meat and etymology questions

The industrialized meat industry is why we need to support small family run farms. My family has a farm they've owned and run since 1906, and never practiced any of the "tactics" of industrialized farming. They allowed their chickens to run free in a large penned area, they never used growth hormones or the like to increase milk production in their cows, and allowed them to roam in a large open pen with feed, as well as a spacious barn.

Small time farm owners are where we should focus our future, as industrialized farming is just gross.

But you see, that is impossible for many. The food raised by the big company is the only food that many can afford. It's the way the system has evolved.

I live out in the country. Used to live next door to a dairy farm. You'd never drink milk or eat dairy products again if you saw what went on.

There's a pig farm down the road from where I live now. You would never, EVER eat pork if you saw how they are raised.

Chicken/egg farms are equally horrid. The cows in my area are pretty well treated. They live in pastures and eat grass and hay. Conditions when they go to market and feedlots are, again, horrid.

Folks, y'all don't want to see the way the animals you eat are raised. It ain't pretty. George is right. The industry in the US has evolved to these conditions. The average consumer would not be able to afford meat from small family farms. Artchic, I agree that industrialized farming is gross, but, like I said, the average person would not be able to afford food produced on a small farm.

At the supermarket (Walmart's, usually) I pick up the organic eggs and think, "Should I spend the extra money to get these?" When I was working, I would readily, but now I'm retired on a much reduced income. So I think, "I don't want to patronize producers who torture animals, and food from humanely run farms is healthier for me . . . . but my tight food budget has to last till the end of the month. I often end up ignoring the animal-welfare factor and just think about what way of spending my money will get me the best nutritional bang for my buck. The no hormone milk is over $4.00/gal., while the cheap strore brand of milk is only a bit over $2.00/gal. Then I think about how me not patronizing the worst of the producers isn't going to shut them down. So, lately, I've been opting for the cheaper food products.

This thread stimulated me to do some more reading about industrial farming. It is awful. I may allocate my money a bit differently. I have only myself to consider. But a low income family has to think about what their kids would have to give up, if more money was spent on food from better farms. As discussed above, it's hard to give up things to spend more on food that often doesn't taste any different. Then, again, do all kids really have to have smart phones? (I know families getting food stamps where every member has a smart phone, including kids.)

We, as a country, have to look at our priorities. If we, as a nation, insist on better treatment of farm animals, then better conditions will prevail and the industry will evolve more efficient ways of organizing better conditions. Those ways won't ever be as cheap as the current practice of treating animals as unfeeling units, but they can be evolved less expensively than when those practices are employed only on small boutique-like farms. What's needed is for more people in all income brackets to care. We need wider understanding of how bad it is - worse than I thought. Then we need to change our culture of what is acceptable to civilized people.

At one time, working conditions for humans were awful in the food manufacturing business. I'm thinking of how the novelist, Upton Sinclair, exposed conditions in the meat packing business. The industry said that poor working conditions for humans were necessary to produce food cheaply. After reading The Jungle, the country decided it can't be necessary to have amputated human body parts ground up in sausage meat. We need a similar awakening about the current deplorable conditions.

I don't think it's going to be that easy Rose if it can be done at all. First, I don't think most people are aware. Then I don't think many would care enough to take action.
BTW working conditions are still quite bad. There are several docus on how dangerous the work is both physically and regarding toxins the workers are exposed to. And if workers complain, those worker usually just end up unemployed. If enough workers complain and city/county officials bother to get involved, the corporation finds a new home where the local government is friendlier.

That is not the case in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/poultry-...ce-on-the-farm

In the UK we used to call horse flesh 'prepared foods': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_m...ration_scandal

The British don't like to eat horse because we love horses to distraction, but those blighters across the channel seem not to care. But on the other hand we don't seem to care enough not to export horses to them, live and dead, for food.

Horse flesh is mostly used in pet foods in the UK I believe.

Why do we drive on parkways and park in driveways? Why do we pay a toll on freeways?

Why do we sing "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" when we're already there?

How can you get off a non stop flight?

(Appropriate credit given to George Carlin)

No wonder cows are treated bad if milk only has to cost 2 dollars a gallon. No milk costs that little here.

I think around here the pressure on the market is much harsher because we have plenty of organic egg and milk farmers now. And their stuff doesn't cost much more than the regular stuff. But then again, cost of food is overall higher here.

I wouldn't blame someone for buying the worse stuff if they can't afford anything else, but yea it would be nice if it changed overall to a better system. But it couldn't for the same cost, that has to be remembered.

Here non organic milk can't have antibiotics and crap and all cows have the right to an outdoors summer, but then the milk costs what would be 4 dollars a gallon. And that is NOT the organic one that is slightly more expensive.

A gallon of whole milk was only $1.87 at Sam's Club today. Maybe it was a "loss leader" product to get you in the store. Then, again, Sam's doesn't advertize.

I bought it. They only sell that one brand. I guess I'm complicit in this abuse of dairy cows.

If they are making money, selling milk at that price, the - as jimi says above - they can't possibly be treating those cows anything like decent. It is heartbreaking to think about.

This Best Meat Food as Chicken food