The ones that died before the rain, that is. The others got a stay of execution...for a time.
I'm talking about Chicken Murder Death Day, of course.
Last weekend, it was slaughter time at the Ripton Farm that we've all grown so used to reading about. We were slated to kill 35 chickens, but the rain made us stop before we could get past 18.
And, yes, I'm a Pescatarian....I haven't touched poultry or red meat since March. Truly! Except for this one time.
My values around meat-eating are not of the traditional sort. I eschew any meat that comes from factory farms (and that's most of the meat you eat, b's and g's) or any meat that goes through traditional or kosher slaughter houses. Since labeling does not go so far as to say something like: "This chicken hatched from it's egg on March 18, 2008. It was given 8 hours of free range time in a grassy meadow every day; it was given feed that contains only healthy ingredients (no forced cannibalism); the cage environment was humane, and the slaughter was as un-traumatic as possible," I won't buy it.
Allow me to be more clear--my problems with the meat industry are many, and that's were most of my objections to eating meat are. Add that with my firm conviction (and the conviction of many nutritionists as well) that eating meat is not necessary for a healthy diet, I chose to eat mostly plants, grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy and fish. (And, yes, I know that fish feel pain).
However, I will make exceptions.
One annual exception is the Chicken Murder Death Day. We all participate in the slaughter of the chicken, from plucking the poor innocents from their coop (they're normally running all over the yard, but they need to stay where they can't find food for 24 hours before the slaughter) to storing the carcass in ice water.
Below is a photo montage of a chicken killing: (the photos below may be kinda gross to some people. It's my opinion that if you can't stomach it, you should probably consider yourself a hypocrite if you eat chicken, but that's just me. Seriously, though, don't look if you've got a weak stomach for dead things.).
In the first photo, you can see my friend slitting the throat of the chicken, while keeping her hand around the chicken's head (the chicken goes to sleep if it's in the dark). In the next, the dead chicken is dunked into hot water to loosen the feathers which are then plucked; in the third, my other friend eviscerates the chicken carcass. Although I do feel moderately bad for taking the life of a chicken just to eat it, I do enjoy this yearly event. I feel that the chickens on the farm lived a much better and healthier life than most factory farm chickens, and that as a result, I'm eating much healthier meat.
What do all of you think? Are factory farms fine for the animals? Should we all aim to eat "happy" meat? What are your guidelines around eating in general?
2 comments:
Amen, chica. You said it all. Though I am a vegetarian not only for ethical reasons but also because I have never liked the taste of meat, if I could stomach it my meat-eating habits would closely resemble yours. I was even getting sqeamish about eating the free-range, vegetarian-fed-hen's eggs from the grocery store, because the standards for free range are so ridiculously weak. Now I'm buying them from a friend's farm, and my tummy is happier and my mind is at ease.
I love to read your blog, Stacie Lady! Keep 'em comin'!
Meredith and I kinda differ in the exact reasons why we choose not to eat meat. Meredith does not eat meat for all the reasons you listed in your blog. However, I choose not to eat meat pretty much because I find it more healthy not to. Nonetheless, I do it meat, but only when I'm home, or if the meat is organic. I do not oppose hunting, or people who eat meat, but I stand behind those who say: if you shoot it, take the time to learn how to do it in a humane fashion, and eat ALL the meat, and use ALL the animal. If you're going to eat meat, value the animal's life enough to know where it came from, and how it lived it's life. If you're going to eat meat, shouldn't you have the guts to watch it die? I'm glad you went Stac ... and I agree with everything you said!!! Good blog.
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