Animal Abuse is Bad for Your Health

In the last two years I have become an almost daily reader of the New York Times. I don't read it because I think it is a quality news source (I don't), but because I find it to be a great source for understanding the prevailing and predominant mainstream cultural beliefs. I am particularly addicted to the Health section, probably because I am most adroit at debunking their myths on those topics. Today they have an article about PETA confronting a monastery about their abusive chicken raising practices. Unfortunately PETA's accusations will fail to be understood by the general public for the simple reason that most Americans know nothing about raising chickens. This section stood out to me in particular:

He [Father Gumula, the abbot] also took issue with the film’s criticism of the abbey for a common practice called debeaking, in which a hot blade is used to slice the tip of the beak off a chick before it is 10 days old. He said the abbey got its hens when they were 18 weeks old, long after their beaks had been trimmed by the supplier.

PETA says that the tip of a chicken’s beak is incredibly sensitive and that birds in the wild use it to peck the ground more than 15,000 times day as they forage for food.

Animal welfare experts say beak trimming prevents chickens from tearing one other to pieces.

“I guess, in this case, beak trimming is the best of two devils,” said Inma Estevez, an associate professor in the department of animal and avian science at the University of Maryland. “I’ve seen the alternative, and, believe me, it’s much worse.”

First of all, the monastery could be getting their chickens from suppliers who do not practice debeaking, or they could hatch their own chicks and choose not to mutilate them. Second, while it is disturbing to think of how much pain these animals endure through this practice, this factoid lacks important contextual background. Healthy chickens are raised on pasture and are allowed to forage for insects in addition to being fed grain and food scraps. This is why I distrust any chicken producer who brags about their chicken's 100% vegetarian diet. Chickens are not natural vegetarians and are only vegetarian when they are kept in barns or cages and denied access to fresh pasture. The fact that the chickens at this monastery are debeaked is an immediate clue to the conditions that they live in. They don't need their beaks to forage for insects, because they don't have access to insects. While debeaking may be a solution to the inherent problems of overcrowding, it is only necessary because of the inhumane conditions that the chickens are living in and therefore should not be considered a necessary evil.

The article goes on to say,

And he said he kept the birds caged because it kept them cleaner and healthier. “When they are on the floor, they are subjected to all sorts of parasites and bacteria that are around,” Father Gumula said. “They walk in their own manure. They walk in their troughs.”

Again, the humane solution to overcrowding is a facility with enough outdoor space for birds to be able to roam freely and forage for insects. Cages are only necessary when the birds are kept in indoor and overcrowded situations.

While treating our fellow creatures humanely should be reason enough to end these practices of factory farming, there are serious consequences for us humans that should be considered when analyzing farming techniques. Chicken meat and eggs from chickens that are raised on pasture, are much more nutrient dense. For example, their eggs will naturally contain Omega-3 fatty acids. If you generally eat factory farmed eggs take the time to notice the size and color of the yolk. It is generally on the small side and a pale yellow color. Now make the effort to procure good quality pasture fed chicken eggs. The yolk will be a much deeper color, more orangey, and the yolks are generally larger. Another example of nutritional differences between the chickens is that stock made from factory farmed chickens often will not contain enough gelatin to gel. These are just a few differences that are easy to see and experience, but really the physical differences between the chickens goes much deeper. In these times of mineral depleted soil and damaging diet we need our food to be as nutrient dense as possible. When we sacrifice the welfare of animals we are sacrificing our health and the health of future generations.

Note: I am not a supporter of PETA, mainly, because they are proponents of veganism which I consider to be an unhealthy diet for adults and tantamount to abuse when imposed on children. I also believe that one can be both a meat-eater and believe in animal rights.