kerewin's whine cellar

In Defense Of Organic, Free-Range Chicken Stock

Now, I eat of the animal flesh and I consume dairy. I wear leather and am fully cognizant that might seem a tad bit hypocrital when I tell you that I try to eat only organic, free-range, or wild-caught (for fish) food.

This isn't about the well-being of the animal. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't make me unhappy to know that Little-Mister-Chicken-I-Am-About-To-Eat gets to see the sun and run on the grass and all that shit. Fine. That is a nice upside.

I am more concerned about eating an animal that sits in its own body waste and ingests growth hormones. Then, because it is stuck in a cage surrounded by tons of other birds that go nowhere, Mr. Chicken also gets sick a lot and sees a lot of attention from bugs. Mr. Chicken gets a lot of antibiotics that I wouldn't ingest if given the choice. Growth hormones and antibiotics and general ill-health shows in your bones. Therefore when using a broth made from boiling the flesh and bones of an animal, I hope that animal got to run around a little and wasn't given pills that I wouldn't let a professional athlete use, let alone a child.

When there is a topic out in the blogosphere that I disagree with, I usually just swallow hard and move on. Not worth getting upset about. This one I felt a little in the pit of my stomach, but I put it aside. People just don't understand, right? Nothing worth getting your panties in a knot about. Which is ultimately true. Usually if I am unhappy I vote with my feet. So, after a glass of wine and a little false bravado, I have decided not to visit a certain high-traffic site while there is a banner up against free-range, organic chicken stock.

Word.

[Edited to add: Let me explain that I understand that this ridiculous argument makes about as much difference as a single raindrop in the Pacific Ocean. Call me Don Quixote.

Also: This is said much better, with a lot more educational links over at Lilbit's site.]

Posted by kerewin at December 4, 2006 10:59 PM