Did anyone else know this about the egg industry?
Discussion
MX7 said:
Why does having concerns about animal welfare mean that you are a hippy or yoghurt knitter?
Because there is no issue of welfare here. The animals are being slaughtered using proper recommended practices. People are just getting their knickers in a twist because 'look at the poor little chick getting killed, it's all cute and fluffy'. Robb F said:
Because there is no issue of welfare here. The animals are being slaughtered using proper recommended practices. People are just getting their knickers in a twist because 'look at the poor little chick getting killed, it's all cute and fluffy'.
Would you be happy to be killed in that way?And I have some chicks in my freezer, I skin chickens and rabbits, feed my dogs half a pig head and so on so I don't think I am squeamish per se.
You used to be able to by a Capon from your local butcher, this was a castrated Rooster that was bred & raised for its size & its flavour. It was a very popular alterative to Turkey at christmas time. But along with everything else they were swept away in the tide of Supermarket led demand for cheap "Chunky" Chickens. I am sure M&S were selling Capon a couple of Christmas ago.
Well, it is surprising to me that the RSPCA condone the destruction of any form of livestock in this manner (the whirling blades of death)...and the 'Freedom Food' banner? WTF?
So this is all down to supply and demand at the end of the day...sad, but it's a fact of modern supermarket driven consumerism.
Gladly, I'm reasonably removed (like JasandJules, I suspect) from this way of life - have our own chickens, ducks, geese, etc, etc...orchard, veges, blah blah blah...BUT it still boils my piss that most of the folk that buy meat in the supermarket have either A/ no idea about where the meat came from/how it was treated, etc, etc or B/ could not bring themselves to look said livestock in the eye, kill it, butcher it and eat it, as they were to squeamish. If I am going to eat it, I do all the rest, too.
So this is all down to supply and demand at the end of the day...sad, but it's a fact of modern supermarket driven consumerism.
Gladly, I'm reasonably removed (like JasandJules, I suspect) from this way of life - have our own chickens, ducks, geese, etc, etc...orchard, veges, blah blah blah...BUT it still boils my piss that most of the folk that buy meat in the supermarket have either A/ no idea about where the meat came from/how it was treated, etc, etc or B/ could not bring themselves to look said livestock in the eye, kill it, butcher it and eat it, as they were to squeamish. If I am going to eat it, I do all the rest, too.
MX7 said:
TheEnd said:
"Stop this unimaginable waste - Don't buy eggs"
How about "f
k off you hippy tossers".
How about "f
k off you hippy tossers".Robb F said:
I'm gonna get shot down for this. But what a bunch of limp wristed yoghurt knitters.
Why does having concerns about animal welfare mean that you are a hippy or yoghurt knitter? Robb F said:
MX7 said:
Why does having concerns about animal welfare mean that you are a hippy or yoghurt knitter?
Because there is no issue of welfare here. The animals are being slaughtered using proper recommended practices. People are just getting their knickers in a twist because 'look at the poor little chick getting killed, it's all cute and fluffy'. I would question any farming methods where half of the new-borns are culled, which is why I mentioned Rose Veal, as it seems like a very pragmatic and sensible solution. Perhaps the chicken industry should be looking into alternative methods.
Recommended practices can, and do, change. Poland are currently trying to ban Halal/Kosher meat. It makes no sense to say that it's ok just because it's permitted.
Caractacus said:
Well, it is surprising to me that the RSPCA condone the destruction of any form of livestock in this manner (the whirling blades of death)...and the 'Freedom Food' banner? WTF?
Indeed. I decided a few years ago that the RSPCA do not really stand for the same things I do when it comes to animal welfare.Jasandjules said:
Caractacus said:
Well, it is surprising to me that the RSPCA condone the destruction of any form of livestock in this manner (the whirling blades of death)...and the 'Freedom Food' banner? WTF?
Indeed. I decided a few years ago that the RSPCA do not really stand for the same things I do when it comes to animal welfare.I'll be reviewing it this week, however, so thanks for the info in the thread, all.
I'm off outside to say hello to my Scots Greys and Silver Dorkings
RB Will said:
Even if nobody bought eggs millions of chicks would still get minced every year just to provide eggs for making vaccines.
We eat 11,000,000,000 eggs a year. How many eggs are used for vaccine production? If we only needed eggs for vaccines I'd guess that we'd use a far more versatile breed, as we used to, where the meat could be used too.
From a quick look on Google there have been 125million vaccine doses given in the USA in the last 3 months just for seasonal influenza. Don't know how many eggs that adds up to but it's going to be a few.
Presumably now that we have bred chickens optimised for meat and others optimised for egg laying there is no going back to one that can do a bit of both unless it is going to be a lot cheaper to look after.
Presumably now that we have bred chickens optimised for meat and others optimised for egg laying there is no going back to one that can do a bit of both unless it is going to be a lot cheaper to look after.
RB Will said:
From a quick look on Google there have been 125million vaccine doses given in the USA in the last 3 months just for seasonal influenza. Don't know how many eggs that adds up to but it's going to be a few.
Presumably now that we have bred chickens optimised for meat and others optimised for egg laying there is no going back to one that can do a bit of both unless it is going to be a lot cheaper to look after.
375 million eggs I believe, so 1 billion a year given that most vaccines would be given at this time of year? Presumably now that we have bred chickens optimised for meat and others optimised for egg laying there is no going back to one that can do a bit of both unless it is going to be a lot cheaper to look after.
America eats 76.5 billion eggs a year, so if eggs were only made for vaccines, there would be a massive drop in chick culling. In fact I think that eggs would just become a by-product of the meat industry, like it used to be, so there would be no need for the dedicated egg laying breeds.
Of course, our meat producing industry is far from perfect too. What's needed is a compromise where we don't need to breed animals that are of zero value.
phil-sti said:
Why aren't the male chicks just reared for food?
As I understand it, they have very little meat. While a meat chicken will be ready to kill in 3 months, and an egg-layer will produce up to 300 eggs a year compared to about 20 of a normal chicken, there is such a disparity in the methods that they seem like two entirely different industries. 
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