Stop Eating Chicken?

I saw a link to a magazine article partly entitled “Eating chicken is indefensible”. It was largely about some of the abuses of the factory farming system for poultry. I am sympathetic to correcting the abuses of factory farming, but found the overall tone off-putting.

We live in a highly industrialized age in a highly industrialized country. Most of what we eat is produced in factory farms. Do some or even many of those factory farms have abuses? Of course, and we need to shine a light on those abuses and compel lawmakers to enact laws correcting those abuses.

When we know that one company in particular is rife with abuse of animals, then we can complain in writing and urge other consumers to avoid buying the products of that company until they correct those abuses. Can we know or learn the ultimate source of everything we eat? Probably not. Does that mean we can’t buy a product unless we know for certain it has been ethically produced? Do you want to starve?

I live as a part of this society and am not prepared to produce all my own food. Neither am I willing to spend hours tracking and sourcing every bit of food I buy. According to some people, that makes me both unethical and complicit in any abuse. I am not prepared to be vegan, and many other folks are unwilling or unable to be vegan either.

As it stands, I eat no pork, and I minimize my consumption of beef. I primarily eat poultry and fin fish and only tend to eat meat one meal a day on average, and not as the major portion of that meal. I am rather fond of cheese, which in many cases is also a part of the factory farming system, albeit one which does not usually result in the death of the animals.

If you want to judge me or damn me for my consumption of poultry, dairy, fish, or eggs, go ahead. Understand that unless you live a wholly ethical life, you are also subject to judgment. When I have limited my consumption of meat, and largely limited that to poultry and fish, I refuse to be ashamed of that consumption.