Kind Meat EaterYou can scroll for alphabetical listing or just search this page. Also, there is a search page for finding things in the site if not here. If something isn't listed and you're curious about it and don't have the time to research it, feel free to email me and I'll write something on it and send you the link.
Animal Products Three questions to ask your grocer or consider when shopping on line to find out how the animals in your food were treated:
1. What were their living conditions? 2. What were they fed? 3. How were they killed? Humanity's lack of contact with the animals that feed us is a relatively new thing in our history. This removal has caused many corporations to cut corners at animals' expense, while we are also affected. Animals not treated as well have more disease and less healthy meat and dairy. Depending on the severity of abuse, eating from animals treated harshly causes those who eat from them endocrine disruption, decreased immunity, and more difficulty in breaking down the proteins our bodies need. It makes sense that when we truly care for our animals that we get the most from what they give. It's recommended to eat from animals raised in the wild or organically. If raised by man, eat from those that are grass-fed/organic and with enhanced living environments. The animals and land are treated better and you get higher quality food. This way everyone wins. Yes, well-treated animals means a higher cost at checkout, but as a pig farmer said, "It should cost money. It's a life." Plus, when all the costs are tallied, well raised animals are better for the environment than factory farmed. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/08/how-animal-welfare-leads-to-better-meat-a-lesson-from-spain/244127/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/actually-raising-beef-is-good-for-the-planet-1419030738 https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/is-organic-agriculture-really-better-for-the-environment/2016/05/14/e9996dce-17be-11e6-924d-838753295f9a_story.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2846864/ Chicken Nearly all chickens are killed after being hung by their feet and sunk in an electrically charged pool. However, there is research that shows this electrocution is not always effective, so the chickens are alive when processed for meat.
Mary's and Smart chicken are more humane and do their killing by slowly gassing the chickens in a room until they pass out and then killing them. Given these facts, Mary's and Smart chickens are recommended. We have also found they taste better. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/business/22chicken.html https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Big-bet-pays-off-for-Mary-s-Chickens-4047235.php https://ethicalfoods.com/smart-chicken-nebraska-poultry-farm-goes-beyond-organic/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chickens-slaughtered-conscious_n_580e3d35e4b000d0b157bf98 Factory Farms It's about how the animals are raised, not necessarily the scale. Try to find out how the animals you eat were raised and how they were killed. I pay extra for well treated animals. As for chicken, I only buy Smart and Mary's.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/04/factory-farming-destructive-wasteful-cruel-says-philip-lymbery-farmageddon-author https://www.forbes.com/sites/phillempert/2015/06/15/why-factory-farming-isnt-what-you-think/#31a8554b6065 Grass-fed Beef Since cows were mostly grazers, I tend to think that staying with nature is what's best. But then again, I like ice-cream and potato chips once in a while and cows feel no differently about being grain fed. In the final analysis, get to know where your cows are grown and how they're treated in life and on the way to slaughter. Cows have the sentience of dogs and love to snuggle, which makes me very reverent for that burger that nourishes me like no other food. References below.
Grass-fed v grain fed see this article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/is-grass-fed-beef-really-better-for-you-the-animal-and-the-planet/2015/02/23/92733524-b6d1-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html Cow sentience, this is a good article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/201711/cows-science-shows-theyre-bright-and-emotional-individuals |