Hey Butterball! I'm on the turkey's side!

Below are some of the comments left on Meating Place a flesh-peddling industry forum... You have to be a member to read/comment - But trust me - The responses below are accurate.


I get Meating Place daily - Most of the articles are of a technical nature or relate to news that has financial significance for those in the biz.  But when industry practices are exposed - As happened (again) today with the Mercy for Animals Butterball investigation... The forum alights with absurd defensiveness:


In the following you'll find people who are more concerned with the damage done to a trademark, then to the victims:
I wonder how these people can deface the Butterball logo in the video? is that legal? Can Butterball sue for illegal use of logo? How much do you think they can sue for damages? The barn was not owned by Butterball? Butterball, do you have good lawyers?
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by An Old Man

Someone who will blame the turkeys for "roughing" each other up:
This farm was owned by the Smithfield and not Butterball before they split then merged into Butterball. Give the new owners a chance and time, they will make the improvements necessary. Meanwhile, it appears that most of the injuries are caused by the aggressive nature of studs. Watch National Geographic and wild rams beating their heads to the death. This the natural behavior of males in a reproductive mode. So if you take away the pictures of the blood and injury, you are still left with improper culling, rough handling of birds. This may not raise to the height of criminal abuse but certainly not acceptable by Butterball management.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by Former EE

The dolts:
you gots to have a little slap and tickle sometimes....
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by clucker

People, this is a SEMEN COLLECTION facility!!! Just like all turkeys can feel pain, fear, stress, and suffering, there are some psico turkeys that have to have a little "roughing" so they can get excited and "deliver". Get it?
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by JC

Someone who wants to shoot the messenger:
The footage was taken secretly over a three-week period ending in mid-December, AFTER which the group FILED A COMPLAINT with the Hoke County District Attorney. Butterball has a zero tolerance policy for any mistreatment of our birds or the FAILURE TO IMMEDIATELY REPORT MISTREATMENT of our birds by any associates. The MFA should ALSO be prosecuted for participating in the filming of the abuse. They can not be allowed to climb above the law.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by Stewy

The Excuse-itarian:
Now for the record i have nothing against vegans,I have many friends who are. But at the same time i have seen them go to great lengths to stop the processing of meat. I have also seen where they set up people in places to do the dirty deeds and then press charges in the hopes of shutting down the plant. I am not saying all vegans are like this but I have seen and know some who have done this.If the workers truly did this then i agree that they should be fired for there actions.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by RM

The pragmatic worrier:
We as an industry need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. It's hard to defend why I love meat and working in the meat industry when someone gets footage like this. We have got to spot these infrequent incidences and make sure they are taken care of before another vegan tries to take out our industry, our jobs, and our way of life.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by Meatatarian

The skeptic deniers:
if the feds raided must have seen something that would provoke this. i will wait to judge till all the info comes out. i am sure this company will take immediate and swift action if needed. customers and consumers simply do not tolerate abuse and mistreatment of any animals that are being killed for the table.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by making the grade

The 'investigators" are probably the ones performing the cruelty for the cameras.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by Dusty

I have to wonder... HOW did a guy with a video camera just "happen" to be present when a worker was abusing the turkeys? Did he have psychic powers so that he KNEW there was going to be abuse and WHICH barn was going to have an abuser in it? Most curious. It is not as if all these workers are spending time abusing turkeys...they wouldn't get their jobs done. Now, the question remains, and it is a very serious question...HOW did the videographer know WHICH barn to visit and during the exact time the abuse was taking place? Or is this another MFA "Ohio" maneuver, where the abuser has "arranged" to do the abuse for the camera? With the Mercy for Animals people behind it, one has to ask these kinds of questions. Faking abuse in videos about animal issues has been a problem since the 1990s when the animal rights folks decided that the end justified the means.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by Laurella Desborough

The spineless:
I agree that the turkeys should not be mistreated. But - we should all be vegans?? - & unemployed???
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by old meat packing mama

The vindictive:
Surely the cameraman and the MFA will also be brought up on charges for aiding in the cruelty to the birds in question. The way I read it, company policy was not followed by their stooge, which was probably made known to them and more than likely signed off by them in the terms of their employment.
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by hoss

(Words fail me here)
while I abhor animal abuse such as described there is absolutely no chance I'd ever adopt a vegan diet. if MFA thinks they can swing people to their side they are wasting their time and money!
Thursday, December 29, 2011 Posted by poutlerer

I think poulterer is wrong though... Had I seen this video years ago (before)... I would have been on the turkey's side in a jif! ;)

But in the end, it really doesn't matter how this video was obtained... What matters is that if you are using living beings for your ends- You are a participant in their demise.  

You are condoning the torture AND killing of guiltless animals --- despite the obvious, easy, rational and kind alternative.  There is no right way to do the wrong thing! There is NO "humane" animal- food folks! Nada!

Celebrating A Thoughtful Holiday - Vegan Style

There's nothing kind in a holiday ham... Nothing happy about a holiday turkey... Nothing sweet in a treat - Made of suffering and death.


But everything is right about a silent night... If we would just EVOLVE!



"Prayer for Animals"
Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked, underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
- Albert Schweitzer

Happy Celebrations to those who share the gift of kindness! <3

On Reindeer And Rabbits And Vegan Kindness

Since I've become informed of animal issues I've had numerous shocking and disappointing realities.  One of the worst for me was the knowledge of what is done to reindeer in the name of the holiday spirit.

I hope you keep the horrible video above in mind as you read about this reindeer "farmer".  First there are the countless creatures who lost their home as he cleared 319 acres of virgin forest to build his enterprise... And it wasn't like he was born in Alaska and had to make his way by the necessary destruction of land... No, he was originally from Ohio and chose to place himself in an area that required his very large footprint.


And he really likes what he does! So much so that he had "stock" reindeer shipped from Canada... From here on all he needs to do is breed and kill them in order to have a "winning ticket".  


The article says that he recognizes all the deer have personalities... And that he "accepts" them.  He also wants to train them to pull a sled "just like a dog team does."  Now, gee - Isn't this exactly what every reindeer wants as a life before their bodies are eventually dismembered?


This man who gladly enslaves others for profit hopes to grow the herd to 100 or more captives... Meanwhile - What does he and his eat?  Why the rabbits he also exploits of course!

Now I realize that there are people who were born in climates that allows few options other than the use and killing of others in order to survive.  But folks that choose to grow their "herd"... Human and nonhuman in an area that almost demands animal sacrifice is beyond me! Obviously some are drawn to the snow and the money... And think the blood upon it is what a good life is all about. :(

During this "most wonderful" time of the year - It's a pity that everything delightful has been soiled and spoiled by man's "gift" of dominance over innocent others.

 

Then there are those --- Who go out of their way to cause as little harm as possible. They don't deliberately move somewhere to kill reindeer or rabbits... Or any One else!  They opt for compassionate and rational lives They are the ones who truly deserve the abundance this season brings.

Everything else is just for show...

No Peace On Earth Without Justice

.
The photography in this video is magnificent!  Breath taking sunsets and spectacular wild life scenes, interspersed with "cowboys" in mix.  These were taken by Wyman Meinzer - a professional predator hunter...


Now... From my POV all I see are beings that are prey for man!  Not a single one of these nonhumans is free from our use or control.  Not the wolf, the birds, the snakes, the horses, and certainly NOT the cows!


If someone wants to hunt for predators... Try the pickings in any major metropolitan area - A football game... Or your local mall.  You'll find all the predators imaginable.

The Sustainable Scale Project

And the more I see and learn I'm beginning to realize that this is our major problem... As a species we have absolutely no one to control our numbers as we rape and pillage everything we can make monetary use of.  


But the more arrogant in our plundering, the more things adapt and mutate... Things, bacteria and viruses, that might slow down and halt our lusts, are always lurking as a penalty. It's a universal leveling, karma or anything you'd like to call it - But generally things can only go so far before there is a price to pay. And from what I'm seeing during this uber-commercial, gluttony-driven, animal-consuming-season - The more I'm revising my yearly Christmas wish list.


For years I thought - If only there was peace... Peace! Peace on Earth - That would be the best gift ever!  But now... I think it makes much more sense to want justice instead.  For without justice - There can never be peace. 

If you don't know - But care to learn about the most unfairly treated beings ever... The ones who know no peace and have no justice:
Please watch Earthlings and your ethical conscience will tell you what to do to set things right.

Vegans Help Stamp Out Animal Cruelty -

You might have heard - Peta is proposing a limited edition of Famous Vegetarian postage stamps - Featuring kind thinkers from Pythagoras to Russel Simmons.

I suppose this is a nice compliment to the vanishing species stamps issued by the USPS.

And the postal folks do look like they're trying the "Go Green" message with these stamps.  Great ideas for conservation... 'Cept not one mention of eschewing the largest contributor to global warming: one's unnecessary meat based diet.


Anyway... My favorite stamps have been the Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet Stamps promoted by Ellen DeGeneres.  Whenever I've bought them it always gave me an excuse to talk with the clerk about them... And leave one of these MFA Why Love One But Eat The Other fliers as further food for thought.


But I guess the stamp I would be most willing to use would be one that didn't pretty-up reality... I like things blunt as most who know me realize.  So... How about a little honesty to dress up the holiday greeting card exchange?

Just think! If these were successful- Maybe we could issue commemorative slaughterhouse series? Or ones honoring animal testing? Hum...

YOU can help "stamp" out horrible cruelty simply by going: 

Vegan Stamps