The Irony - End of Lay Hens & End of Day Glass

When I read this article I couldn't help but see the irony between what happens to "spent hens" used for their eggs and items made from left over glass. Both beautiful. Both fragile. Both "valued"... But their final fate so very different than each other.

The article posted at World Poultry states: 

Unlike broilers which [sic] are reared for meat and yield a valuable food product, end-of-lay (or ‘spent’) hens are considered a by-product of the egg industry.
Due to their low economic value, spent hens are unattractive to most poultry-processing companies. Thus, globally, the poultry industry is faced with billions of spent hens every year. The majority of poultry in commercial production are ultimately transported to processing facilities at the end of their commercial lifecycle. 

The article goes on to suggest better "welfare" measures to transport these "unattractive" birds to their slaughter... Well, anyone who knows the "commercial lifecycle" of male chicks and "unproductive" hens knows the bloody rest of it.

Don't you know if any one of us were one of these chickens nearing the finish mark of their "commercial lifecycle" we'd do everything we could to pump out one last egg for this Easter's festivities. Anything to bring a smile to the human faces that never see us. :/

From United Poultry Concerns

But here's one girl Ginger... 

She's the last in the small flock of "spent hens" that came to my care almost 5 years ago. She's watched each of her sisters enjoy their piece of life in the sun and earth and through the seasons... Their life-cycles were what they were born to have minus the end toll of human greed and gluttony. 

Ginger lost the last of her original flock about 6 months ago and like the others before her, her egg laying has been sporadic or non-existent for years. It doesn't bother any of us one bit! Her body isn't valued for what it expels but rather for she whose being possesses it. That is concern for her "welfare". Each morning that I enter my yard I'm thrilled to see her beautiful face! Only those who are unattractive wouldn't see the same!

If any reader here would love some alternatives to "Easter Eggs" This Vegan Life has some great resources. And of course throughout the year there are baking alternatives, Veggs, and other options. Not to mention what's coming in the future!

Like glass... Life is fragile. Handle with care. Please don't harm anyone when you can avoid it. 

The "Science" of Eggs

Here ya go folks... The "science" of eggs as demonstrated through common animal agriculture practices. Starving and gassing 50,000 hens - if not for the amazing rescue by the heroes at Animal Place.



And here's the real science of plant based Beyond Eggs:





Beyond Eggs ingredients include peas, sunflower lecithin, canola, and natural gums. In addition to being vegan, it's also gluten free and cholesterol free.   
More info on Beyond Eggs and here.
And don't miss your opportunity to sign up for a free sample!

File this under "Posts that write themselves"! :)

The Chicken, The Egg, The Cruelty - Billions Sacrificed

what is in your breakfast

if it ever cried, ever lived

and sadly, died

is not food at all

for food is meant to

sustain

not bring about suffering,

heartache or pain

Karen Lyons Kalmenson

Posted at Our Compass with the full story regarding the recent Mercy For Animals investigation into where McDonald's eggs (and all production eggs) are sourced. 

There is no system that can "serve" billions and billions without the sacrifice and bloodshed of billions and billions of others.

What Happens To The Male Chicks?

This study The Economics of Farm Animal Happiness rightfully says that there is an either/or scenario that eliminates the ability to be "humane"... That for profit - certain (most) animal industries MUST do things a certain way. 

"Sometimes it makes more economic sense to sacrifice the happiness of each animal, so that you can have more animals producing. Producers are not paid based on the number of eggs produced per hen, but rather on the total number of eggs coming out of the barn.”

Many attempt to eat only "cage free" eggs... But here are the USDA's standards for labeling FREE RANGE or FREE ROAMING: 

"Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside." 

In essence all this means is that if you are a hen inside one of these facilities - You're given the opportunity to fight your way through thousands of other birds to find the 2 x 2 foot opening that leads you to an exit into another fenced pen.  These exits may be arbitrarily closed for any reason and for any length of time for the "welfare" of the birds.  

The Truth About Free Range

And what happens after hens are no longer laying eggs is self evident:

If you are still eating eggs, dairy or meat - You'll find that these systems exist in every "food-animal" industry.  It is an inherent part of their economic profit... And "sacrifices" are made by everyone who's a part of it.
Sacrificed lives.  Sacrificed human decency.   

"Animal cruelty takes a million different forms and it takes billions of victims. What we do to the animals, we do to ourselves..." 

~Dr. Steven Best

I don't want to be treated as a drone or a widget... Or a consumption machine.  I want to be treated fairly.  With justice and respect.  And kindness. I don't want to serve or be "served"!  I have the choice... We all have the choice to refuse to participate in these bottom-line conveyor- belt systems.  But the victims... The ones who are units, given essentials but not comfort... Necessities but not freedom... Shelter but not safety... Care but not life... Cannot walk away and choose another course.  They are forced to endure to the bitter end.

If you've already made your decisions to change things for the better - I applaud you!  Now our message must continue till every cage is empty! Billions and billions of innocent lives are depending on us: 

Do not accept cruelty in any degree!  Go Vegan*

MRSA Poisonous Meat vs. Sickening Salmonella in Eggs

MRSA is showing up in random samples of raw pork sold in supermarkets, and to a lesser extent in beef and chicken. Yet these potentially deadly cuts of meat -- unlike the salmonella-tainted eggs -- have never been yanked off the shelves.


There is no inspection for MRSA in the carcasses that are processed into "meat".

MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), or drug-resistant staff infection. In 2005, U.S. hospitals treated more than 278,000 MRSA cases. Nearly 100,000 people faced life threatening illness and 18,650 died: 50 percent more than the number of AIDS death that year.


So why all the fury over salmonella in eggs, but no recalls of meat with MRSA?


Are your food choices making you sick?  They certainly are killing Others!
There's great alternatives in a plant based vegan diet.  

Prisoned Hens Harming Humans - Egg Industry is a Big Yolk!

Political cartoonist Matt Davies uses his talent and wit to illustrate the situation for caged birds and humans who eat their eggs: Clucked
Brilliant!

The following exposés document animal abuse by United Egg Producers: 

• Rose Acre Farms (2010)
• Michael Foods (2009)
• Quality Egg of New England (2009)
• Norco Egg Farm (2008)
• Gemperle Egg Farm (2008)
• ISE-America (2007)
• Red Bird Egg Farm (2005)
• ISE-America (2005)
• Ohio Fresh Eggs (2004)
• Country Fair Farms (2002)
• Red Bird Egg Farm (2002)
• ISE-America (2001)

Truly shameful isn't it? To call these conditions a source of "wholesome" food.

Try some delicious egg-free, vegan recipes!

Are You REALLY Eating Eggs??? Didn't You See Those Poor Hens In The Video???

I don't want to promote "cage free" eggs... And there's much more than "factory farms" that I'm against...
But undercover investigations such as this must be part of the plan to expose the truth:



And the truth is... We don't "need" eggs... We don't "need" to imprison chickens (or cows, or pigs, or goats, dolphins, camels, lions, or any BODY) for our frivolous wants.  We just simply need to Go Vegan.



It's not that hard!  It's the morally right thing to do!  So what's stopping you???

Have a REAL Happy Easter - Decorate Your World - Say NO to Eggs!

I know what we'd all like to think... Easter should be a time of purity and renewal... A time to celebrate life!

Yet billions of peeps 
never know for a moment what nature intended for them - - - the loving warmth of a mother hen...

To be nurtured is a biological imperative.  It is a gift of birth.

But we do care for our own... While ignoring the unnecessary cost to others.

All the while, painting pretty pictures of what we wish our world to be.

And we think ourselves as  generous and compassionate... And certainly deserving of all that is good.

So on this day of blessings; And harmony with all that is devine and holy - Might we embrace some truth?

Eggs are not what they're cracked up to be...
So go vegan - And have a REAL Happy Easter.

Eating Animals is Wrong - So is Dairy & Eggs - Go Vegan

Today on Ellen Degeneres Jonathan Safran Foer was interviewed about his latest book Eating Animals. During the Q&A the subject of what's wrong with dairy and eggs was asked: I grimace at the line: "For those who have to eat turkeys"...

But for all that Mr. Foer neglected to say about the stolen calves, and the grieving mothers... Here's the rest of the story from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks.

While Eating Animals does not address the issue of Animal Rights - I still commend him for opening the topic up for the long overdue discussion that it deserves. People need to know that 99% of all the meat they are eating comes from factory farms. From there, they can make the decisions of what is an ethical alternative. As for me, I know the enslavement & slaughtering of animals is totally unnecessary and unacceptable.

On dairy and eggs... Please - Go Vegan

EGG INDUSTRY ~ CHICKS IN A BLENDER ~ Go Vegan

This is NOT an isolated occurance... It is standard industry practice in the egg business... I think the "standard consumer reaction" is in order:

Mercy for Animals: Consumers have a right to know the truth behind egg production.

New Zealand Vegan Teen - Exposes the Suffering in Eggs

I recently wrote about young Sam Tucker, a Vegan Abolitionist Animal Rights Activist. Sam, a New Zealand teen has just expanded his website to expose issues surrounding egg production: NZ Egg Cruelty .

Way to go Sam... Thanks for your continued efforts to spread the vegan message!

Horrible Cruelty is Standard Practice in Animal Ag - Go Vegan

A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation reveals shocking abuse at New England's largest egg factory farm - Quality Egg of New England (QENE) in Turner, Maine. The hidden camera video shot in early 2009 gives a startling glimpse behind the closed doors of one of the nations leading egg producers, exposing the rotten truth behind battery cage egg production heinous cruelty to animals. I can only call practices like this a sin. But we've seen it time and again on other egg farms where dying birds are left to languish. Or where it is common practice to slam baby pigs against the wall as a method of killing them... or even the familiar scenes of newborn dairy calves being left in wheelbarrows to starve or perish from neglect. This abuse to "food" animals is industry standard, not the exception. The only lives of any "value" are the ones that stay alive long enough to reach the slaughterhouses. And basically two kinds of people work in these sorts of places that treat living beings as garbage. Those who enjoy it and those who hate it. In either case, if you're purchasing animal products, you are supporting a monstrous situation. Indirectly you are hiring such people (who either enjoy animal abuse or who are repulsed by it) to do deeds no civilized person would condone. Thankfully, consumers hold enormous power in ending the exploitation of egg-laying hens. Every time we sit down to eat we can choose kindness over cruelty by adopting a vegan diet.