Written by PETA
Yes, we wish everyone would just go vegan and be done with it, but we ain't there yet. It's a process (and you know that it's gathering steam if you heard Bill Clinton describing his own dietary decisions on CNN: "No chicken!"). So while we sling vegan starter kits at people as if there were no tomorrow, we also work hard to reduce the suffering of the billions of chickens—for whom there truly is no tomorrow—who are born into a world where people still salivate over birds' limbs. That's why we are very pleased to announce that after more than a year of behind-the-scenes work with PETA, two chicken producers, Pennsylvania-based Bell & Evans and California-based Mary's Chickens, have begun the process of implementing a new slaughter system called "controlled-atmosphere killing" (CAK). These will be the first slaughterhouses in the U.S. to make the switch. This new system is a huge improvement over the cruel systems that are used today.
Here's what happens to chickens in the U.S. now: They are dumped out of their transport crates, violently shackled upside down (a procedure that often results in broken wings and legs), and run through an electrical bath that paralyzes them but leaves them conscious. In addition, millions of them are scalded to death in defeathering tanks. CAK eliminates all these abuses. That's because it removes the oxygen from the chickens' environment and slowly replaces it with a nonpoisonous gas that puts the birds to sleep while they are still in their transport crates. This system also removes any opportunity for workers to engage in the kind of abuse that PETA has uncovered during multiple undercover investigations.
A number of restaurant chains (including Quiznos, Subway, Starbucks, and Ruby Tuesday) and grocery chains (including Safeway, Harris Teeter, and Winn-Dixie) are already purchasing turkeys killed by CAK. Now, for the first time, thanks to Bell & Evans and Mary's Chickens, restaurants and grocery stores will also be able to purchase chickens killed by CAK.
We believe that it's just a matter of time before others producers follow suit. In Europe, CAK is already widely used and is gaining in popularity, and we think that these decisions by Bell & Evans and Mary's Chickens mark the beginning of an industrywide change that will prevent billions of chickens in the U.S. from enduring terrible pain and suffering. If you were a chicken dreaming of a vegan world and headed for the knife, which system would you vote for?
KFC and McDonald's, are you listening?
Written by Alisa Mullins
Re: Are leftist really tolerant. Many Jews have concluded that we cannot be rachmanim b’nei rachmanim (compassionate children of compassionate ancestors) while supporting the cruel conditions under which animals are raised and slaughtered by the billions for their flesh, eggs, and milk. We hope that, through your religion, you embrace the virtues of love, mercy, and compassion and to extend their compassion to non-human animals. Per the argument of "canine teeth", human bodies are actually better suited to a vegetarian diet. Carnivorous animals have long, curved fangs, claws, and a short digestive tract. Humans have flat, flexible nails, and our so-called "canine" teeth are minuscule compared to those of carnivores or even compared to vegetarian primates like gorillas and orangutans. Our tiny canine teeth are better suited to biting into fruits than tearing through tough hides. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and we urge you to learn more about animals used for food, and the moral and health reasons to go vegan: www.peta.org/.../default.aspx.
The God I believe in says I can eat animals. As a matter of fact, it tells me which ones are "clean" and which one's are "dirty". But you can feel free to support my freedom of religion and show me how tolerant you are. I have canine teeth.. those are meant to rip flesh. I'm sorry you feel so irrationally empathetic for an "animal". You're probably pro-choice and completely fine with killing unborn HUMAN babies. I support this process if it is more humane for the animals, but I'm going to eat them either way. When I get enough land to raise them, I'll kill them myself and my family!
@Chloe - PETA believes in both animal rights and animal welfare. Of course, in the long term, we’d like to see animal rights adopted universally. But we’re also pragmatic, and we realize that because billions of animals are suffering in the food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment industries each year, we must take immediate action to try to alleviate some of their suffering. We don’t condone or encourage any means of killing animals for their flesh. There is simply no humane way to kill animals for food, and the vast number of animals required to feed humans’ current meat habit makes individual attention to their wants and needs impossible. However, the less cruel controlled-atmosphere killing method for birds, while not perfect, helps to significantly improve animal welfare and should be adopted by producers. There are several such systems currently available for commercial use and a number of large-scale systems have already been implemented in the U.K. with great success.
I'm obviously very for any improvement in the treatment of these poor birds... but my understanding was that PETA has always been animal RIGHTS, not animal WELFARE?
I thought we were fighting for no killing, not "better" killing.
I would have at least expected a brief final paragraph saying that while this is an awesome first step, there's still much to be done to stop the mass murder of animals for human consumption.
Humane slaughter is a huge step forward, but we must not forget or turn a blind eye to the devastating conditions most factory-farmed animals are forced to endure. One example, is that egg-laying chickens get their beaks sawed off so they won't peck each other as they are stuffed into cages too small for them to turn around. How unneccessary is that? I urge those who choose to eat meat to eat kindly. Boycott factory farming and find a local farm to get your beef, pork, and chicken. I am a vegan, but my local farm (about 40 minutes away) is free range, uses no antibiotics, and all the animals are treated and yes, slaughtered humanely. Get to know your farmers, ask questions, support them, and clear your conscience in the process.
Re: Missy. Thank you for voicing your concern. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a healthy vegan or vegetarian diet, consisting of a variety of foods, provides all the nutrients that we need, at any age. For information about raising vegetarian kids, visit www.peta.org/.../vegetarian-family.aspx. Concerning PETA's activism towards children: lifelong eating habits are formed during childhood, and considering the impacts of animal products on our health (www.peta.org/.../eating-for-health.aspx), we shouldn’t tolerate the meat and dairy industries’ peddling their products to our children. Instead, we should start kids on the road to a healthy, humane lifestyle by teaching them to make smart AND compassionate eating choices that will serve both them and animals. - Nora, PETA
I personally am not nor will I ever be a vegetarian. I am a nurse and I personally believe that by denying a child all of the major food groups is neglect and child abuse. I took my son and two nieces along with my nephew to see the Oscar Meyer weiner mobile and PETA shows up with pictures of pigs and other things asking the children who were with me if they knew that their weiner had a name BABE. Who actually cares how cruel someone is to am animal when these ignorant idiots are treating children ( who totally have no understanding of what this is about) like little criminals. Stop messing with our children, you think what you wish and how you wish and leave the rest of the world alone. Stop forcing your OPINION on others!!!
Now we can all feel les guilty about eating chicken... awesome work!!!!
This is such good news. Yeah the chickens are still dying but they're not suffering. I really do think this is a big step. I hope other companies follow their example.
:DD
It's awesome to hear that PETA is working with companies to find truly humane slaughter methods. Great work!
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