I recently finished Nicolette Hahn Niman’s book, Righteous Porkchop: Findaing a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms. And I can no longer ignore how my meat (or eggs, or cheese, or butter) got to my plate.

I like so many Americans just take my food for granted. Blindly walking into my local grocery store and bringing out some piece of meat to fry up on the grill. Animals are put through a living hell just so I can get the butcher’s special. Like so many other products for sell we have compromised our values, our ethics to save the almighty buck. I’m just as guilty as the next person, buying the cheap tennis shoes from the big box store.

I know I sound a bit harsh, but I’m so mad.

Today while I was on break at work I happened to catch a Perdue Chicken commercial on TV. A goofy-looking drill sergant is making his way through a chicken “coop” calling the chickens to order. The room is extra roomy and the chickens all have nice wooden perches lined with fresh clean hay. The sergant confenscates packages of candies in one hen’s nest.

THIS IS SUPPOSE TO REASSURE ME. I’m so releaved that the Perdue company takes that extra time to inspect their products. I wouldn’t want any of those silly chickens spending their days eating bon bons.

Factory farming is not the only way. There are many other family farms that produce higher quality meat, eggs and dairy products without being inhumane or harming the environment.  A great place to start to find food you don’t have to feel guilty eating (or get some horrible flesh eating staph infection from (see Kristof’s Nytimes column or Mother Earth News article) is The Eating Well Guide online. I know that I have not completely made the jump to humane and healthy foods but I hope to.

For those of you with strong stomaches here is a video that shows reality for so many animals raised in the US. And this in a country where we buy cute outfits and gourmet treats for our pets.