So, have y'all ever considered....?

[Rosalind]

I only eat wild venison and fish. I've seen what commercial slaughterhouses look like, how they operate, and I don't want anything to do with it. It's not necessarily the cruelty that bothers me as much as the hygiene--those places are filthy, they smell nasty, they transmit diseases like crazy, they have dubious hiring and employment practices and disgusting working conditions. I don't want to catch a horrible cow/pig/chicken disease (and there are lots). Nor do I wish to eat an animal that has been fed steroids, antibiotics, and crummy spoiled feed. Nor do I want to support a business that engages in employment practices harmful to the American economy and foreign policy.

There are diseases you can catch from fish, but they are few and far between. Wild venison is checked individually by the state game commission and Elk Wasting Disease has a short incubation time--chances are good that any infected elk will show symptoms.

I don't eat things with tentacles either, but that's for aesthetic reasons. I'm not vegetarian per se, I'm just picky.

 

[domromer]

I love my girls but I also really love a roasted chicken. I'm getting some meat birds in the spring. I don't think I'll have a problem eating them. My egg layers are another story. They are my first chickens and are like pets.

 

[Royicus]

Nope, never considered it. I like eating meat, and especially enjoy a good plate of chicken. I have issues with killing most any kind of animal, and a chicken isn't much different from a cow, pig, etc. Meat is a part of my diet, and I'd rather know that the chicken had a good life and was healthy before being put on my table.

 

[Frozen Feathers]

No, never considered becoming a vegetarian because I have chickens. I am very careful where I buy my meat from and what brand of dairy I buy.

I'm lucky that where I live is pretty rural and I know many people who raise their own beef and what have you, so it's very easy for me to get anti-biotic non-factory farmed meat. I "know" the animals I eat, right now there's half a side of a Scottish highlander named Teddy and a goat named Rosco in my freezer. They lived good lives and spent everyday in pasture getting good quality feed. I hardly ever eat pork, because I don't know anyone who raises them. If I can't sell/giveaway a problem rooster they become dinner, but that has only happened twice, and I won't eat sick birds.

 

[sclanimals]

We raise all of our own meat. We decided this year to stop raising pork and focus more on hunting elk and deer. We still will be raising turkey, chickens and our goats for milk. Any rooster is pretty much headed for the freezer. Hens are another story. I love knowing what goes into our meat and knowing that I'm feeding my kids the very best meat possible. Personally I feel that animals were placed here for our use and benefit and we need to be responsible in how they are raised and treated. As long as they have lived a great life, we'll be able to continue ours. I LOVE farming!

 

[silkiechicken]

Nope, I eat meat and get batches of birds for that purpose every spring. I like to know my meat was happy and running around before they go out back to meet their fate.

 

[seminolewind]

My diet has never revolved around meat. I eat alot of meatless dinners, and I eat alot of eggs, cheese, dairy, yogurt, etc. I love bread. I would like to eat more fish. I do eat supermarket meat, but the quantity keeps shrinking and shrinking. Soon it won't be there.

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
That's about where I'm at. I've gone without eating meat for months two different times, but it was never because of my chickens. Once I had a really nasty stomach bug and I just didn't feel like eating meat. That lasted 4 months. A few years back I read a book that made me give up poultry, beef and pork for over 6 months. At this point we eat beef once a week and chicken once or twice. The other nights are meatless. I've never been crazy about handling raw chicken. Usually I have to have DH cut it up or I roast a whole one. I can handle it after it's cooked. (I know, weird!)

 

[Rosalind]

right now there's half a side of a Scottish highlander named Teddy

Okay, who else read this and thought, "There can be only ONE"?

Yes, I know it's a kind of cow.​

 

[ilovemychickies]

I still eat meat even though I have chickens. I have a little pang of guilt though. Once and a while I will try to become a vegitarion ( and I will suceed for about 3 days, but then I see a big bucket of kfc. Darn!

Edited to add: I don't eat anyting that I have ever set eyes on before it was on my plate though!