Pro at Work-Stay Clear

[Ben Ruset]

I saw a video of what happens at a poultry factory (I can't even call it a farm). For the longest time I stopped eating chicken.

If I actually thought about the animals I was eating (I do eat a lot of beef and chicken), I would have to turn vegetarian.

Probably the worst part of the video I saw was the worker who was burning off the beaks of the young chickens so they wouldn't peck each other when they were packed so closely together. What bothered me the most was the woman doing this, just reaching down and doing this to bird after bird, then throwing them down a chute to the next step of the processing.

I just don't understand how a human being can do that to an animal.

 

[LARGO]

i've been to a slaughter house.. it's sick.. i'm not sure what it's called.. but you take rt 73 south and get off at the Erial / Spur exit (near the atco multiplex) and it's up a ways on your left. i thought they just slit the cows throat and let it hang.

I believe you are speaking of Bringhurst's. A family richly ingrained in that industry for generations. Friends and family of mine have used their services for years. Sadly enough, if you don't like what you saw there it don't get much better elsewhere. They are good folk and a couple are in my wife's church.

Watching the other dialogue I can only say, I have no problem with responsible hunters, and admire their ways. I have no opinion really on trapping. I guess I would have to be more exposed to it to have a feeling. Now, killing farm animals. I have had much experience from the farm in Elm. My dad had what I thought was an interesting way of doing the chickens. It was quick and they were mostly passed out when it happened. I will spare the last detail. The pigs were also dispatched quickly and in all my youth I only saw one go down badly. That was a tough image but the reality of the farm. Goats, yet another fashion. So I am not queasy about it therefor I guess I am numb to it. Some of the stuff you see documented about commercial operations isn't very nice I agree, but I think it goes back to having people be in touch with the reality of their food source.
But hey, Ignorance is in fact Bliss, is it not?
As far as preparations, things like Scrapple, while deelish, would probably churn most up a little if they saw the old ways of doing it, much less what indifferent and less selective processes are used today.

g.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Good chat y'all are having this snowy morn.

Traveling in cattle trucks may not seem particularly desirable for people, but cattle tend to huddle together on their own, (and poop on each other) and are quite content to hang out in a cattle truck and get covered in poop. It is not a whole lot different than kids in a school bus.

 

[BobNJ1979]

RedNeckF350 - did you go to Cook College - Rutgers Univ? if so, hello fellow alumni .. i graduated there in 2003. now my roommate in college.. what a jerk.. he was a hunter and the worst representative of them all.. he was so disrespectful to animals and used to kill just for the fun of it sometimes.. (birds mainly, at least that's what he told me).. he killed a canadian goose one day, on the farm at Cook College. there was a bunch in a field and he snuck up on one and belted it in the head w/ a wrench.. needless to say, he wasn't my roommate the next yr.

i've thought many times about trying vegetarianism .. for the health reasons, the animal reasons and to lose some wgt before I graduate (i don't want to spend $2000 again on Navy officer uniforms.. (yes, i'll be a dentist in the navy, come June 2009...pray for a domestic assignment).

and I haven't eaten veal since i was 5 or 6.. that is just awful, the way they treat them.. as said before, at least let them enjoy life a little b4 your harvest them.. and ben, i've seen something similar w/ the chickens.. i was speechless.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

You realize that pigs are at least as young as veal calves when they are slaughtered? And veal is usually raised for up to 7-9 months. 16 weeks is awfully young, you would not get the most bang for your buck sending them to market at that age, I would not think.

 

[piker56]

i've thought many times about trying vegetarianism .. for the health reasons, the animal reasons and to lose some wgt before I graduate (i don't want to spend $2000 again on Navy officer uniforms.. (yes, i'll be a dentist in the navy, come June 2009...pray for a domestic assignment). .

My wife and I made some dietary changes in 2005 due to some serious health issues that she had. Although we didn't change to vegetarianism, we did cut back on red meat, and changed to bison when we do eat it. We also try , within reason, to buy organic produce since we now eat so much more fruit and veg's. You'll want to do a lot of research before a switch to strict vegetarianism.

 

[RednekF350]

RedNeckF350 - did you go to Cook College - Rutgers Univ?

Why yes I did. Cook Class of '81.
While I wasn't an animal science major, I had a lot of friends who were and I always liked cattle.
Cook was a great place to go to school because you could shut out the urban world around you in a just a few seconds by taking a walk down to the barns or pastures on the other side of Route 1.

 

[Dragonfly]

I'll bring up another disgraceful treatment of animals...greyhound racing. Although it's gotten much better in recent years, thousands are killed mercilessly when their "careers" are over because they're too slow, or have been injured. (I am a multiple greyhound adopter) Just today, I saw a video on YouTube.com about the mistreatment and unbelievably cruel killings of greyhounds. I had to stop watching because it was so very nauseating. The purpose of the video was to promote awareness, and it got the point across way too well. These gentle, calm and loving dogs were bred just for greed - to race and hopefully win races, not for the love of the dog, but for the love of money. I know there are scrupulous breeders out there, but I'm afraid the lowlifers are too numerous. I can't imagine anyone lower that them. Sorry - I'll get off my soap box now.

I have no problem with hunting provided the kill is quick, and the meat is used for food. I personally enjoy venison, but just couldn't hunt deer myself. My philosophy is much like Sue's. I don't even like killing spiders, and WON'T kill a cricket, but that's just me. (I WILL KILL TICKS, GREENHEADS, FLEAS AND MOSQUITOES!) I'm on the fence about the snare, but I'll accept the word of the hunters here that there is no suffering involved.