Posted on 01/01/2015 10:28:11 AM PST by PROCON
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The new year is expected to bring rising chicken egg prices across the U.S. as California starts requiring farmers to house hens in cages with enough space to move around and stretch their wings.
The new standard backed by animal rights advocates has drawn ire nationwide because farmers in Iowa, Ohio and other states who sell eggs in California have to abide by the same requirements.
To comply, farmers have to put fewer hens into each cage or invest in revamped henhouses, passing along the expense to consumers shopping at grocery stores. California is the nation's largest consumer of eggs and imports about one-third of its supply.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
The Torah is my authority.
Here is what happens at the packing plant to satisfy that requirement. As the animal enters the chute, an automated clamp comes down on their head, you can see the fear in their eyes at this point. Next an automated knife some out and cuts their throat. Their eyes role around for several seconds as the blood drains out and finally an automated pin strikes them in the head to put them out of their misery.
Please reread the above and then lets talk.
1) Your Jewish faith causes much more animal suffering than anything discussed here on this thread. I am not judging here, I am stating the truth. You live in a sanitized world.
2) Why would God institute such a cruel practice? I think He wanted it to be personal, to understand life and death. It is a funny thing to say but you cannot fully understand the value of life until you have taken an animal life.
3) Why is it automated? No rabbi could remain sane if he took that much life day in and day out.
4) Why is this still being done? Because it has been turned into a ritual with the original purpose and meaning long lost.
Now, if you are really concerned about animal cruelty, you will stop this. Or will you at least witness this so the original intention can be fulfilled. Can you give me a response or will you ignore this?
You strain at gnats and swallow camels..................
>>Eat any eggs you want. Who cares. But don’t delude yourself that store bought eggs are even close to real free range eggs food value wise or taste.
<<
Again, some sort of scientific reference? Proof that what is eaten affects the nutrition and/or flavor of the eggs?
freedumb, if I was wealthy, I’d fly you over and make you a 4 fried egg plate. Bacon and toast/bagel if you like.
Once you ate your eggs, you would never want to even handle a store bought egg again. A true free range egg is a freak of nature and a sight to see.
I'm glad you preambled your comments with that disqualifier, else I would have nominated you for an Olympic gold medal in Conclusion Jumping.
"You currently have the choice to buy the product you want and pay more . . ."
No. At present, at least in my area, I don't have the luxury of choosing the "organic" equivalent of pork - or beef/chicken for that matter. I'd rather be in a farm area where I could buy my meat from a rancher or farmer, who doesn't use those corralling approaches. (That being said, I don't fall for that "organic" bullcrap for vegetables.)
". . . but would use the force of law to reduce my choice."
No. Where on earth did you get that from?
"You believe the hype that putting chickens or pigs in cages is cruel."
Not hype. PETA and crew go overboard in these situations, but it sure as Hell isn't natural. (My wife's folks lived on a farm and I am familiar with the natural order of life.)
"The argument is I wouldn’t want to be in a cage so the chicken would not want to be there either. You believe the man-bear-pig theory. You can project your feelings on the pigs and chickens."
No. You must have picked up a copy of "Pyschoanalysis for Dummies" and extrapolated your newfound knowledge.
"You think we can feed all the people in the world with another production system, because this one isn’t perfect. But you haven’t a clue what that production system is."
You also picked up "Economics for Dummies" and did another extrapolation.
but higher pork prices to end this kind of “production” is one I would pay.
I also will point out to you the paying more will not solve the perceived animal welfare problem. Chickens will be chickens and hogs will be hogs.
We are very close to the govt controlling our food system even more. And to be honest with you there are too many conservatives here who think the govt is the solution to the problem because it is perceived as easy. If we pass a law, that will solve the problem. Pay attention to what is written here. How may times to you see comments about freedom, choices and responsibility?
Your statement is the same as the following statements that have had unintended consequences as we have seen.
I would gladly pay a little more utilities to save the environment.
I would gladly pay a little more to help those that need medical help.
You can go to wall mart and get food that is horribly low in nutrition. Or you can do what we do and hit Whole Foods. We pay twice what the eggs cost at WalMart...but take two dozen and compare.
You will see the amazing difference. The eggs from WM are light hello, like butter, the eggs from WF are dark orange and loaded with nutrients. They cook different.
I have 6 kids and struggle to feed them on a very limited budget. (I work at a church) We spend extra money on the better quality foods and if it means we get less, then so be it.
You wouldn’t put the cheapest gas in your car and ruin your engine. You wouldn’t put the cheapest paint on your house, wear the cheapest clothes...why do we all look for the cheapest food to put in our bodies?
It’s insane. This is why the healthcare system is out of control because the American diet is out of control.
There is nothing that California does that makes me warm and fuzzy, but if you saw ten chickens stuck in a 2 x 3 cage with their beaks cut off because of fighting and open sores on them and then look at them covered in their feces and then....eat one of their eggs? That’s the majority situation of the massive production farm mentality. It’s rally deplorable. It’s like Auschwitz for animals.
I don’t believe that a chicken = human. but I do believe in treating God’s creation with the respect He gave it in creating it!
Go purchase some free range, organic, or cage free eggs and you’ll never eat another dozen from WalMart. For 2 bucks more you get something that is actually nutritionally good for you and treats the animals decently in the process.
NOTE: we actually had a feather in one of our cartons the other day and the kids thought it was awesome.
You can google and find many articles that will go into detail about the value of free range, cage free, eggs. etc. God Bless you and Merry Christmas....Day 10.
Michael
Actually Whole Foods is a very well run business that earns real profits for its shareholders. Probably the highest margins in the grocery industry. And the quality of their foods (meats included) are well worth the price paid.
Yes, you can spend less for your food at Wal-Mart but you get what you pay for. Mostly packaged foods with low nutrition and questionable produce, meats, dairy, etc.
I do not mind paying more for high quality food. And the anti-Whole Foods people exaggerate the price difference anyway. The price of staples such as eggs, milk, bread, yogurt, fruit, meat, etc., are comparable to other supermarkets. Now if you get things there that are exotic, such as fresh-caught fish from Norway flown in the night before on a plane, or gourmet chocolate from Switzerland or truffles from France, then yes, you will quickly run up a grocery bill that will approach that of a car payment. But if you stick to the essentials, you will pay maybe 20% more than a standard supermarket (30% more than Wal-Mart) and the price difference will be well worth it for the quality you get.
As for eggs, I moved to Connecticut recently and many of my neighbors keep egg-laying chickens in their yards. The eggs put store-bought to shame. And you are correct that the yolks are more orange than yellow - indicative of high nutrition content. Free range eggs are better - but like all good things, carry the higher price tag than what is mass-produced in an industrial setting.
It’s hard to believe that I would agree with someone from Connecticut, thinking to myself, is that in Europe? ;-)
Sorry, I’m originally from the midwest, we get our share of jokes too. However, I agree, if you shop carefully, that is, shop like myself, twice a year or so, Whole Foods has wonderful variety and quality of items, which are hard to find elsewhere.
Although, I now drive to McKinney, Tx, to an ordinary grocery store, and I find nearly the same products. This is why I love capitalism. Geez, even the nearly poor, live well.
And you are correct that the yolks are more orange than yellow - indicative of high nutrition content.
http://chemistry.about.com/od/foodcookingchemistry/fl/How-To-Change-Egg-Yolk-Color.htm
Foods That Naturally Influence Egg Yolk Color
Yolk Color Ingredient
nearly colorless white cornmeal
pale yolks wheat, barley
medium yellow yolks yellow cornmeal, alfalfa meal
deep yellow yolks marigold petals, kale, greens
orange to red yolks carrots, tomatoes, red peppers
We get an egg brand at our regular supermarket called "Eggland's Best." They claim to be cage-free and to be significantly higher in B12, D and Omega 3. The yolks do look nice and orange.
I wouldn't dare even walk into a Whole Foods store. The prices are beyond reason --- we can't afford to get a week's worth of food for a month's worth of budget.
Nothing wrong with eating well - let's not let the liberals have a monopoly on that.
Well we could spend the rest of the night trading links back and forth supporting our points of view relative to the nutritional value of free range vs store bought eggs - or orange vs yellow yolks. But the information is out there for all with a simple Google search and everybody can view the links and come to their own conclusions.
I completely agree about Whole Foods, it is a great store. I shop at another grocery store as well because WF doesn’t carry somethings that I want, cleaning supplies for instance. I don’t especially like the organic vegetables but WF usually has conventional vegetables too. The fresh meat is excellent as is the uncured ham. I have a Vietnamese fish market for fish and crab. I shop just for the 2 of us and price isn’t a problem. If I had 10 hungry mouths to feed it might be different. I might have to go the WalMart route.
I completely agree about Whole Foods, it is a great store. I shop at another grocery store as well because WF doesn’t carry somethings that I want, cleaning supplies for instance. I don’t especially like the organic vegetables but WF usually has conventional vegetables too. The fresh meat is excellent as is the uncured ham. I have a Vietnamese fish market for fish and crab. I shop just for the 2 of us and price isn’t a problem. If I had 10 hungry mouths to feed it might be different. I might have to go the WalMart route.
I was thinking along the line of buying meat from a local rancher or farmer and did not explain myself to you properly.
Having seen homegrown pigs and chickens, it just disgusted me to see the way the meat factories treat their product. Pigs are intelligent animals, and while they make great food, I don’t feel they have to be treated this way and will go to some lengths not to support that kind of “farming”. Unfortunately, I live in the arid West and have to buy whatever meat the store offers.
some things are much more pricy at Whole Foods but the staples are not. THey are right in line with WalMart etc. AND they are better quality.
Go see for yourself. You can afford most of their groceries and then you’ll be in better health and then the money you spend on medicine can go to good food!
Amen
We do like real eggs! We have friends who raise real eggs from real, scratch-for-bugs chickens, and sometimes come into town and trade them for something we've got, e.g. frozen garden-grown pesto!
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