Ag in the Movies.....

By chance, I watched a popular tv show the other day that had me fuming by the end.  The show, was BONES, Season 5, episode 6, "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken."  I don't watch much television, beacuse, well, we don't have it out where we live and we opted against satellite.  We do however get Netflix, and have watched the series which is usually light-hearted and humorous even as the scientists and FBI agents sift through remains trying to uncover the cause of death.  And though it is often cheesey and somewhat unbelievable, I still found myself up on edge as I watched this episode because I know that many, many people out there would not understand how unbelievable their portrayal of a chicken farm was.  As they tried to uncover the mystery of who the dead body had been and how it had been killed, the forensic artist draws a picture of a man who looks supsiciously like a chicken.  Supposedly the guy had worked in the chicken farm/processing plant for many years without wearing a mask and the fumes in the plant had caused disfiguration of his face. WHAT!?!?!  And to make him look like a chicken?  Really?  How many people are watching this and believing it?  Oh, and of course he was killed in an extremely violent way, which happened to be through the machines used to kill and clean the chickens in the plant--portraying poultry production in an even harsher manner.
 Another part of the show that got to me was that one of the key players got wrapped up in the worry about the animals and ended up with a chance to 'adopt' a piglet for $1500, saving it from slaughter and human consumption.  Of course, most of the other players in the show were against this, even the 'vegetarian'.  I was very happy that one of them was even an out and proud meat-eater that loved bacon, pork, ham, etc.  So,  I was glad that they tried to be somehwat well-rounded in their portrayal. In the end, a friend helps her get the money to adopt the pig, saving it from death and human consumption in order to just be her friend and help her even though they thought the cause was ridiculous. 
I wonder how many people were inspired by this show to search out and 'save' some kind of animal.  I probably wouldn't even think that it was possible if I didn't already know better.  Some of the blogs that I follow through the YF&R have had posts on theirs about these types of things--a farm that rescues turkeys--no really, you can pay for one, or even a whole flock and they go to live out the rest of their natural lives on this farm, protected, safe and happy. Or have you seen the newspaper article (don't know if it is a joke, or really was submitted to a paper) about how hunters need to get their meat from a store where it has been made, instead of killing harmless animals.  Unfortunately, I really believe that there are so many people who can't stand the thought of an animal being killed, but, so as long as they don't ever have to think about it, they can easily chow down burgers and bacon and chicken salad without worry. It's when PETA and HSUS and the media portray the supposedly inhumane treatment of their food that they begin to worry.  This is why it is so important that they know about where there food really comes from and the time and care that goes into those animals--and why American Ag producers are working wo much harder to tell the story of their farms and ranches so that the story being told is the truth. 

In my research for this article, I found plenty of sites that are advocating for the humane treatment of animals and especially chickens--this is what they think you should do to help out (please remember that I took these next few paragraphs straight from bornfreeusa.org, after searching for facts about poultry--these ideas followed paragraphs of information such as this:  The average consumer may not be aware of the suffering of billions of birds raised for meat and egg production in the United States each year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Statistics Service reported that 7.07 billion “broiler” chickens, 67 billion “egg” chickens, and 321 million turkeys were killed in 1998 for food. In addition, millions of birds die as a result of disease, injury, and during transportation.
•Decrease or eliminate poultry products — meat and eggs — from your diet. Decrease or eliminate foods containing poultry products from your diet. The 1997 Dietary Guidelines for Americans published by the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services endorses a vegetarian diet.


•If you do purchase poultry products, buy them from a health food store or natural foods co-op and purchase only products produced on organic farms. While organic farming does not necessarily mean animals are treated humanely, it is better than factory farming, which can never be “organic.”


•Support federal and state legislation that would improve the well-being of farmed birds by imposing limits on farming, transportation, and slaughter practices.

SERIOUSLY???  This is what the public is searching out after watching shows like the one I did--if we don't tell our side, more and more legislation like PROP 2 in California will be passed.  More and more American Poultry producers will be put out of business and our food will be shipped in from below the border.

Can't we have well-cared for animals and eat them too? ;)
So, if you really want to know about how poultry and eggs end up on your plates and what the standards for these types of farms are in our nation, then check it out from a decent source, and give American Ag Producers the credit that they deserve for providing such a great, clean food source for our nation and so many others!!

The first link is an awesome and easy to read overview about all things chicken:
http://www.nationalchickencouncil.com/consumerInfo/docs/IntroductiontoChickenProduction.pdf

http://www.poultryegg.org/  The US Poultry and Egg Association
http://www.poultrynews.com/New/Associations.htm
http://www.aeb.org/  The American Egg Board
http://www.meatami.com/ The American Meat Institute

And of course, there are tons of others--links to individual states and even family and corporate production that can give you an idea of what poultry and egg production is really like in our nation....and it definitely won't disfigure your face or pollute your community.