Guest guest Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Hi Carolyn, Since you are having trouble giving up quorn, I took the liberty of sending you the factsheet from PETA.org.uk regarding free-range eggs: FACT OR FICTION: FREE RANGE. While free-range products command a high price in supermarkets and delicatessens, and many people are willing to pay for improved conditions on the farms, the reality of ‘free-range’ farms does not live up to the marketing hype. Most consumers believe that the hens who produce ‘cage-free’ or ‘free-range’ eggs spend much of their lives outdoors, warming themselves in the afternoon sun, enjoying dust baths and laying their eggs in individual straw nests. But to British egg producers, ‘cage-free’ and ‘free-range’ mean something entirely different. ‘Cage-free’ means only that the animals are not in cages; beyond that, anything goes, and the animals are often crammed inside feces-ridden sheds, with no ability to engage in any natural behaviours, for their entire lives. ‘Free-range’ birds also generally spend the majority (if not all) of their lives inside a dark shed with thousands of other birds. These sheds have ‘popholes’ which allow birds access to the outside and the producers to label their eggs ‘free-range’. However, because birds are territorial, the stronger ones monopolise the area around the popholes, while the weaker ones may never cross these territories to get to the exits. These weaker birds may never get outside at all. The areas around the popholes are, not surprisingly, the most desirable areas of the shed, and consequently fights break out amongst the congregated birds. Because aggression, injuries and even cannibalism are rife under these stressful conditions, free-range hens may still be debeaked, a painful practice in which the ends of the birds’ sensitive beaks are sliced off. In their natural environment, chickens can live into their teens and form friendships and social hierarchies. But hens on commercial free-range farms are ‘spent’ or unable to produce enough eggs to remain profitable within two years. Instead of being allowed to retire, these worn-out hens are usually sold to slaughterhouses, where their bodies are turned into stock cubes, soup or baby food. The hen who laid your ‘humane’ free-range egg yesterday could easily be shackled upside-down and headed for the scalding tank tomorrow. Don’t be fooled by the label ‘free-range’ or by Freedom Foods. Birds reared under this scheme do not necessarily have access to the outdoors, either, but instead may spend their entire lives in a shed, rather like a broiler shed, with no fresh air, sunlight or space to carry out their natural behaviours. There is one scheme that does ensure all the birds can walk around outdoors, dust bathe and enjoy the fresh air. That is the Soil Association’s scheme, and they stamp their approval on the egg boxes. However, these birds, too, are sent for slaughter after just two years, ending their vastly improved lives in the same terrifying, violent manner. There is yet another sordid side to this industry, a side that is rarely revealed: the fate of the male chicks. Egg-laying birds must be female. But 50 percent of the chicks hatched for the egg industry are male, and these financially worthless male birds are slaughtered soon after birth. This is the same for all male chicks, whether they are hatched into the battery, barn or free-range systems. Doing the Humane Thing: From the ‘free-range’ hen who smells fresh air for the first time only on her way to the slaughterhouse to the ‘humanely-reared’ dairy cow whose day-old male baby is taken from her and sold to veal farmers, all animals raised for food suffer and are exploited. The only truly humane alternative to this suffering is to choose alternatives to eggs, milk and meat. References: Alice Hart-Davis, ‘Is Any Chicken Safe to Eat?’ Evening Standard, 19 Nov. 2002. Lord Beaumont of Whitley, address to United Kingdom Parliament, 21 Jun. 2002. Molly Snyder Edler, ‘Chicken Love Leads to Book Deal’, OnMilwaukee.com, 26 Sep. 2002. Jacqueline Wepruk, ‘The Disposal of Spent Laying Hens’, Work & Achievements, Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada, 27 Aug. 2003 <http://www.awfc.ca/word--disposal-of-spent-laying-hens.html>. Anthony Browne, ‘Ten Weeks to Live’, The Observer, 10 Mar. 2002. I hope this helps and where there is a will there is a way, MarisaCarolyn <adc143 wrote: Hi MarisaLucky you having lived in SF! There are so many places in the States I would love to visit, but mostly I have spent time in Oregon and Nebraska, witha few road trips thrown in through Kansas and Missouri. Unfortunately I am broke so unless I win the lottery a trip in the near future is only a pipedream :-(.Quorn is "mycoprotein", a sort of mushroom/fungus that they use to make fillets, and "meat" balls, and mince etc - doesn't sound very appetising but I find it much nicer than the other "substitutes". It is low fat and vegetarian as it uses free range eggs (now, not always). It has become something I eat quite regularly and that is the only thing I am really struggling with cutting out at the moment. I was already an obsessive label reader, now I am even worse!Anyway, looking forward to being part of the group!Carolyn , Mary Reta <marisa.9497@s...> wrote:> Hi Carolyn,> > It is interesting that San Francisco and Arizona are on your must see cities. San Francisco is my favorite city in the U.S. as I haved lived in the bay area previously. It is quite a melting pot of cultures there.> > Arizona is interesting because of the native american history of that area, but I would highly recommend Sante Fe, New Mexico also for the native american history, but also because of the artists and artisans. Or you can come visit San Antonio where I currently live, part of the legacy of the Spanish colonization of the southwestern/ northwestern (including San Francisco) and now part of the U.S.> > Lot's of people disagree with some of PETA's choice of publicity tactics, but they definitely do a very good job of exposing the truth. I also became vegan after picking up a PETA's Animal Times newsletter while living in Europe.> > What is quorn??> > > Cheers! Marisa> ~~ info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Please remember that the above is only the opinion of the author, there may be another side to the story you have not heard.---------------------------Was this message Off Topic? Did you know? Was it snipped?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Guidelines: visit <site temporarily offline>Un: send a blank message to - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Hi Mary Sorry not to have responded before now, I have had PC trouble and not been able to get online. Anyway, thanks for sending this - of course it doesn't tell me anything I didn't already know (I have been a member of PeTA for as long as I can remember, and it was one of their magazines that made me finally become a veggie all those years ago, and they have definitely had a big part in my wanting to become a vegan), but it was useful to have it reinforced at this time when I have been struggling. I have done ok this week so far, no real problems, it is definitely getting easier as time goes on though I do still have a freezer full of quorn products that need using up :-(. Anyway thanks again, your input was much appreciated. Carolyn Mary Reta [marisa.9497] 11 November 2004 19:39 Subject: Free Range Eggs Hi Carolyn, Since you are having trouble giving up quorn, I took the liberty of sending you the factsheet from PETA.org.uk regarding free-range eggs: FACT OR FICTION: FREE RANGE. While free-range products command a high price in supermarkets and delicatessens, and many people are willing to pay for improved conditions on the farms, the reality of free-range farms does not live up to the marketing hype. Most consumers believe that the hens who produce cage-free or free-range eggs spend much of their lives outdoors, warming themselves in the afternoon sun, enjoying dust baths and laying their eggs in individual straw nests. But to British egg producers, cage-free and free-range mean something entirely different. Cage-free means only that the animals are not in cages; beyond that, anything goes, and the animals are often crammed inside feces-ridden sheds, with no ability to engage in any natural behaviours, for their entire lives. Free-range birds also generally spend the majority (if not all) of their lives inside a dark shed with thousands of other birds. These sheds have popholes which allow birds access to the outside and the producers to label their eggs free-range. However, because birds are territorial, the stronger ones monopolise the area around the popholes, while the weaker ones may never cross these territories to get to the exits. These weaker birds may never get outside at all. The areas around the popholes are, not surprisingly, the most desirable areas of the shed, and consequently fights break out amongst the congregated birds. Because aggression, injuries and even cannibalism are rife under these stressful conditions, free-range hens may still be debeaked, a painful practice in which the ends of the birds sensitive beaks are sliced off. In their natural environment, chickens can live into their teens and form friendships and social hierarchies. But hens on commercial free-range farms are spent or unable to produce enough eggs to remain profitable within two years. Instead of being allowed to retire, these worn-out hens are usually sold to slaughterhouses, where their bodies are turned into stock cubes, soup or baby food. The hen who laid your humane free-range egg yesterday could easily be shackled upside-down and headed for the scalding tank tomorrow. Dont be fooled by the label free-range or by Freedom Foods. Birds reared under this scheme do not necessarily have access to the outdoors, either, but instead may spend their entire lives in a shed, rather like a broiler shed, with no fresh air, sunlight or space to carry out their natural behaviours. There is one scheme that does ensure all the birds can walk around outdoors, dust bathe and enjoy the fresh air. That is the Soil Associations scheme, and they stamp their approval on the egg boxes. However, these birds, too, are sent for slaughter after just two years, ending their vastly improved lives in the same terrifying, violent manner. There is yet another sordid side to this industry, a side that is rarely revealed: the fate of the male chicks. Egg-laying birds must be female. But 50 percent of the chicks hatched for the egg industry are male, and these financially worthless male birds are slaughtered soon after birth. This is the same for all male chicks, whether they are hatched into the battery, barn or free-range systems. Doing the Humane Thing: From the free-range hen who smells fresh air for the first time only on her way to the slaughterhouse to the humanely-reared dairy cow whose day-old male baby is taken from her and sold to veal farmers, all animals raised for food suffer and are exploited. The only truly humane alternative to this suffering is to choose alternatives to eggs, milk and meat. References: Alice Hart-Davis, Is Any Chicken Safe to Eat? Evening Standard, 19 Nov. 2002. Lord Beaumont of Whitley, address to United Kingdom Parliament, 21 Jun. 2002. Molly Snyder Edler, Chicken Love Leads to Book Deal, OnMilwaukee.com, 26 Sep. 2002. Jacqueline Wepruk, The Disposal of Spent Laying Hens, Work & Achievements, Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada, 27 Aug. 2003 <http://www.awfc.ca/word--disposal-of-spent-laying-hens.html>. Anthony Browne, Ten Weeks to Live, The Observer, 10 Mar. 2002. I hope this helps and where there is a will there is a way, Marisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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