Undercover video shows workers putting chicks alive into grinder

[Liberty Star]

This is so cruel and disgusting. Not sure in which section this belongs, hopefully someone from Washigton or White House surfing this forum will see this and try to stop this. Horrible way to produce meat from animals.

Quote:

AP Exclusive: Video shows chicks ground up alive

Sep 1, 9:27 AM (ET)

By FREDERIC J. FROMMER

WASHINGTON (AP) - An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted chicks by sending them alive into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor.

Chicago-based Mercy for Animals said it shot the video at Hy-Line North America's hatchery in Spencer, Iowa, over a two-week period in May and June. The video was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Hy-Line said in a statement it has started an investigation "of the entire situation," adding that it would have helped their investigation "had we been aware of the potential violation immediately after it occurred."

The video, shot with a hidden camera and microphone by a Mercy for Animals employee who got a job at the plant, shows a Hy-Line worker sorting through a conveyor belt of chirping chicks, flipping some of them into a chute like a poker dealer flips cards.

These chicks, which a narrator says are males, are then shown being dropped alive into a grinding machine.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090901/D9AEI2F01.html


I wish they listed name of that company so they can be boycotted.

[Reason]

Yeah... this last ballot everyone voted to give more rights to the chickens but not to the humans..

The voting majority amazes me.

[Sandman33]

Yeah... this last ballot everyone voted to give more rights to the chickens but not to the humans..

The voting majority amazes me.

PLUS 1776

Its a baby CHICK...do you know what's going to happen to it if you just threw it outside? It would die anyway. It would most likely get eaten by another animal like a hawk or a racoon.

Start the anti hawk and racoon lobby now.....morons.

[james1906]

So they should reach adulthood where they can be beheaded, torn apart, deep fried, and served with a biscuit?

[2young2vote]

I would never be able to do that myself, but I don't have any problem at all with other people doing it.

[Bucjason]

PLUS 1776

Its a baby CHICK...do you know what's going to happen to it if you just threw it outside? It would die anyway. It would most likely get eaten by another animal like a hawk or a racoon.

Start the anti hawk and racoon lobby now.....morons.

That is a good point. I'd rather be thrown in a huge grinder than get eaten alive by a hawk..that's gotta be a painful way to go...

[Mandrik]

I wonder how many of the Michael Vick haters eat products from this company. I don't particular enjoy watching baby chickens get grounded up, but I still think they should be treated as property, not with more rights than humans in some situations.

[TheConstitutionLives]

I wonder how many of the Michael Vick haters eat products from this company. I don't particular enjoy watching baby chickens get grounded up, but I still think they should be treated as property, not with more rights than humans in some situations.

Humans are only animals with superior intelligence (though I wonder 'how superior' sometimes). That is unless you actually believe a god created a man out of thin air and used said man's rib to somehow create a female. Of course, this is all before a snake somehow convinces the humans to eat from the one tree they aren't supposed to. If a person believes that, along with a man putting hundreds of millions of species on a boat to avert a flood, voices come from burning bushes, etc, then yeah, humans are all that matter.

[Bucjason]

Humans are only animals with superior intelligence (though I wonder 'how superior' sometimes). That is unless you actually believe a god created a man out of thin air and used said man's rib to somehow create a female. Of course, this is all before a snake somehow convinces the humans to eat from the one tree they aren't supposed to. If a person believes that, along with a man putting hundreds of millions of species on a boat to avert a flood, voices come from burning bushes, etc, then yeah, humans are all that matter.

Just about as stupid as believing the universe could have always existed , without a 1st cause , in an infinite regress...

I could explain away the crazy bible stories by saying the bible is not a literal document , but an atheist has yet to explain to me the "paradox of hilbert's hotel" , and how you can have an infinite number of causes in reverse without a 1st cause. Neither can they explain how the big bang defied the 1st law of thermodynamics, which is "something (mass) can NOT come from nothing". It's really easy to make fun of Jonah getting eaten by a whale , not as easy to make fun of something as complex as the creation of existence. But if you really want to get philosophical , we can all be made to seem stupid.

[youngbuck]

Yeah... this last ballot everyone voted to give more rights to the chickens but not to the humans..

The voting majority amazes me.

THIS is the problem. The story is just a diversionary tactic.

[NYgs23]

Animals should be slaughtered humanely. Wring its neck and serve it as a tasty poussin.

[Kludge]

Oh.... I thought they were grinding up women by the title... Hm.

[ghengis86]

Just about as stupid as believing the universe could have always existed , without a 1st cause , in an infinite regress...

I could explain away the crazy bible stories by saying the bible is not a literal document , but an atheist has yet to explain to me the "paradox of hilbert's hotel" , and how you can have an infinite number of causes in reverse without a 1st cause. Neither can they explain how the big bang defied the 1st law of thermodynamics, which is "something (mass) can NOT come from nothing". It's really easy to make fun of Jonah getting eaten by a whale , not as easy to make fun of something as complex as the creation of existence. But if you really want to get philosophical , we can all be made to seem stupid.

FTW

I've always wondered what the difference was in the two faiths; the faith in a religious god or the faith in the scientific god.

[Dr.3D]

The end of that video says I should think about what happens to the cockerels the next time I am eating breakfast of eggs and bacon.

My hens lay the eggs I eat and they go around and eat bugs and whatever they can find in the yard. I also feed them in their hen house. I know where the eggs I eat come from and it doesn't bother me in the least. I sure wouldn't want to hatch the dozen eggs I get every day from the hen house. I would be overrun with chickens and wouldn't be able to feed all of them, much less give them shelter.

[Philmanoman]

Oh.... I thought they were grinding up women by the title... Hm.

Funny...I was hoping I wasnt the only one thinkin that too lol.

[Philmanoman]

I do eat animals and will continue to do so probably but ive wondered...

How on earth can we expect to treat people right when we cant even treat animals right.We harvest them and slaughter them by the millions and we dont even need too...kinda crazy when you think about it.

and on religion...only thing i know for a fact is I dont know how we were created and neither does anyone else that is alive anyway.For me to believe in one idea over the other seems a bit like insanity.If I find out when I die,thats great,if not,thats great too.

[emazur]

PLUS 1776

Its a baby CHICK...do you know what's going to happen to it if you just threw it outside? It would die anyway. It would most likely get eaten by another animal like a hawk or a racoon.

Start the anti hawk and racoon lobby now.....morons.

Here we fuckin' go. Throwing baby chicks alive into the meat grinder is the most efficient way, so one one should do anything about it.

How about when workers systematically throw adult chicken after adult chicken onto a hard wall, kick them like a damn soccer ball, and fucking stomp on them?
http://www.spike.com/video/chicken-stomping/2672883
Perhaps we can file that under giving workers the most efficient way of getting their shits and giggles? If it is the most efficient way, nothing should be done about it (and nothing was by the courts) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8145415/
Sure a few workers got fired b/c someone had the courage to make undercover videos, but they will only be replaced by workers who will do the same and who will go unnoticed b/c this goes on all the time and you can't film everything (and it wouldn't surprise me if those workers who were fired found jobs at another factory farm and are back to their old tricks).

When chickens are debeaked while conscious so they don't peck each other from confinement in tight spaces on a factory farm, or drugged up to grow quickly to create "Frankenstein birds" who can't walk, or are stuffed into crates without care, or slowly scalded alive:
http://www.spike.com/video/kentucky-fried/2679439
I guess we can also file that under "the most-efficient way", so nothing should be done (sorry, Al Sharpton is in the above vid).

I'm not really opposed to meat-eating per se, but the torture endured from life to death that these animals have to deal with. The videos here are just the tip of the iceberg. You don't want animals to have rights greater than humans, I think most everyone will agree with you. How about simply giving animals the right not to be tortured? Or if you don't want the law to interfere with the "free market", how about taking a little initiative yourself and simply reducing your own animal-product consumption, or step up to vegetarian, and maybe eventually vegan? If the most "efficient way" of obtaining meat and animal products is systematic torture from birth to death or disposal of "useless" life into a meat grinder just after birth, maybe it's time to think less about the most efficient way and start thinking about a different way. America is actually a great place for vegetarians and vegans - I've lived elsewhere where it ain't, and am glad to finally be back.

[Dreamofunity]

Funny...I was hoping I wasnt the only one thinkin that too lol.

You're not alone.


I would never be able to do that myself, but I don't have any problem at all with other people doing it.

That's pretty much my view. I'd probably prefer a more humane way of doing it, maybe so far as boycotting the company if it meant a dollar or so more in price, but ultimately I don't consider baby chickens to have rights and don't usually get that upset over stories like this.

[dannno]

I would never be able to do that myself, but I don't have any problem at all with other people doing it.

Would you pay somebody to do it?

[dannno]

Just about as stupid as believing the universe could have always existed , without a 1st cause , in an infinite regress...

I could explain away the crazy bible stories by saying the bible is not a literal document , but an atheist has yet to explain to me the "paradox of hilbert's hotel" , and how you can have an infinite number of causes in reverse without a 1st cause. Neither can they explain how the big bang defied the 1st law of thermodynamics, which is "something (mass) can NOT come from nothing". It's really easy to make fun of Jonah getting eaten by a whale , not as easy to make fun of something as complex as the creation of existence. But if you really want to get philosophical , we can all be made to seem stupid.

So you think the only two options are Christian fundamentalism or the Big Bang?

[coyote_sprit]

I think everybody would be farmers by tomorrow if they knew what went on at them factories.

[Yieu]

I think the non-aggression principle applies here.

Do unto others, right? I don't want to be ground up alive, so I don't want to grind anyone else up alive, or cause anyone else to be ground up alive through my actions or purchasing habits -- including animals.

[federalistnp]

It's really terrible and there could have been other solutions such as free chickens to would be backyard coop keepers or homesteaders. It is wasteful and shows the same kind of short term disregard that exists in all of corporatism. But I also agree that we also need to talk about the rights of the unborn fetus or the father's rights to have a say since half of the chromosomes come from him.

[Bucjason]

So you think the only two options are Christian fundamentalism or the Big Bang?

No , I'm just saying that some people that are so smug and condescending of christians are really not much better, and can also be questioned and exposed as psuedo-intellectuals...


Bill Mauer , for example...

[pcosmar]

It's really terrible and there could have been other solutions such as free chickens to would be backyard coop keepers or homesteaders. It is wasteful and shows the same kind of short term disregard that exists in all of corporatism. But I also agree that we also need to talk about the rights of the unborn fetus or the father's rights to have a say since half of the chromosomes come from him.

On a small farm these excess males would be discarded. Killed immediately and either be fed to the dog or used as fertilizer.
It makes no sense to waste food on them.

Just the fact that it is a large scale production does not change anything.

This has nothing to do with Fathers rights. That is just absurd.

[Natalie]

I just watched the first 16 seconds and turned it off. Those chicks were so cute!! I'm gagging thinking about them being ground alive. *shudders* I can't watch those animal rights videos. I turned vegan for four months after watching one. I'm planning on eating a grilled chicken salad for lunch today. Muahahaha!

[MelissaWV]

If you have a problem with it, then don't eat chicken? Don't use eggs? It takes extra time and effort to know precisely where all of your food comes from, and make sure everyone does everything perfectly --- not to mention more money. If you want to go that route, no one is stopping you. How, precisely, do you "kindly kill" creatures? I don't think being strangled sounds good, or electrocuted, or ground up in a meat grinder, or stepped on, or punched, or clubbed, or having my throat slit. How, precisely, SHOULD food animals be killed? I don't know about you, but being dead doesn't sound particularly good to me regardless of how I got that way. Perhaps we should just eat the animals alive! That way, if they're quick, they can escape! Here cow cow cow...

My actual cocnern, upon reading these stories and watching the video, was about health. I wonder if the facilities suffer any increased exposure with all that organic material flying around. Chickens are dirty creatures.

I think I'll have chicken for lunch, too :) MMMMMM MMMMM!

[Dr.3D]

On a small farm these excess males would be discarded. Killed immediately and either be fed to the dog or used as fertilizer.
It makes no sense to waste food on them.

Just the fact that it is a large scale production does not change anything.

This has nothing to do with Fathers rights. That is just absurd.

When I hatch a clutch of eggs, I let them all grow up to fryer size and then pick out the ones I'll keep for eggs and the rest I'll eat. Nothing like fresh tender young chicken on the BBQ.

[Pod]

I suppose all you shocked people don`t kill flies either eh? You just let them walk around on your table instead of smashing them?

But wait a fly doesn`t count because it isn`t cute, right?

[Yieu]

I suppose all you shocked people don`t kill flies either eh? You just let them walk around on your table instead of smashing them?

But wait a fly doesn`t count because it isn`t cute, right?

You're right, I don't kill flies. If there is an insect in my home, I capture it and release it outside. And it does not take much effort, either.

[Icymudpuppy]

Buy local. Buy Direct.

I know where my meat, eggs, milk, etc, comes from. Meat from Les and Buster, Eggs from Barbara, and milk from Donald. I have been through their farms and know that their operations are clean, humane, organic, and nutritious. It is cheaper to buy direct from them than to buy from my supermarket on a pound for pound level because I have cut out the middle-man.

[orafi]

I suppose all you shocked people don`t kill flies either eh? You just let them walk around on your table instead of smashing them?

But wait a fly doesn`t count because it isn`t cute, right?

A chick doesn't fly around spreading disease and laying eggs on your food, does it?

[Brian4Liberty]

What do they do with the "ground chick" meat?!

[Liberty Star]

Who knows, they could be selling that for use in hotdogs or frozen "tender" patties - it's all about "capitalism' afterall for some people it seems.

[Dr.3D]

What do they do with the "ground chick" meat?!

It probably goes into pet foods.

[Brian4Liberty]

Who knows, they could be selling that for use in hotdogs or frozen "tender" patties - it's all about "capitalism' afterall for some people it seems.

Kids love chicken nuggets! :eek:

[Brian4Liberty]

It probably goes into pet foods.

I hope so...

[JamesButabi]

slim jims. You ever see the ingredient mechanically separated chicken? Now you know!

[Yieu]

I hope so...

Hope is not good enough. 'Assume the worst' often is a good policy. It's up to the individual whether they want to partake in it or not.

[Bucjason]

What do they do with the "ground chick" meat?!

Hotdogs most likely...