Etc... Freezer Beef Prices

[feetsoup]

Hmmm... I have wondered about whether slitting the arteries with a sharp knife or decapitation is more humane... The latter isn't necessarily as instant as you'd think. Chickens in particular seem to have a lot of functionality controlled by their brain stem. There's one chicken that lives for 18 months without a head . He just never died, so they started feeding him by putting grain in the exposed esophagus. Ironically, he died from choking. My point is, in most cases what they are dying from is blood loss, not actually being decapitated, so slitting the throat with a very sharp knife (the sharper the knife, the less you feel it) might actually be much less traumatic... Especially since being hung upside down seems do kind of make them zone out, like flipping a sheep on its butt or putting a lip twitch on a horse. If you leave the windpipe intact, they can keep breathing and just go to sleep from blood loss...

As far as steers, goats, etc... I think it is much better to stun them first or shoot them in the head. It's obviously a lot faster and less stressful, especially since I think they pretty much always slit the windpipe so the animal chokes and suffocates, as well as bleeds out. I would certainly never slit the throat of a conscious steer. It would probably be better to stun the chickens first too, honestly, but seeing as their heads are so tiny I imagine this would be much more difficult, so people usually don't bother.

Disclaimer: I'm just conjecturing from what I have read - I have yet to gain any first-hand knowledge here.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
Oh be real! (coughing while muttering b.s.)

My local processor does slit the throat instead of decapitation. They say the brain is still telling the heart to pump. If you cut the brain, the heart stops.

 

[feetsoup]

Quote:
Oh be real! (coughing while muttering b.s.)

My local processor does slit the throat instead of decapitation. They say the brain is still telling the heart to pump. If you cut the brain, the heart stops.

I didn't believe it either! But I did a bunch of looking around and it seems to be legit. They had him on show in Salt Lake City for a long time, he was featured in Life... and I found other cases of decapitated chickens living for days after decapitation, but none quite so long at this one.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
Oh be real! (coughing while muttering b.s.)

My local processor does slit the throat instead of decapitation. They say the brain is still telling the heart to pump. If you cut the brain, the heart stops.

I didn't believe it either! But I did a bunch of looking around and it seems to be legit. They had him on show in Salt Lake City for a long time, he was featured in Life... and I found other cases of decapitated chickens living for days after decapitation, but none quite so long at this one.

Well, understand this. I am not calling you the liar but look at the pictures. The guy's hand just happens to be in the way of the neck???? Holding the severed head?????

No brain=just spasms. (of course my teenagers don't have a brain either, but that's a different story

)

 

[the simple life]

Tim G no one professed to know what is the most humane, I stated that Temple Grandin is known for designing the "most humane" way of slaughtering cattle, that was a direct quote from one of the sites that writes about her.
I however stated that I buy my beef where they were treated humanely, there are alot of places who claim that but I do think there are different levels of it and yes I buy my beef where *I* think they are treated humanely, as I said.

Do you think that slaughtering animals are all at the same level and none are more humane than the other?

Everyone can interpet humane as they want, but as for me I will buy my meat where I believe they are treated humanely in life and in death.

This is where different levels come in and you have to choose what You think is humane and what farm/company you want to support.
People can buy their beef where they are most comfortable with the level of humanity the farm/processing plant shows during the animal's life and during slaughter.
Raising them on pasture, Not having to transport them is one level, If you stun them then there is another level, if you use a bolt to the head there is another level etc. You need to choose what YOU think is the humane way to treat an animal and then support that farm.
That is what I do and it determines where I shop.
I have not bought supermarket beef in almost a year because I know how those animals are treated, I know they are raised in feedlots and I doubt they are given a decent death.
I don't trust the grass fed or organic labels at the supermarket, I can stop buy the farm anytime I want and see the cattle grazing in the pasture and know exactly where my food came from and what it ate.
Just the fact that they are eating what they should be eating, what they were meant to eat is treating them humanely.
The animals are raised on site so there is no transporting them, that right there is a level of humanity, taking away that stress of transporting.

I guess if you really want to analyze the meaning of humane you should ask yourself how you would want to die.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
I didn't believe it either! But I did a bunch of looking around and it seems to be legit. They had him on show in Salt Lake City for a long time, he was featured in Life... and I found other cases of decapitated chickens living for days after decapitation, but none quite so long at this one.

Well, understand this. I am not calling you the liar but look at the pictures. The guy's hand just happens to be in the way of the neck???? Holding the severed head?????

No brain=just spasms. (of course my teenagers don't have a brain either, but that's a different story

)

It's true, sort of anyhow. The one I remember was named Mike. What actually happened was a botched decapatation where the brain stem was left intact. While facinating I thought it was icky that they kept the poor bird alive.

 

[the simple life]

Quote:
Is it for a chicken?

NO, a S T E E R . Or a lamb or even a goat . So, is holding a steer, a lamb, or a goat, talking to it gently by a familiar voice , then slitting it's throat with a sharp knife to bleed out humane ??? I have seen this done on farms.

Who referred to this method in any post about humane slaugtering? I stated in my post that I buy my beef from a farm that raises and slaughters their cattle humanely? Who mentioned this as their method? Its not, so what is your point?
Are you trying to say that the farms you are on treat the animals inhumanely so you think all places do? Just throwing it out there to stir things up? Just wondering where you wanted to go with this statement.

 

[CARS]

This thread has run it's course I think...... WAY off-topic for a meat chicken thread

 

[feetsoup]

Yeah that web site doesn't have the best pictures, but I found a ton of other ones: Warning Graphic Pics

The brain stem controls a lot in a chicken.

 

[greathorse]

Quote:
Well lets see, Temple Grandin is a professor here at colorado State University and is world reknown for the work she does with packing plants in terms of designing the best way to keep animals calm and quiet on their way to their ultimate demise. I have met her many times and have served on more than one panel with her. The work she does is with all packing plants even the largest of them and has probably made more of an impact on the treatment of animals from the time they arrive at a plant until they die there. Here biggest contribution is that she has devised systems whereby plants can closely monitor their animals from start to finish.

I am not sure the big plants care a lot about how the animals are treated but they for sure pay a lot of attention to it as the consumer interest is at an all time high. None of them want negative press about animal handling and animal harvesting. I would submit she has made a bigger impact with the large plants than she has with the small. I do not know that she has a real issue with feedlot situations but again has given feedlot operators great tools for monitoring and creating ways to make the animals more comfortable. She monitors things like lameness, slipping and sliding, animal vocalization which can be a symptom of discomfort.

She clearly beleives that her biggest impact can be made with the larger players, because that effects the largest number of animals.

The differnence in animal treatment between now and 10 years ago is night and day and Temple was instrumental in making these changes. Plants that used to be nearly deafening with cattle vocalizing in the holding pens are now nearly silent due to some of the simple changes she has instituted.