Henhouse Bloodbath

[Larry1]

I like eggs, and also chicken. In fact, I'll be eating some chicken for dinner tonight.

I was reading a short article on the diet of chickens and thought this topic might be of interest to some readers. I couldn't resist giving this thread the provocative title taken from the article.

People love chickens that are “vegetarian fed.” But chickens are not vegetarians.

Many of the largest U.S. sellers of organic eggs boast that their hens are vegetarian, and for an increasingly food-curious public, this may be great advertising.

A carton of Eggland’s Best advertises that the company uses “vegetarian fed hens.” Horizon promises that their eggs “come from hens that are fed a 100% organic, vegetarian diet.” Land O Lakes hens have a diet with no animal fat or by-products.

Yet for the chickens, who are natural omnivores that readily devour bugs and small animals when they’re available, the forced vegetarianism can be a disaster.

Chickens on an unsupplemented vegetarian diet typically fall short of an essential protein-based amino acid known as methionine, and without it, they fall ill. Worse, the birds will also turn on each other, pecking at each other in search of nutrients, and these incidents can escalate into a henhouse bloodbath, farmers say.

“They’re really like little raptors - they want meat,” said Blake Alexandre, the owner of a 30,000 chicken operation in far northern California that keeps its birds on pasture. “The idea that they ought to be vegetarians is ridiculous.”

“This is one of those problems caused by the fact that most Americans are so far removed from their food supply,” said Tracy Favre, a farmer and organic inspector who serves on the federal advisory board for organic products. “When I see eggs in the supermarket being advertised as vegetarian this and that, I cringe.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/04/29/consumers-love-chickens-that-are-vegetarian-fed-never-mind-what-the-birds-want-to-eat/

There is lots more at the link.  But if you're planning on having eggs or chicken for breakfast or dinner this month and you don't have a strong stomach, I suggest that you don't read past the paragraph that mentions, "Brazil nuts, insect larvae and fish meal."

I've stood in the egg aisle at the grocery stores and markets at which I shop. I've seen various things on the labels: organic, vegetarian, free-range, etc. I think I've tried all of them, but I know little about these things, and I haven't been able to tell a difference in the taste of the various eggs. The eggs from my grandparents' henhouse tasted better. But I'm not about to keep chickens and there isn't a farm that sells chickens anywhere near me. So it's storebought eggs for me.

I encourage people to weigh in, not just on chicken and eggs, but about various other foods as well, beef, pork, vegetables, etc.

[Anathema]

I don't trust vegetarians. Chicken or otherwise.

[Larry1]

I don't trust vegetarians. Chicken or otherwise.

 

Reminds me of this hilarious scene involving an American vegetarian in the movie, "Everything Is Illuminated", set in Ukraine:

[Boethius]

Chickens are incredibly dirty.  They will eat their own droppings, which pigs won't do.
 
The cleanest animal is the horse, but I would not eat horsemeat.

[Noch1]

some Vegetarians will eat fish and maybe on occasion chicken.
I like chicken but likely the worst meat there is.
From hatched to sitting on store shelf, it is 3 weeks now.
Thats just not natural.

I also don't trust vegetarians, its not not natural to be as white as paper.

[Boethius]

67 year old vegetarian

 
 

[AC]

IMO free range chicken are the best.  This way they can get some of the bugs they want as meat.  That's likely the same as how your Grandparents raised them.

If you want a fresh butchered turkey for Thanksgiving or chicken in general search out some of the Halal butchers.

[Anotherkiwi]

The cleanest animal is the horse, but I would not eat horsemeat.

As a horse lover, I wouldn't eat horse either, given a choice.  However, my grandfather, who was part of the Royal Army in Italy in the Second World War, told us that they often had to eat horsemeat as they advanced northwards because there was no alternative.  He said that, if cooked properly, it tasted just as nice as any other meat.

[Anotherkiwi]

67 year old vegetarian

At least once I hit the quote button I found out who he is!    Not someone that I'm familiar with, although I have heard of him.

[Slumba]

67 year old vegetarian

His recommendation is, that if you are to eat meat, you should favor chicken over red meat, BTW. 

Myself, I am experimenting with a nearly 100% "steak, eggs, and butter" diet. Will see how it goes...

[LiveFromUkraine]

His recommendation is, that if you are to eat meat, you should favor chicken over red meat, BTW. 

Myself, I am experimenting with a nearly 100% "steak, eggs, and butter" diet. Will see how it goes...

Good luck Slumba.  I would advise not doing a diet but consider whatever you do as a lifestyle change.  The diet stuff is like a yo-yo since when most people get off of it they tend to put the weight back on.


In any case, if you're hitting the weights you can add some carbs before and after your session without it being a problem.