This past weekend, a friend of mine was getting rid of a bunch of stuff in preparation for selling their house and moving to a yard-free condo in Lake Stevens. As a result, I became the proud owner of my very own Baby George Foreman Rotisserie (used twice, all accessories included, originally priced at $5, but which I actually acquired for free. After picking up my new future garage sale inventory item from my friend’s house, we naturally had to stop at Safeway to pick up a whole chicken so I could try out my new toy.
As we approached the meat department, we quickly located the whole chickens and selected an appropriate specimen. “Certified humane,” my husband read aloud from the chicken packaging. Apparently this certification was backed by the U.S. Humane Society.
Seriously? U.S. Humane Society? Aren’t they the “animal rescue” folks?
The chicken was dead. It had been plucked and gutted, with its usable innards sealed into a bag, and the bag had been shoved up the chicken’s butt awaiting retrieval by me. If “rescue” was the Humane Society’s goal, I think they missed the target. What exactly did the Humane Society feel was “certifiable” here? Clearly, some research was in order.
As a “virtual homesteader,” I naturally “googled” the topic, and here is what I found:
Meat, Egg and Dairy LabelsI confess that I never used to give all this stuff much thought; however, as I have grown closer to my own personal food supply, I have grown more appreciative of such things (I confess, I verbally thank my hens for the eggs I retrieve daily <lol>). Unlike some, I haven’t been tempted to give up meat and become a vegetarian; however, I have developed a greater desire to know that the cow or pig lived a humane existence before the steak or ribs ended up on my plate for dinner.
Speaking personally, As a Christian, I believe the Bible which addresses this topic:
Genesis 1:26 (New Living Translation) says: “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the
small animals that scurry along the ground.”
I personally believe that any time anything “reigns” there is also responsibility, but this particular translation leaves the responsibility aspect open for interpretation. The Message (a very contemporary paraphrase – not terribly suited for doctrine, but excellent for daily application) makes the responsibility aspect perfectly clear:
Genesis 1:26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
One of the things I appreciate about most homesteaders I know is – whether they are Christians or Atheists, conservative or liberal, 1-acre farmers or 1000+ acre ranchers, they take their responsibility to care for the animals seriously, and I’m grateful the chicken farmer who raised the chicken that graced the prongs of my new rotisserie on Monday did so humanely.