Oprah's show on cageless chickens,pigs and cows. (interest, cost, work)

[Chinolala]

It all depends on what is important to you and of supply and demand. If more people demanded that our animal food supply was raised in more pleasant conditions, farmers would have to conform and eventually prices would come down. 10 years ago organic food was really hard to find and expensive. Now it's in all major retailers and the price has come way down. I'm not a tree hugger or PETA member, but after watching some footage on how animals are raised for our consumption, I was consumed with those images in my mind every time I ate pork, beef, etc and gave up meat 9 weeks ago. We're still consuming chicken but am slowly weaning ourselves off of that too. This is a huge adjustment and it's taking us some time to come up with menu ideas that are meatless, and not cheese and pasta laden. And what's great about it is that my grocery store bill has gone way down. Produce is so much cheaper. And now that it looks like my husband is going to lose his job in 2 weeks, we could stand to eat healthier before our blood pressure goes sky high from the stress. So whether or not you care about how food is farmed, I will tell you, giving up meat will save you a lot of money and be healthier. It's a win win. I do miss beef but the cravings are becoming lessened and more infrequent.

[70Ford]

Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!

Well, you could always raise your own chickens or stop eating meat altogether.

I've raised chickens from biddy to pot. Cleaned 'em, etc.

I like the way it is now. Get my bird from the store. Yumm-o.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by CouponJack

Anyone have any idea what a dozen organic eggs cost???

About 4 bucks.

[JTraik]

Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!

Here's a video on pig farming. It's really sad how these animals are kept in cages so small that they can't even turn around in them.

PETA TV: Select Your Media Preferences: James Cromwell Pig Farm Investigation

I was planning on getting a bacon cheeseburger today... and well, I still am!

[Oildog]

Originally Posted by taurus430

Did you see Oprah's show on the move to pass a bill to prevent chickens, pigs and cows from being in cages or giving them more room? Now to hear from some farmers that are against it, it would drive them out of business to change their farms not to mention the cost. Oh great, now we will have to import are eggs from other countries (Mexico) to afford them. Isn't our country in enough trouble with us overspending which helped get us to where we are today without worrying about chickens in cages. I am an animal lover but this is to much. By the time we're done with this economy, you'll be lucky to get eggs, let alone worry about they coming from cage less chickens.

Perfect example of why society is in decline. Lot of issues in the world, and a wealthy woman chooses fenced in livestock as a cause.

[Hobokenkitchen]

I didn't see it, but am totally in favor of treating animals well. We buy all cageless eggs, and buy a lot of free range meat from local farmers at the farmers market. It is better for the animals, better for our health (as they're not stuffed full of hormones and other crap) and it supports the local farmers, instead of the nation wide factory farmers.

If everyone bought the free range stuff, demand would go up, more farmers would farm this way and costs would come down on free range produce.

Where I'm from (England) there is way more free range produce on the market and the farms are still profitable. All this going out of business stuff is BS. Adapt or go out of business and leave a gap in the market for someone else to fill. Changing times mean that companies need to be able to adapt.

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by Hobokenkitchen

I didn't see it, but am totally in favor of treating animals well. We buy all cageless eggs, and buy a lot of free range meat from local farmers at the farmers market. It is better for the animals, better for our health (as they're not stuffed full of hormones and other crap) and it supports the local farmers, instead of the nation wide factory farmers.

If everyone bought the free range stuff, demand would go up, more farmers would farm this way and costs would come down on free range produce.

Where I'm from (England) there is way more free range produce on the market and the farms are still profitable. All this going out of business stuff is BS. Adapt or go out of business and leave a gap in the market for someone else to fill. Changing times mean that companies need to be able to adapt.

Yes, I think there are ways to keep costs low and still respect the planet and its other inhabitants. In the meat industry, Temple Gradin has shown that to be so.

[AliceT]

And now, from the farmer's standpoint....

There is nothing wrong with caging chickens. A coop is also a cage - just one that you can walk into. It does not just confine the poultry, it protects them from loose dogs, foxes, hawks and/or eagles and inclement weather. There is also nothing wrong with caging a pig. It falls in the same category as a paddock for a horse. Or perhaps she wants us to let horses roam loose, too? No fences anywhere. Where does she draw the line? Pigs need to have a source of heat in the winter and a means to cool off in the summer. To ensure they get these things, the pens are a necessity.

You animal rights wackos can put the link to the PETA tape all you want but I don't buy it. I don't buy it because it is put out by PETA to begin with. I have been to slaughterhouses and none of that was going on. I believe PETA staged the whole thing to make it look like the meat industry is just an evil, wicked place. Get real! The family farmer out there is not going to be able to let their chickens run loose in coyote and bear country and make a profit because their chickens won't be able to live long enough to produce.

When money is no object, it's fine to say it would be a wonderful world to let all the animals roam free, but the reality is that not everyone has the income Oprah has and farmers in particular cannot afford to run the farm as if it were an extension of Fantasyland or Pleasure Island.

[artsyguy]

Oprah can sometimes be really really weird and off-beat.

[the painter]

It just amazes me how many people follow O and how much influence she has. So many believe everything she says and does, it is scarey. I for one will not watch, listen or buy any of her b.s. if I can help it. She goes from chicken to religion and her ratings keep going on up, I even heard that if Obama gets elected she will have a presences in the White House. Now is that not a terrifiying thought!