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2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

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Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#141

Post by zhte415 »

enneff wrote: post #81
zhte415 wrote: post #59

I'd say set them free. But given the breeding of commercial chickens they'd simply not survive in the wild - not stop growing and after just days be unable to move, and easy prey. If you're fortunate enough to have land, use it, even a balcony or window sill can be put to good use. There are plenty of guides on YouTube, and for a window sill no need to spend money on herbs again. For food or for leisure (or both) - i…

Releasing them would be dooming them to a horrible death. They'd end up ripped apart by wild animals or otherwise injured and live in pain until they die.

Certainly, it would. I raise chickens, but less than twenty, and mine are actual chickens that live for a while not factory ones. Decently sized coops, going for a walk once a day for a few hours (I suppose happy, they seem happy) and are quite good at seeing off the odd predator when they're out and about.

You're correct, I put them in their chicken-wire yard at night for good reason. A neighbour has geese. Geese get freaked out very easily. If a stray dog comes by at 3am the entire street knows about it.

I'm not from the farm. Interesting thing to learn is to let an egg rest a couple of days, no washing no refrigeration of course. Surprised me, wonderful variation in taste.

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#142

Post by sandworm101 »

strgcmc wrote: post #134
sandworm101 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because frozen meat stays good literally forever. Flour eventually goes bad. Grain can rot.

Your comment inspired me to do a little reading, since this is an interesting idea (and maybe represents an opportunity in the supply chain... maybe what we need is better/newer technology for long-term storage of grains/flour/etc.). Apparently, flour can (should?) be frozen for long-term storage, and would keep indefinitely: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/33890/is-it-okay... (unfortunately that link to…

>> flour can (should?) be frozen for long-term storage

It can be forzen but there are lots of difficulties in doing so. Top of the list is moisture. Frozen flower is cold. If you take it out and put it on the shelf flour will condensate moisture, quickly turing it into a useless lump. Microwaving it is difficult. You have to warm it in a totally dry environment. A frozen chicken breast doesn't have these issues.

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#143

Post by triceratops »

d0100 wrote: post #93
triyambakam wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My family and I are on day number 1153 of eating beans every day (and no animal products)

I've had vegetarian rice and beans many times, forced to by lack of money for protein. It's just a bland mixture of sadness and despair

> It's just a bland mixture of sadness and despair reply

That might have been from the lack of money, not the food itself. If you're eating them by choice and making the right dishes, beans are fucking delicious.

I understand that you associate beans with poverty, but when your circumstances are better (or now that they're already better, I don't know which) try them again, this time with some good recipes. And not the canned shit - gotta buy 'em dried, soak 'em, cook 'em in a slow cooker, instant pot, or pressure cooker.

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#144

Post by dmitriid »

LaEc wrote: post #83
dmitriid wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate to break it to you, but in general our treatment of animals is way better than a 100 years ago. Animal shelters? Animal cruelty laws? Etc. That fish throwing contest? Oh, it's almost definitely older than 100 years (as are dog fights, dolphin slaughter, goose pulling, cock throwing and other wonderful traditions from around the world).

There isn't extensive documentation on the welfare of animals in large farms in history, but if you knew what goes on today, you wouldn't even dare write that. Chicks sent to the shredder, cramped living conditions for the entirety of their lives, untreated medical conditions, anal rape-assisted insemination, halal and Kosher slaughters. Watch Dominion (2018) or just the trailer and see for yourself.

So, not that different than 100 years ago. Unless you count "seeing blue sky for a few minutes before death" as being better.

The last time farm animals had marginally better conditions was probably the Middle Ages, and even then I wouldn't be so sure. Especially not around bigger cities.

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#145

Post by robbrown451 »

ben_w wrote: post #84
orbifold wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well the alternative would probably be empty food shelves like you had in planned economies like the DDR and Soviet Union. Just in time food production just doesn't work for things that have to start production ~2-6 months before they are delivered and have a shelf life of ~1-2 weeks. Fresh bread delivered to bakeries regularly sells out here and this is expected, same with Meat and some vegetables. But there is no w…

Part of the current waste is a desire for photogenic foods; minor blemishes don’t sell as well as pristine items. Another part (not counted in the statistics if I understand right), is obesity. We over-consume to the point of illness. Another part is deliberate over-production in good years so that we don’t go hungry in bad years. This part ought to be considered as unavoidable. Another part is the types of food. Mea…

I see a truck delivering to my neighbors called "imperfect foods." I'm hoping to see more of that approach as delivery of groceries becomes more common (as opposed to going to the grocery store and selecting the best looking produce). I'd think people would appreciate saving a few pennies if the produce isn't perfect looking, especially as it becomes seen as a "socially conscious" positive to do so.

I imagine this sort of waste is less of an issue with things like meat.

While meat is wasteful as you say, people do find it satisfying to eat meat. I am looking forward to fake meat getting better. I've tried an Impossible Whopper, it is indeed close but still not there. It should be better for the environment as well as feeling better to those of us who find it disturbing to kill animals for food.

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#146

Post by sandworm101 »

yourapostasy wrote: post #137
sandworm101 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because frozen meat stays good literally forever. Flour eventually goes bad. Grain can rot.

> ...frozen meat stays good literally forever. Can you please point me to where this is investigated? I know rough vacuum-grade vacuum-packed frozen meat rates a 3-year shelf life [1]. I've yet to find information beyond rough vacuum [2], though. I would imagine ultra-high grade vacuum, in a retort bag, in a medical-grade freezer (-140 to -150° C [3], well beyond even commercial food deep freezers in the -30 to -50°…

>> I know rough vacuum-grade vacuum-packed frozen meat rates a 3-year shelf life

That is the number for taste, not food safety. There is lots of guidance that meet is "good" for a few months to a few years. But it is also true that people have eaten mammoth meat frozen for thousands of years. The reality is that long-frozen meat will not taste as good as meat only frozen a few days.

>>Because freezing keeps food safe almost indefinitely, recommended storage times are for quality only. Refer to the freezer storage chart at the end of this document, which lists optimum freezing times for best quality.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety...

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#147

Post by enneff »

koheripbal wrote: post #114
enneff wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Releasing them would be dooming them to a horrible death. They'd end up ripped apart by wild animals or otherwise injured and live in pain until they die.

> They'd end up ripped apart by wild animals ...so exactly like the fate of literally every other wild animal on Earth.

Not really. Wild animals mostly live in the environment they are adapted to. Most birds survive just fine out in the world. Chickens are not adapted to anything, but rather selected by us, and they certainly weren’t selected for toughness.

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#148

Post by triyambakam »

arcticbull wrote: post #62
triyambakam wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for asking! but unfortunately I haven't written anything up about it, but informally I can share that it's really benefited our health and even finances. Eating beans and rice every day and not eating out is very cheap. I buy most of our food in bulk online or from local farms - e.g. just got 50kg of chickpeas in the mail and 20kg of string beans from a farm. We also avoid eating oil for health reasons

The minimum daily intake of carbs for a human to remain healthy is zero. The minimum daily intake of oil is in fact, not zero, as oils are required for the basic functioning of a human.

You're mistaking oil for fat. We eat lots of fats - nuts, seeds, avocados, durian, egg fruit, etc

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#149

Post by triyambakam »

rubidium wrote: post #66
triyambakam wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for asking! but unfortunately I haven't written anything up about it, but informally I can share that it's really benefited our health and even finances. Eating beans and rice every day and not eating out is very cheap. I buy most of our food in bulk online or from local farms - e.g. just got 50kg of chickpeas in the mail and 20kg of string beans from a farm. We also avoid eating oil for health reasons

Be careful. Avoiding oil and meat can lead to health issues over time. Hope you’re talking to a doctor and nutritionist!

We don't avoid fat - I mention in another comment about eating nuts, seeds, avocados, durian, egg fruit etc. And avoiding meat is no longer controversial in terms of health - with a little planning it's not difficult to be healthy.

Re: 2M chickens to be killed in US processing plants due to lack of employees

#150

Post by triyambakam »

saiya-jin wrote: post #67
triyambakam wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for asking! but unfortunately I haven't written anything up about it, but informally I can share that it's really benefited our health and even finances. Eating beans and rice every day and not eating out is very cheap. I buy most of our food in bulk online or from local farms - e.g. just got 50kg of chickpeas in the mail and 20kg of string beans from a farm. We also avoid eating oil for health reasons

Extra virgin olive oil is very healthy, unless you have some digestive issue with it that I haven't heard so far. Apart from frying (which you don't do), you don't need much more in your kitchen

My wife gets extreme inflammation in the blood and joints from consuming oil (even EVOO yes). It isn't /from/ the oil per se But complicates her condition.
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