Thursday, June 10, 2010
Where Your Chicken Comes From
An extremely enlightening blog posting, in a horrifying way, about chickens bred for eggs or meat. Yes, it does reinforce my interest in a backyard coop, but we only have enough space to legally have four birds, which isn't enough for meat chickens, given the frequency with which we eat chicken. (Not to mention the likelihood of our dog eating the chickens first.)
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Have you read Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma? I'm trying to get all my friends, especially the foodies, to read it...
We have a copy; my partner has read it; it's been on my "to be read" list since we got it....
I read it on the plane to Michigan last week. Let's just say he makes a compelling case that factory-raised meat, eggs, and dairy are totally disgusting - literally, and morally. Right now I'm trying to figure out if there's anything to do about it, short of vegetarianism.
That much I do know about Pollan's arguments. My partner and I have had good success finding non-industrial meat, poulty, and diary in the Bay Area, but it is not cheap and not available in ordinary grocery stores. In other areas, I assume it's harder, though I just saw an article about non-industrial/locally-raised beef and pork in the NYC area. Politically, there are some organizations trying to bring pressure on industrial growers, but jeez - they are totally entrenched, get government supports, etc. The way corn is knitted into the fabric of the food industry...
Amish communities are always good for eggs and farm-raised chickens. If you raise your own chickens you have to deal with (ugh) killing them, and, like our ancestors did, plucking them. Some of the chicken-raising people I know find the presence of a rooster helps with the whole egg-laying thing. They do wake up at the crack of dawn, and they do make a lot of noise. Then there's that dang pecking order, and a lot of barnyard violence.
I think, like plumbing, chicken-raising should be left to the experts. And, like a good plumber, it is always worth the higher price to get your meat from an expert organic chicken (or anything else) farmer. You're paying for a lot more than a couple of servings of meat.
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