THE INCREDIBLY CRUEL EGG INDUSTRY

THE INCREDIBLY CRUEL EGG INDUSTRY

A recent article in the New York Times, covered diseases that spread in the egg industry. Ex-Egg Industry Executives Jailed in Salmonella Outbreak - The New York Times

Diseases like salmonella are very common in the industry, just because of the way farms are designed.  Factory farms fit as many animals as possible into as small as space as possible with as little care as possible.  The industry itself decides what is humane.  They are not covered by any animal cruelty laws, so the industry gets away with pretty much anything.  Factory farms are an epidemic waiting to happen.  According to the movie “Resistance” 148,000 Americans die every year from superbugs.  Superbugs are bacteria that mutated to become antibiotic resistance.  80% of all antibiotics used in the world are given to animals in factory farms.  Factory farms are so over- crowded and because they want to grow animals as big as possible in as little time as they can, animals are pumped full of drugs-hormones and antibiotics. This should be a big concern to everyone on this planet.

Animal abuse should also be a big concern to everyone. Chickens are among the most abused animals on this planet. They are slammed into small cages, one on top of another, and given a living space smaller than your IPad. That is how they spend their entire life. Feces from other chickens dropping on their heads, fighting for space, fighting for life. “Free range” hens are just the same without cages.  Farmers will withhold food from them for up to 3 weeks.  This is called forced molting.  They do this because during molting season, chickens lay more eggs.  Not only do they lay more eggs, but they will lose most of their feathers and strength in the process.  We would be arrested if we did this to our pets, but factory farms are not covered by animal cruelty laws.

There is an egg farm near my home, so I did some research on it.  It is called the S&R Egg Farm.  They proudly boast about their fresh eggs-no hormones, no antibiotics. They even offer for sale a DVD about their history. They advertise it as “the deeply moving story”.

This egg farm proudly boasts they have 2.4 million chickens and 151 employees.  That means each employee has to take care of 16,000 chickens.  Could you take care of 16,000 pets?  Keep in mind that out of those 151 employees, many have nothing to do with the care of chickens. Many work in the offices and in shipping and receiving. So that figure of 16,000 per worker is very generous.

S&R Egg farms proudly shows a picture of chickens that are crammed into cages, with cages on top of each other with the caption “world leader in science based animal welfare”.  As I said above, the industry itself determines what is humane and what is not. You can just look at this picture and see this is no way to treat an animal.

S&R Egg farms has a giant chicken in front of their facility, yet that is the only chicken you will ever see. These poor birds are keep in barns and never get to see the light of day. They do not get fresh air, only fans. In most egg farms, the air inside the chicken barns is so toxic, you need a mask to go in.  A chicken normally can live to be 10-12 years, but in the egg industry it’s 18 months. Once their egg production slows down they are killed. It’s all about money.

I have tried to contact S&R to find out what they do with male chicks and have not received an answer yet. Standard practice in the industry is to discard the male chicks as they are useless.  They do not lay eggs and they will not develop large enough for meat. So male chicks are either thrown alive down a meat grinder, or tossed into trash bags and suffocated.  Again, these practices are considered “humane” by the industry.

I have pet chickens and I can personally tell you they are amazing animals. They are smart, friendly, and loving. Scientists consider chickens descendants of dinosaurs.  Yet, we kill over 314 million chickens every year for eggs and meat. You can help save chickens. Ditch the eggs, take cruelty off your plate, go vegan, please.

Additional sources to learn more:

What Cody Saw

Undercover Investigations at Factory Farms - Mercy For Animals

http://www.fowlplaymovie.com/favicon.ico

RESISTANCE

SCALLOPINI

VEGAN SCALLOPINI

1 clove garlic diced

4 ounces sliced mushrooms

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup water

1 vegan bouillon cube

¼ cup white grape juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1 package Gardein® Chick’n Scallopini

Brown garlic in olive oil, add mushrooms, water, bouillon cube grape juice, lemon juice and seasonings. Heat to boil. Add Gardein® , cook until heated through.  You can thicken the sauce with cornstarch if desired.  To serve, place a piece of the Gardein® on a plate, top with sauce. You can serve with mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice. Quick, easy, and cruelty free. 

THE CHOICES WE MAKE

THE CHOICES WE MAKE

 

We Americans have so many choices--so many stores to shop at, so many products to buy. We are fortunate to have the choices and we are fortunate to be able to make our own choices.  Many of us, however, have not realized how important our choices can be and how our choices affect others, and even our planet. Every dollar we spend at a store is a vote for the product we purchase with that dollar.

If you consider yourself an environmentalist, consider this: Animal products are responsible for 51% of greenhouse gases, 97% of rainforest destruction, and 56% of water usage. It also uses 45% of the earth’s total land. Making the choice to purchase animal products is harming our planet.  This movie is a must see for anyone concerned with our planet http://www.cowspiracy.com/

Not only would making a choice not to buy animal products help our planet, but it would save many animals from cruelty and suffering. Dairy and egg products make you think they don’t hurt animals in their making, but they are extremely cruel products. Male calves are taken from their mothers less than 24 hours after birth. They are put into veal crates where they are unable to move for the next 4 months. The lack of movement is supposed to make their flesh tenderer.  Then they are slaughtered. 23,000 calves are slaughtered every week.

The egg industry sends male chicks, right after birth, either alive into grinders, or throws them alive into trash bags. They do not make money for the egg or chicken meat industries, so they are considered waste product. 2,000 baby chicks are killed every day. Just by choosing not to purchase dairy, meat, or eggs you can save many animals from cruelty. Watch http://earthlings.com/ for more on animal cruelty.

Toxic chemicals are also a concern to our environment. Many chemicals out there do terrible damage to our environment. Pesticides and herbicides are killing monarchs and bees. Bleach and ammonia have been detected on top of the Himalayan Mountains. These chemicals get into our water, killing fish and poisoning our oceans. Just making a choice at the grocery store not to purchase these products will help our planet and future generations. We don’t need them.  Vinegar is safe and kills 99.9% of germs. This movie is a must see for anyone concerned about toxic chemicals: http://thehumanexperimentmovie.com/

If you love animals and are against animal abuse consider your purchasing choices. Most beauty and health products at the stores are made with animal by-products and are tested on animals. Animal testing is cruel and unnecessary.  28,000 animals are killed every day in animal testing. Rabbits, monkeys, guinea pigs, even dogs and cats have hairspray sprayed in their eyes, acid poured on their skin, makeup put directly in their eyes, are force fed toxic chemicals, and many other abuses. If we all stopped buying from companies that do animal testing, they would stop this practice. Here is a list of companies that do animal testing: http://www.vidacompassion.org/main/list/company.html

Make sure the products you choose to purchase are cruelty free and non-toxic. Organic, natural, vegan products are the best and safest products to purchase. Vegan, non-toxic beauty products are available here: joyofveganbeauty.com

 

The choices you make every day at the store can either save our planet or destroy it. The choices you make can either end animal suffering or increase it. The choice is yours.

Joy of Vegan Beauty

Cruelty Free is beautiful.

Visit http://joyofveganbeauty.com/ Joy of Vegan Beauty Boutique for cruelty free and vegan face makeup, eye makeup, lip colors and balms, nail polish, and brushes.

Follow your heart. Go vegan and cruelty free with your cosmetics!

 

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QUICK AND EASY ROASTED POTATOES OR CAULIFLOWER

ROASTED POTATOES

 

This potato dish makes a delicious, quick and easy side to any meal.

Potatoes (any quantity)

Olive oil

Dried chopped basil

Dried ground oregano

Dried chopped parsley

Salt

Ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Wash and dry potatoes.  Cut into cubes. Spread on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, followed by the seasonings. Bake for 30 minutes until potatoes are tender.

If you are grilling out vegan burgers or vegan hot dogs, you can use aluminum foil as the cookie sheet and put this on your grill.

You can add pepper slices or onions. I do not cook with onions as they are toxic to dogs and other animals. FYI-grapes are also toxic to them. I try to avoid food toxic to them as well as house plants.

You can do this same thing with cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, or any other vegetable. It’s quick and delicious. Cruelty free always tastes better.

THE TRAGIC STORY OF CECIL THE LION

CECIL THE LION

 

We have all heard about the dentist, Walter Palmer, who paid $50,000 to kill a gentle, beloved lion. How hunting can be called a “sport” is beyond me.  A sport is basketball, baseball, football, agility, etc. Two equal teams compete against each other. How can hunting be considered “sport”?   I was thrilled to learn Palmer had to close his practice up and is now the most hated man in America.  That’s karma.

Cecil’s tragic death has opened a lot of people’s eyes to the animal cruelty out there.  Hopefully something positive will come out of all this.

I have been using Cecil’s death to promote veganism, making numerous memes about dairy, eggs, meat, fur, vivisection, and hunting.  My plan was to show the animal and post how many were killed each day.  I went to animal agriculture sites to get my information. I took their yearly numbers and divided them down into daily numbers.  What I found was disturbing. I have listed my findings below.  Keep in mind when you read these numbers that my numbers are lower than what actually goes on.  The numbers I used are from USA agriculture sites, so they do not add in other countries.  Agriculture sites don’t count animals that were killed on their way to slaughterhouses, which run into the millions every year.

13,200 pigs are killed every hour. According to the industry, only 1% of pigs wind up being boiled alive.  That means over 100 pigs are boiled alive ever hour.

2000 male baby chicks are ground up in food grinders alive or placed alive in trash bags every day, shortly after birth.  Male chicks do not lay eggs so they are considered waste product.  Male chicks are also used as “packing peanuts” for shipping. If you think eating eggs, doesn’t kill anything, think again.

960,000 chickens are killed every hour.  180 million chickens are boiled alive every year.  Chickens and pigs are the most abused animals in the world.

2,700 male calves are killed every day. Male calves are taken away from their mother right after birth and sold for veal.  They are kept confined in small crates unable to move very much at all. Male calves do not make milk. They only way they make a dairy farmer money is as veal or calf leather.  Farms are businesses and their only goal is making money. If you think drinking milk doesn’t harm any animals, think again. The only way cows can produce milk is to have a baby. What do you think happens to all those babies?

4000 cows are killed for beef every hour. At the rates slaughterhouses have to work, many cows wind up being skinned alive.

31,000 turkeys are killed every hour.  I have never understood the tradition of stuffing bread crumbs up a dead bird’s butt.

55.000 dairy cows are killed every week. After being milked to death, they become your hamburger patties. A cow can live to be 20, but in the dairy industry it’s only 5-7 years.

28,000 animals are killed for fur every day.

28,000 animals are killed in animal testing every day.

3,000,000,000,000 fish are killed every year. That’s 3 trillion—3 with twelve zeroes after it.

100,000 sharks are killed every year. Number of people killed by sharks in a year is four.

As you can see, the number of animals killed every day, every week, every year, is unbelievable.  What has our society become?

None of these deaths or lives of these animals was humane or gentle. They all lived horrible lives and suffered cruel deaths. They were hit in the head with a hammer, shot, electrocuted, throats cut, or stunned gunned. One note, I need to make about stun guns, is they are supposed to do just that—stun, not kill.  They basically just put a shot in the animal’s brain which is supposed to stun the animal, but doesn’t kill it.

After all this research, my conclusion is that vegan is the only ethical, moral way to live.

JOY OF VINEGAR

THE JOY OF VINEGAR

 

Vinegar has been around for over 10,000 years.   The word “vinegar” comes from the French word “vin aigre” meaning “sour wine”.  It is made by fermenting ethanol into acetic acid. Water is added to acetic acid to make vinegar.  In this article, unless specified, we will be talking mostly about white distilled vinegar.  The vinegar sold today contains between 4 and 5 % acetic acid. 

Besides cooking and making salad dressings, there are so many uses for vinegar.

CLEANING

Put vinegar in a spray bottle and use to clean counter surfaces, stove tops, microwaves, etc.  Vinegar has been found to kill 99.9% of bacteria and it is much safer and better for our environment than Lysol or bleach. Those chemical cleaners just stay on our counter tops winding up in our food and the air we breathe.  Scientists have found bleach chemicals in the air on top of the Himalayan Mountains. The chemicals found in commercial cleaners just don’t go away.  

Pour vinegar in a coffee maker and run it through its cycle.  It will clean the coffee pot and maker removing lime build up.

Vinegar will remove stains on stainless steel sinks.  It also can be used for brass, copper, brass.

To clean fresh fruits and vegetables, just spray with vinegar and rinse. Not only will it remove dirt and bacteria, but also any chemicals that might have been sprayed on the food.

A mixture of one cup vinegar to a gallon of water can be used to effectively clean floors—even no wax. Test before using however. This will also kill germs.

One cup of vinegar added to wash water will help keep colors in clothes, soften the wash water, and help remove stains. I have found that natural laundry products like Earth Friendly Eco work better at cleaning than commercial products like Tide, All, Purex, etc.  Natural products are better at cleaning, healthier for people and better for our planet.

A mixture of half vinegar, half water can be used to clean windows, microwaves and refrigerators.  Again, it not only cleans, but kills germs and bacteria.

I pour vinegar down my drains, then add baking soda. This not only keeps drains clean, it is fun to watch. (Mini volcanoes in your sinks)

Vinegar poured into toilets will remove hard water stains. This is safer to use, especially if your dog tends to want to drink out of the toilet bowl.

Vinegar full strength is great for showers.  It will kill and remove mildew and hard water stains.

One half cup of vinegar poured on the bottom of your dishwasher before using will not only clean your dishwasher but your dishes will come out cleaner and shinier.

Vinegar can be used to remove stains from carpets. I also use it to remove pet odors. Again test before using just to be safe. I’ve never had a problem, but it’s always wise to err on the side of caution.

 

 

OTHER USES

I spray vinegar around my windows and doors to keep ants and bugs out.

A mixture of half water, half vinegar sprayed on my dogs keeps ticks, fleas and mosquitoes off of them. This will also help eliminate dog odors.

 If you should happen to get a flea infestation, spraying a mixture of half vinegar to half water on your carpeting and furniture will get rid of the fleas—safely.

Puree the peels from 5 cucumbers until smooth. Mix with 1 cup vinegar and ½ cup water.  Put in a spray bottle. This mixture sprayed will keep hornets away. Spray it wherever they are trying to build a nest.

Vinegar can be used to remove glue and stickers. Use full strength.

To kill weeds in your garden, just spray them with vinegar—full strength.  No need to spray toxic Agent Orange products like Round up.

Got poison ivy? Just apply apple cider vinegar to the rash.  It will be gone in no time.

 

With so many uses for vinegar, this list can be unending.  Clean out your cupboards and closets.  Get rid of those dangerous, toxic cleaners and replace them with vinegar.  Not only will you be saving money and space, you will be helping to save our planet. It’s safer for you, your pets, and your children.