Eggs from the supermarket...

[wings]

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Farm stands and local grocery stores exist, you know

Currently I get all of my raw milk and free range chicken eggs from farm stands. I'd love to have my own Jersey cow and a flock of chickens someday, but I still get by with eating "happy" stuff while living in an apartment in an urban area just fine. Raw milk is even an option for people who live in the heart of Boston, because a milk truck drops it off at several pick-up stands throughout the city every week.

I can't express how happy it makes me to see a growing number of people interested in organic, free-range animal products. Even if they do it primarily for health reasons (as I do with raw milk), it's securing a future for humanely-treated animals nonetheless.

My family gets raw milk, and it is SOOO GOOD!!!

 

[wings]

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I was thinking about that, too...

I agree with you, Chicken Lady.

 

[wings]

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What did they do in olden days when there weren't big factories for food???

I would have to disagree with you on the conditions of average egg factories. I think they are worse than some people realize.

 

[patandchickens]

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You know, I wonder whether that's really true (for eggs specifically anyhow).

Suppose that even just half the people who had room to keep chickens *did*, and sold their surplus eggs to neighbors (and in the case of people near-but-not-in cities, formed co-ops to sell extra eggs to city folks with balconyless apartments).

I don't honestly know what the numbers would look like, but I somehow suspect that, even at worst, we'd be *not too far* from not needing any battery farms at all.

As far as meat goes, a lot of it comes down to how much meat people wanna be snorkin' back, and how cheap they are about paying for it as opposed to paying for iPods and sneakers and soda pop.

Just a thought.

Pat

 

[Blackbird]

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I have to agree, besides.. I think we all know how messy chickens can be at times, and how much they can be to take care of.

My mom and I had breakfast at a mcDonalds this morning (we rarely eat out) and it was a sausage egg cheese type thing, the egg in it was absouty disgusting. I'm sooo glad we raise/grow 80% of what we eat.

This may sound cruel, but sometimes I amost think the economy should get worse so people can stop and think, and realize that maybe people should be more self sufficiant.

 

[wings]

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This may sound cruel, but sometimes I amost think the economy should get worse so people can stop and think, and realize that maybe people should be more self sufficiant.

YES!!!

Edited to add: Some really lower class people already have to think about that. Now imagine what they're thinking now... Just a thought.

 

[beak]

The chickens looked ok to me. They looked comfortable, they had food and water. Since they have never known what it's like to run around pecking interesting things off the ground I don't think they were stressed. I'm sure if they were stressed their egg production would be down so it would be corrected. So much for needing 4 sq ft per bird. I guess it would better to send them to a rest home or something instead of the slaughterhouse.

I like happy eggs because of the taste and texture. I like the birds too. When the hens stop laying we will slaughter them and use them for chicken and dumplings or something. I know it's easy to get attached to them, but they are food animals.

 

[beak]

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In lots of the rest of the world, people *do* raise livestock, chickens particularly, in cities and so forth. And a huge amount of vegetable growing on every available plot, yard and balcony, too.

People in the US (and to a lesser extent other Western countries) have just gotten out of the habit of doing that sort of thing, is all.

It remains to be seen how long they can *stay* out of the habit

Pat

That's true. Most of the countries are 3rd world though. Health issues stop it in places like the USA. In Denver there was a grocery store in a mostly Mexican section of the city. They spoke Spanish and catered to the Mexican community. They had live chickens in the back of the store and would slaughter the chickens for their customers. There was a huge outcry against that grocer. Of course at the time there was a huge wave of racism against the Mexicans too. So that could have been the fuel for the fire. Every time one of our towns wants to pass a law allowing small chicken coops for personal egg production there is a huge outcry.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

"Health issues stop it in places like the USA."


No! Whiny city people that think there to good to have to see or hear livestock are what stop it.

 

[SpunkyChicken]

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I notice you also live 30 miles from Boston... out of curiosity, which farm does your family buy milk from?