United States chickens are allowed to cross the pond over into Russia again.
Since January, Russia has blocked American chickens from being imported into the country. What a foul decision! Previously the largest importer of U.S. chickens, Russians have seen no trace of Yankee-born chickens during the past five months—and that’s a mighty long time to go without a good ol’ American chicken dinner.
Thankfully, this all changed last week when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with President Barack Obama in Washington, and the two scratched out an agreement to reinstate chicken entry into Russia. As outlined in this article, chicken travel into Russia will likely resume quickly, even within a matter of days.
It’s great news that American chickens have been cleared on Russian border control list. But, it does seem rather ironic that all this productive chicken-squawk between Medvedev and Obama happened while the two shared a hamburger lunch.
Where the cluck were the tasty drumsticks to celebrate this victory?
You have to hand it to the Sandusky County sheriff. Sensitive to his county’s budget concerns and ongoing budget cuts, the sheriff has put prisoners to work, cultivating their own food and saving taxpayers’ money in the process. It started with an inmate vegetable garden. Now chickens are being added to the jail yard – and eventually the menu. But when asked if prisoners will be gathering eggs in the near future, the answer was anything but sunny side up.
According to the article, the word was the USDA won’t allow egg farming in the jail yard because of concerns about salmonella poisoning. Far be it for us to be uncompassionate about the health concerns of the incarcerated, but how might this differ from, say, any small-time operator selling eggs by the side of the road or at local farmer’s markets?
In light of the locally raised food issue that is all the rage, does it really get any more local than this? Fact is, the prison yard spinach could be tainted with E. coli, right? As with any food product, just follow the precautionary steps for cleaning, preparation and consumption.
Let the sheriff keep the cuts coming and the prisoners engaged in productive rehabilitation…and let ’em raise their own eggs.
We’ve noticed that an opinion piece originally printed two years ago in the Arizona Republic is being resurfaced…and that’s a good thing.
Columnist Linda Valdez wrote about her experience visiting a farm where the birds are raised in cage housing for egg production, as well as touring a cage-free operation. These tours occurred after she took aim at the so-called factory farming issue and the perception of negligent animal care on modern farms. Clearly she had a biased opinion going in, which is precisely why this column is important and worth resurfacing.
These are perhaps the most telling lines of her column:
“People think by spending more money on cage-free eggs they are creating a better life for that chicken,” Armstrong says.
I was one of those people. I’ve changed my mind.
While Valdez’s column was published in advance of Proposition 2 passing in California, and subsequently banning cage housing by 2015, it’s obvious that too few Californians got the message.
Before more states follow California’s misguided lead, perhaps we should all do our part to circulate Valdez’s aptly titled column to the misinformed. Her headline says it far better than we could:
“Cage-free egg farms peck away at consumer reality.”
Last April, Dennis Avery provided the public with his firsthand account of being a free-range chickeneer with less than feel-good results. His commentary “In Praise of Cages for Egg-laying Hens” still resonates today, especially as the anti-cage crusade continues to rage on across the country. But take note of the subhead to his brief commentary: International efforts to ban chicken coops harms birds, farmers.
Effort to ban chicken coops harms birds? WTC?! One should question why those who appear to be feverishly concerned about animal welfare aren’t quick to point out this fact. As you’ll read, this is far more than one man’s experience.
It’s a quick read – and it’s one that should make you stop and think every time you hear a so-called “compassionate plea” by those radically opposed to modern egg farming.
And if you’re not yet familiar with “A Feathered Fiasco” — check it out (here on this page — or in our video archive). You’ll find Avery’s story and the Cluck Nation feature have quite a bit in common.
Dog catchers? Check.
Truant officers? Check.
Chicken catchers? WTC?!
Until recently, Miami employed a full-time “chief of chicken round up” because the city was overrun with loose chickens. Consider this another costly and unintended consequence of backyard farming. It’s bad for the birds, communities, the environment, and potentially public health.
Check out the photo in this article to see how just how secure some backyard operations look, fencing and all.
And while Miami expects to save $20,000 by eliminating the bird-busting post, it certainly doesn’t imply that the chickens will stop running amok any time soon.
Let’s leave it to the farmers…not the urban and suburban hobbyists.
