Thursday, July 29, 2010

And People Bitch About Sarah Palin Standing in Front of a Turkey Decapitator

There are typically two types of chickens raised on factory farms; layers and broilers. The layers are bred to lay eggs. The broilers are bred strictly for meat. They have radically different bodies which have been genetically engineered to create this distinction........................................................................................................It all sounds rather simple, doesn't it? Well, not entirely so. For instance, what do we (we, as in the factory farming industry) do with all of the male offspring of the layer chickens? I mean, they're fellows, right? Dudes flat-out don't lay eggs. And, yes, since they haven't been genetically engineered to provide us with meat, what in the bluest blazes are these poor male layers good for? Yeah, that's right, they're absolutely good for nothing. And because they're absolutely good for nothing, 250 million of these male layers every year are "destroyed". They're either electrocuted, suffocated or put through a wood-chipper. Nice, huh?......................................................................................................Look, folks, I have never been what one would call a radical vegetarian. Nor have I ever been a particularly preachy one. But the more that I learn about this factory farming stuff/the meat industry; the environmental damage, the unconscionable cruelty to animals, etc., the more that I really want to be obnoxious about it. And the more that I want to hold Mr. Al Gore's feet to the fire on the issue, end his silence on the issue, etc..

13 comments:

IrOnY RaGeD said...

How about using them in the aircraft industry?

You could shoot them at planes to test against bird strikes...

(sorry Will, I can't get too worked up over chickens. If you've ever been stuck behind a truck load of live chickens...well...
let's just say it makes a cattle truck smell good.)

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Don't worry, bro, I'm not going to go all "PETA" on you or anything. I just find it amazing how certain animals we seem to love big time, and others we treat so badly......Actually, your suggestion is a hell of a lot better than what they're doing now. At least there'd be a frigging purpose to it.

Commander Zaius said...

I could be very wrong but I thought at least some of the guy chickens were used in dog food? Speaking of which, my wife is on a coupon and free sample kick and we got a free can of that fancy dog food the other day.

Damn shit looked and smelled better that some of the MRE's I ate in the army.

Cirze said...

Sheesh.

You've ruined my day.

Poor chick chicks.

S

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Mr. Foer doesn't mention that in the book, double b. My suspicion is that the dog food chicken is probably the inferior parts of the broilers or simply scrawny broilers......I hear what you're saying about the animal foods sometimes looking good. I sometimes splurge and get my cat some Fancy Feast. Man, does that stuff ever look and smell good......Hi Suzan. Sorry I bummed you out on this one. It's good to know, though, that there are at least a few other animal lovers out there.

Teeluck said...

Heyyy, I'm an animal lover too, I love to eat them...(keep your cats and dogs far away, I might get hungry) and I just have to say that some people are complete idiots. There is so much need for food...of all kinds, that that same meat will do so much good elsewhere. As a matter of fact, I come from a country where the harder bird is preferable to us, the soft white chickens bred for the supermarket is just not tasty enuff for us. We actually go to the poultry depot and pay a higher price per pound for them...real foul, not the drugged up Tyson and Perdue shit!

Kentucky Rain said...

Chicken farms are chicken hell. There is one not too far from me and I can both hear and smell the poor critters from a mile away. Good post Will.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I'm realistic, Teeluck. I know that the world isn't magically going to go vegtarian any time soon. BUT, if we all (Mr. Gore, included) ate a little bit less meat, at the very least, the planet would be cleaner. That's important, right?.....Thanks, Mike. I figured that I'd have a potential ally in you on this one. Oh, and, just for the record, KFC just might be the worst of them all. Even worse than Tyson!!

Commander Zaius said...

...if we all (Mr. Gore, included) ate a little bit less meat, at the very least, the planet would be cleaner.

Seriously going vegan would help my health but I find it hard to even think about drinking beer without some wings, the hell-fire flaming hot kind not the wussy teriyahi stuff.

Oso said...

I'm with you Will. I've read books on the subject and it's appalling. It can leave the reader/viewer speechless and teary-eyed. I'm not a PETA guy either, but the horror can be overwhelming.
Guess I'm not adding much here other than to say I share your emotions on this one.

Cirze said...

Just to keep up the vegetarian end of this essay, I'd like to say that it's a personal choice for a better world. I ate mainly vegetables and some fruits most of my life - just never cared for the taste of most fatty meats. And, yes, I had plenty of opps for fine steak, roast beef, etc.

An apple a day is a wonderful Dr. deterrent believe it or not. And a lot cheaper than those visits!

When I got to college I read a lot about the movement away from meat consumption and was impressed (Frances Moore Lappe fan, etc.).

Out of college I lost my fiance over my vegetarian cooking, although I never insisted on no meat. I ate some chicken and lots of fish and shrimp.

As I've gotten older I find that combinations of beans and whole-grains like brown rice, etc., just make me feel better.

And I still weigh almost exactly what I did in college.

So, no preaching, but it has not only worked for me (not sick in decades and don't even get the flu), but as I learned about factory farming and what they do to milk, I've gotten even more selective. No milk from products from U.S. unless guaranteed from a known source that advertises it doesn't poison it (and I drink no milk anyway), and all my cheese purchases are imported from countries that carefully guard their reps as to use of hormones, etc.

Like I said earlier - it's a personal choice, but it's working fine so far.

Love you guys!

S

Rusty Shackleford said...

Chicken Piccata on a bed of pasta
with a nice bottle of wine followed by a cigar.Sounds pretty good to me.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I'm probably going to get laughed off the internet for this. But "Lite Life" makes kick-ass veggie balogna, turkey breast, and ham. I'm serious.