How do you live with yourself eating the birds you raised?

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

It doesn't bother me one bit to sit down to a "home made" dinner. Processing is no fun but it's one of the chores to be done. I couldn't "live with myself" if I ate and supported factory farm raised animals and the conditions they are raised in.

Steve

 

[TimG]

Quote:
What might just as well ask: "How can you eat animals that you haven't raised and watched grow?" You don't know how they were raised, what they were fed, what conditions they lived in, etc.

As far as emotional attachment goes, a lot of it comes down to how you think about animals and your mindset going in. The reality of life for most of us is that meat is part of our diet. It is easier if you understand going in (and remember) that the birds you raise are going to be used to feed your family.

In a way, it is very sad that you are more comfortable eating animals that you have not raised, animals that were almost surely raised in conditions that are worse than those which you would have provided. Conditions that you would likely describe as inhumane is some cases. But eating meat, but not raising it yourself (or buying it from someone who does raise it themselves) you are promoting the commercial meat raising practices and conditions.

I'm not saying you are wrong or bad to buy meat at the supermarket (I buy most of my meat at the supermarket), I'm just saying that the emotional attachment to animals that you have personally raised is only one aspect of a complex issue.

Edit: I have only processed a few chickens myself and the hardest part for me is the killing. I use have-a-heart mouse traps. I'm not suggesting that any of this should be easy.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
I have sat down to a meal with a sincerely Christian family and listened as they said grace. Their grace includes something like "thank you, father, for providing the food we are about to eat." If their meat was commercially raised in what might be considered poor conditions, does this mean that they are wrong? That is: is it something other than God that provided the meat? If it was God, why did he use such conditions to raise the meat? If those conditions are good enough for God, why aren't they good enough for you?

 

[Dogfish]

If you are eating any sort of meat, someone does the killing somewhere along the line. Either you hire someone to do it, or you take responsibility and do the killing yourself.

Man is an omnivore, and we were designed to eat meat.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
You have got to be kidding me.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

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Do you eat any kind of meat? Or just not chickens? Because the thing is, if you eat pork or beef from the store you're taking the life of an animal. No emotional ties there? Please tell me you're a vegetarian because it would make way more sense to me. If you're not, and you eat other meat other than chicken, than you really need to have a reality check in your eating habits. I don't mean for that to be offensive in any way but really come on. Ignorance is bliss.... but it's unfortunate when you choose which animals to ignore and which ones to stick up for.

 

[LadyinRed]

Its pretty easy to live with yourself when you just ate two helpings of chicken and dumplings.

Its far better than what you can buy at the store, you know where they have been, what they eat, and that they have never been handled improperly. And that they have gotten many treats and lots of attention and love. Yes my extra roosters are treated with just as much attention and love as the hens I plan to keep for a year or two longer! I still have no problem come time to cook and do whats necessary before cooking. All that love and attention they get just makes them taste that much better when I'm eating.

 

[jerseygirl1]

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YAY!!!

 

[TimG]

I don't think it is uncommon to have an emotional detachment when someone is removed from the deed.

To some, probably most, it is different doing the actual killing than it is having someone else do it somewhere out of sight. I don't think the opening poster is passing any judgment on those who do kill and eat their chickens, nor is she defending her position. She s simply saying that she becomes attached to her chickens as pets and thinks she would be unable to kill one of them. That may be a bit irrational, but it is an irrationality that many, many people experience. It seems to me that she is trying to work on this and overcome it.

People have to have pets euthanized with some frequency. People pay veterinarians to do the actual euthanizing; some choose to be in the same room and hold their pet during the process, some choose not to witness. I'm sure there are many more examples of levels of tolerance for killing.

 

[linben]

I don't currently see myself eating my chickens, NOW. However I like to think that eventually I will get to that point. I think raising your own meat is sustainable, ethical and healthier. I am just not ready for it yet.

I have chickens for eggs right now but I have been reading more about meat birds etc...