TYSON made us sad

[hooligan]

OK Foods here in AR is the same way. I work with 4 ppl that have factory farmed chicken houses in their family somehow and they get .03-.05 cents per pound on their chickens...how can anyone make a profit that way?! The companies supply the food and the chickens but they have to pay for everything anyway so whats the point?

 

[farm_mom]

Here's a link some of you may be interested in www.ethicurean.com/2008/04/24/buck_the_cafo_tax/

 

[SpottedCrow]

Unbelievable...For the longest time we were subsidizing farmers NOT to farm...This isn't right and that's not the way things should be done...

The thing is that people want the convenience of strawberries in January and the biggest breast of chicken when they want it...AND at the cheapest prices...

I'd rather pay more to know that my hog, cow, chicken or fish was taken care of properly, not just have food tossed at it and living in it's own filth...most people don't think that way though.

If these factory "farms" thought about it, free ranging their animals makes more sense...less illnesses means less antibiotics which means less resistant bacteria and viruses for us.
Letting them eat the diet that nature intended will make them grow better which means less hormones which means no more early puberty.
It makes too much sense which is why it's not being done...

 

[MandyH]

Ok, if I wasn't grossed out by meat before, I would be now. I am 33 years old and the only meat I can tolerate eating is solid meats like ribeyes, porkchops, bacon. I cannot eat ANY ground meat because it makes me nauseated trying to chew it. I do not know why?! I live in Mississippi and its commonplace to see chicken trucks and hog trucks on the interstate. I have also seen the cow trucks go by and THEY ARE PITIFUL. If You think the chickens are packed in tight, well these cows can't even sneeze and there are like 3 tiers on these trailers. I am trying to talk dh into letting me get a hog and a cow to raise and process, but he says after I have fed it and petted on it, it would stay here until it died of natural causes!!LOL!! He's right too, we have raised and sold probably at least 600 chickens/chicks this year so far and I can't keep up with the demand for grown birds. They are plentiful at the flea markets and all , but those birds are not any better off than the Tyson birds. Also, I cannot find anyone close by with the fresh meats, cheeses and milk to buy.

 

[mmajw]

KristenH ,
I thought that I would have the same problem raising my own cows and pigs. I didn't, knowing that I was feeding my family something more healthy than the grocery stores and knowing what was going into everything that we were eating made it ok.

I also raise my own broilers. I don't remember the last time I bought meat at a store. During the summer I don't buy veggies there either.

 

[hooligan]

During the summer I support my local farmers and buy from the farmers markets. It tastes soooo much better!

KristenH, please check out Local Harvest. I know there are tons of ppl around you that you could buy 'real' stuff from

 

[Bamaman]

I don't want to seem callus or mean, but... our county is #1 or #2 in the state of Al. and very high up in the nation, for the most chickens produced. Around here its a way of life, I have seen hundreds possibly a thousand chicken trucks go by my house, and I'm only 21. Sure I like my chickens, but I process many excess roos and sell others to the mexicans for their dinners. I personally prefer KFC over what I raise, taste wise. Anyway, much of our county would be unemployed if their were no chicken farms, and also no chicken litter for the pastures and hay fields, which would mean higher fertlizer costs, higher hay costs, ect. Many on here seem to think chicken farmers do not care about thier chickens, but they do. Although they might not "care" about their chickens in the same sense many of us do, they have to see to it that the chickens are properly cared for, so they can get the most from them. Around here most people prefer that the chicken catching crew comes at night, so that there is less stress and mortality on the way to the processing plant. I have been in several commercial layer and broiler farms, and those chickens looked much better than many of the hobby farms I have seen. As for going veggie, meat is a large part of many peoples diet, including mine, and I doubt there would be enough veggies to go around. Now, I'm not trying to make anyone mad, just throwing another point of view and my $.02 out there.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I don't know how the chickens are treated there, bamaman, but I do know that here it can be pretty horrific. I have heard, first hand, workers bragging about the cruel torture they inflict on the chickens. Playing football with them, playing catch, stomping them.....the list goes on and on. These are not evil looking men with horns. These are people you talk to every day. People who pick their kids up at the same school you do, shop at the same stores, go to your churches if you are so inclined to go to one, chat with you like they are normal humans. I am sorry, until they can ensure that 100% of the workers who treat an animal that way are punished severely (NO, I don't mean a little fine, I mean extensive prison time) then I feel factory farms should be shut down. Either ensure that the animals are treated humanely or stop it all together.

 

[kodiakchicken]

First, I have to say that I applaud the movement toward a more self-sustaining lifestyle. We grow what we can, which isn't much, considering our climate, but 95% of our meat sources come from a subsistence lifestyle: hunting, gathering, fishing. I think we will all find that if the US economy ever collapses, as some predict it will, the ability to feed ourselves and produce items to eat or barter will be invaluable.

However, I feel the need to ask if we really should be condemning those who raise animals in a mass production, economical matter in an attempt to feed the world's growing population? With the US population currently over 300 million and growing in record proportions every day, there is no way that we could expect every person in this country to raise their own food. There isn't enough land to support every US family! I know there are a number of families on this forum that have 4, 5, 6 even 7 children. Are they any less to blame for the necessary mass food production just because they raise a few chickens than a childless couple living in a city?

I know everyone will hate me for bringing this up, however I believe we should all look to our ourselves for solutions or preventions before pointing the finger at others.

 

[hooligan]

Quote:
I agree with you.
And whether or not anyone believes it (and I am sure most do) all factory farms are the same. You can go into any of the and see this:

I don't know fo a single HUMANE farmer, REAL farmer that would just leave a bird to suffer and die like that.
If it wasn't for factory farming we would have loads of room to raise more family crops and meat and we wouldn't have half the pollution in this world either. Most of the grain/corn produced doesn't go to humans it goes to factory farmed animals.