We Need to Boycott KFC
One thing that will be a recurring theme on this blog is my love for animals. In fact, one of the reasons I’m a doctor today is that I had originally wanted to become a veterinarian, but I didn’t think that I could handle the death of all my patients. Many people laugh at this and say “oh, and all your human patients dying doesn’t matter?” Of course it does, but obviously my thought process was a step ahead of them when I was 10 years old. Unlike physicians, where many of their patients even sometimes outlive them (especially if you are in Family Practice), if you are a veterinarian, every one of your patients will die three times over (assuming the maximal life-span of dogs and cats are 15 years, and you practice veterinary medicine for 45 years). What a sad job! Not to mention the fact that you have to euthanize animals as part of your occupation.
Today I will focus on one particular example of humankind’s utter disrespect for other forms of life than themselves. I will speak more about the philosophy that I have adopted concerning all of life in another blog, that of Albert Schweitzer’s “Reverence for Life.” (a wonderful world-view that would make this world a MUCH better place if we all thought like him).
I first came upon the atrocities of Kentucky Fried Chicken in February while searching PETA’s website (PETA stands for “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals”). Linked on their page is a website that they developed called www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com. I had heard vaguely about the cruel treatment practices of KFC in the past but had no clue what they were actually doing until I came across this website.
The first thing I watched absolutely horrified me and almost made me wish that I did not belong to the human race. I clicked on a link to a video of a PSA by Al Sharpton (a man I have great respect for and someone I wish to God would have won the presidential election, besides Dennis Kucinich of course!) which detailed what goes on in the warehouses that contain KFC’s chickens. What they do to these poor chickens is completely appalling.
When a KFC chick is just a few days old, they use a machine with a searing hot blade to completely chop off their beaks. The video of this is awful to watch, and I suggest you ready yourself to be shocked if you indeed choose to view it. Some of the little chicks even die from shock due to this barbaric practice. The pain continues for weeks on end.
It gets much worse. Warehouses of chickens are crammed so tight, that the chickens completely lose it and start attacking each other because they can’t even move. They’re fed so aggressively (to maximize meat) and as a result become so fat so quickly, that their legs break and they can’t even walk anymore. Chicken waste is not even cleaned up, and the ammonia fumes from the dung sometimes suffocates chickens.
The slaughtering process is even worse. In order to save money, KFC uses inadequate electricity to stun the chickens before they slit their throats and dip them in scalding hot water to burn their feathers off. That means that many of the chickens are conscious when they are put into the boiling water. KFC could easily afford to knock the chickens unconscious before they boil their feathers off, but of course their greed gets in the way and they could care less about other life.
The atrocities continue. PETA has obtained videos of the warehouse workers actually abusing chickens by stomping on them, picking them up and throwing them against a wall, and numerous other appalling acts against these poor animals who have done absolutely nothing wrong. One video even depicts warehouse workers tearing live chickens apart with their bare hands (this warehouse was in West Virginia, what a big surprise!). Since these workers get paid by how many chickens they can ship in an hour, they grab the chickens and toss them inside tight crates as if they were rocks and as quick as they can. Many of the chickens end up being injured with broken bones in this manner.
KFC knows all about this, and because they are greedy for profit, they do nothing to stop their sadistic practices. PETA has made suggestions numerous times to KFC on how they can slaughter their chickens humanely, yet KFC does not listen. All of the other fast food chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s, have adopted humane slaughter practices, but KFC continues to reject PETA’s advice.
Temple Grandin, a fellow animal lover who has just written an excellent book on animals from a unique point of view (she is autistic), is also an expert on engineering humane slaughter systems for numerous food companies. Earlier this month, she quit Yum Brand’s (parent company of KFC) animal welfare committee after KFC asked her to sign a confidentiality agreement requiring her to field all media questions concerning animal welfare to KFC headquarters. (Peep the article here).
Today I will focus on one particular example of humankind’s utter disrespect for other forms of life than themselves. I will speak more about the philosophy that I have adopted concerning all of life in another blog, that of Albert Schweitzer’s “Reverence for Life.” (a wonderful world-view that would make this world a MUCH better place if we all thought like him).
I first came upon the atrocities of Kentucky Fried Chicken in February while searching PETA’s website (PETA stands for “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals”). Linked on their page is a website that they developed called www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com. I had heard vaguely about the cruel treatment practices of KFC in the past but had no clue what they were actually doing until I came across this website.
The first thing I watched absolutely horrified me and almost made me wish that I did not belong to the human race. I clicked on a link to a video of a PSA by Al Sharpton (a man I have great respect for and someone I wish to God would have won the presidential election, besides Dennis Kucinich of course!) which detailed what goes on in the warehouses that contain KFC’s chickens. What they do to these poor chickens is completely appalling.
When a KFC chick is just a few days old, they use a machine with a searing hot blade to completely chop off their beaks. The video of this is awful to watch, and I suggest you ready yourself to be shocked if you indeed choose to view it. Some of the little chicks even die from shock due to this barbaric practice. The pain continues for weeks on end.
It gets much worse. Warehouses of chickens are crammed so tight, that the chickens completely lose it and start attacking each other because they can’t even move. They’re fed so aggressively (to maximize meat) and as a result become so fat so quickly, that their legs break and they can’t even walk anymore. Chicken waste is not even cleaned up, and the ammonia fumes from the dung sometimes suffocates chickens.
The slaughtering process is even worse. In order to save money, KFC uses inadequate electricity to stun the chickens before they slit their throats and dip them in scalding hot water to burn their feathers off. That means that many of the chickens are conscious when they are put into the boiling water. KFC could easily afford to knock the chickens unconscious before they boil their feathers off, but of course their greed gets in the way and they could care less about other life.
The atrocities continue. PETA has obtained videos of the warehouse workers actually abusing chickens by stomping on them, picking them up and throwing them against a wall, and numerous other appalling acts against these poor animals who have done absolutely nothing wrong. One video even depicts warehouse workers tearing live chickens apart with their bare hands (this warehouse was in West Virginia, what a big surprise!). Since these workers get paid by how many chickens they can ship in an hour, they grab the chickens and toss them inside tight crates as if they were rocks and as quick as they can. Many of the chickens end up being injured with broken bones in this manner.
KFC knows all about this, and because they are greedy for profit, they do nothing to stop their sadistic practices. PETA has made suggestions numerous times to KFC on how they can slaughter their chickens humanely, yet KFC does not listen. All of the other fast food chains, including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s, have adopted humane slaughter practices, but KFC continues to reject PETA’s advice.
Temple Grandin, a fellow animal lover who has just written an excellent book on animals from a unique point of view (she is autistic), is also an expert on engineering humane slaughter systems for numerous food companies. Earlier this month, she quit Yum Brand’s (parent company of KFC) animal welfare committee after KFC asked her to sign a confidentiality agreement requiring her to field all media questions concerning animal welfare to KFC headquarters. (Peep the article here).
This abuse has been going on for years. 750 million chickens are killed each year by KFC. They are completely aware of this holocaust, yet will do nothing to improve the lives of their chickens because they are so greedy for money. Luckily I don’t think I have eaten at KFC in 3 or 4 years, and I guarantee you I will not be going there anytime soon. Although I do not completely subscribe to PETA’s philosophy (I obviously believe as omnivores it is OK for humans to eat meat, but that does not mean we should not have respect for the life which provided that meat), I will join PETA’s effort to boycott KFC. After reading this and viewing PETA’s website, I hope you do too.
posted by J-Mart @ 2:47 PM
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