January 21, 2008
Wild Harvest Chicken
Husband wanted chicken pot pie for dinner last night, so I sent him to Jewel for the ingredients. Dude comes home with Wild Harvest Chicken, called so because it is:
American Humane Association Free Farmed Certified
"Meets the American Humane Association standards for farm animals which require that animals be raised in ways which reduce stress, and with adequate shelter, comfortable resting areas, sufficient space, proper facilities and the ability to express normal behavior."
What. The. Fuck.
People. These are chickens.
What do they need "comfortable resting areas" for? So they can kick back after a long day at the steel mill? Do they really want me to believe that chickens need ways to manage the "stress" they feel from spending hours pecking at the ground?
These are CHICKENS, for the love of God!
For this I'm paying $4.34 a pound? Because my chicken became plump and delicious in a vibrating recliner? Is that really necessary?
I rolled my eyes so hard, I think I sprained my retina.
Now, I can't remember the last time I was anywhere near a live chicken -- and I'd like to keep it that way, being no fan of things winged and feathered -- but Husband worked on a chicken farm for a while growing up.
Which, right there, that makes me laugh. I mean, me and my friends worked at McDonald's or the local movie theatre or Fannie May or what-have-you. But Husband and his friends worked on chicken farms, they harvested corn, they tilled fields, and they thought it was normal. That just cracks me up.
Anyhoo Husband worked on a chicken farm, so I will bow to his authority on all things chicken. And he said that chickens are the meanest, smelliest, noisiest creatures God ever put on this earth. He hated that job.
Judging from his testimony, I believe that chickens are the last animal that we want to see "expressing normal behavior." Normal for chickens is mean, smelly and noisy. I want to know that the chicken I buy was properly caged and repressed while waiting to find "adequate shelter" in my stomach.
Comments
While I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, my Mom grew up on the farm. As a child I'd go and visit my cousins, aunts & uncles who also were on farms. One time we went to a cousin of Uncle Virgil's (Yes Virgil) for lunch. There were chickens running around the yard.
One of the older boys caught one of the chickens and my Aunt Marilyn called "SB come over here for a minute." As I turned to go, I heard a "whack!" and then saw a chicken running around and it's head was hanging upside down. I started laughing thinking it looked funny, and my Aunt yelled "SB Get over Here!"
We had very fresh fried chicken for lunch that day. I was too young to realize that chicken without a head was, in fact, what we were eating.
Guess I had Wild Harvest Chicken way before it was chic(ken). Hehee! Snippy Bitch
Posted by: Snippy Bitch at January 22, 2008 10:45 AM
That all may be so, but was the chicken any good? Cause when I'm feeling flush, sometimes I'll spring for the organic, hatred free, recliner AND spa chicken, and I swear to you I've never put anything so delicious into my head!
Posted by: elle at January 22, 2008 10:46 AM
Do they really want me to believe that chickens need ways to manage the "stress" they feel from spending hours pecking at the ground?
Pecking the ground? Honey, factory farmed chickens never *see* the ground. They pack them into cages as tight as they'll fit, and clip their beaks off, because otherwise, they'll peck each other to death. They're diseased and dirty, pumped full of antibiotics, and never allowed to move, so their muscles never develop. I've comparative-taste-tested free range and cage-farmed chicken breasts, as well as eggs, and on texture alone the free-range meat wins hands down.
I'm not a knee-jerk animal-rights consumer, but it is with good reason that I pay the extra money for free-range eggs, and free-range chicken when I can afford it.
Posted by: Mickey at January 22, 2008 12:17 PM
Oh the things that happen on the chicken farm stay on the chicken farm. Its amazing that dinosaurs and chickens are related. Goes to show that evolution can work in reverse. Can you imagine a chicken the size of T-Rex? Think of the drumsticks!
Posted by: splinter at January 22, 2008 12:52 PM
don't you want to eat chicken that has NOT been fed antibiotics, pesticides, hormones? These all
transfer to your body. Believe me you don't want this. When you have time, check out Know The Cause.com You may find the site very interesting.
Have a wonderful day!
Posted by: mary lee at January 22, 2008 03:15 PM