Chicken Farms/Factories

" The chicken that you eat today will live for approximately 8 weeks. Any longer and it's hormone-induced weight, will have long since crushed its legs, forcing it to starve to death on the floor which, by then will be so thick with feces and urine as to almost drown a chicken or (because of the ammonia) burn its eyes and lungs out before it would have time to starve to death." Quote by:  _Loaf_

There are many vegetarians in society today. The majority of people who are meat eaters don't understand why some have chosen to give up this tasty food. PETA posted an article, Chickens Used for Food, about the mass production of chicken in the US. This article makes it clear why, at least when it comes to poultry, some people chose not to eat meat. I know what some of you are thinking. PETA, isn't that the group of people who throw red paint on people and are crazy and call everyone murderers, etc? Well, perhaps some of those people do those things, but that isn't the point of the organization. Animals are being abused every day by the thousands by corporations who could care less about the pain they are causing. According to this article, more than 7 billion chickens are killed each year for their meat and 452 million hens are used for their eggs. The ones used for their meat are taken immediately after being hatched to being stuffed chalk full of drugs that will enhance their growth and ensure a speedy gateway for cash to go into their owners pockets. These chicks never see their parents and live in a dark building for a few weeks under horrible conditions until they are ready to be slaughtered. The other hens are kept in minuscule cages where they are forced to live their lives and must relieve themselves on top of each other because the cages are stacked to save room. Out of the chicks hatched for laying eggs, the male chicks are either thrown into a bag where they will suffocate and be thrown out as trash or they will go into macerators or grinders...while still alive. This is a disgusting habit that is being allowed to continue because of the high demand for chicken, but is it really chicken? These animals are filled with so many growth enhancement drugs that their bodies often can't keep up and they die of organ failure. Or they become so heavy so quickly from being stuffed with food 24/7 that their legs don't develop quick enough to be able to support the weight. This isn't even taking into consideration the preservatives and other chemicals injected into the chicken after slaughter. I'm not saying give up eating chicken. Chicken is great for you of prepared properly. This, however, is not healthy for you and it's cruel to these animals. There are other ways of getting nutrition than eating chicken. At the bottom of this article that PETA provides there is a link to ways of being a healthy vegetarian/vegan. As I said before, I'm not pushing vegetarianism, but I do think it's something everyone should consider.

Photos by: _Loaf_

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-
food/chickens.aspx