, but also locally raised (sometimes certified organic) meats and eggs. talk to the farmers selling the products you buy, either veggie or not, and think about this before you put the food on the plate.
if you live where locally raised products are not as readily available, there still might be alternatives. the first would be to cut down on meat consumption in general, and then, since we are talking about chicken here, many more stores are carrying "free range" and/or "organic" eggs and meats. as i learned today, the "free range" label is not regulated and could potentially mean several things, but generally, it suggests that the chickens have about 12 square feet each to roam. The USDA Organic seal is regulated. http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/Consumers/brochure.html
some food for thought.
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