Good old USDA. Now they're letting chickens from China into the country--whether cooked or uncooked. Sez the USDA (FSIS), if we say the growing/living conditions for chickens in China are the same as these conditions for them here, what's the problem? Well, for one thing, the growing/living conditions for chickens HERE, even the USDA approved ones, are nothing to brag about.
"The USDA seems to have no recognition whatsoever that animals are
conscious beings with memories, social lives, experiences and
goal-oriented behavior. The agency simply pretends that “all animals are
mindless animated matter” and every USDA policy and regulation flows
from that delusion." (from Alex Jones' INFOWARS.com/usda-to-allow-u-s-to-be-overrun-with-contaminated-chicken-from-china).
So....it's come to this. a big supermarket chain hereabouts offers rotisserie cooked chickens every Friday for the price of 2 for $10. Ordinarily, a rotisserie-cooked chicken weighs about 4+ lb., and costs about $7.99 each--virtually the same cost as for the same size of chicken uncooked. So, if you're not paying any more (and often a bit less) to get a chicken that's already cooked (with 3 or 4 different flavorings/spice blends), what's not to like?
Well, I have to ask myself what kind of chickens do the big markets use for these bargain rotisserie birds? The pristine, well fed and well cared-for chickens? Or the ones who can barely stagger out of the cage? Or the ones that come from China all loaded with arsenic and lead and other goodies not considered newsworthy by China or the USDA? At 2 for $10, that's taking a big chance with your food budget.
Oh, I've done this myself. I love roasted chickens, and there are days when I can't deal with cooking or eating any more farm-raised salmon or tilapia or canned tuna or eggs (thanks again, chickens!).
To me, any chicken that weighs more than 2.5 or 3 pounds is undesirable. They are either too old or have not been fed properly to a chicken and are thus, too fat. Young free-range chickens wouldn't be that heavy, I think. The chickens/chicken parts in supermarkets are gross! (Oh...and I did not even mention the possibility/probability that the chickens have been injected with salt water.)
ReplyDeleteCop Car
P.S. My family grew chickens WIWAK. Elder Brother and I fed/cared for the chickens, our parents killed them, and we plucked and cleaned the carcasses; so, I think I know what a "good" chicken is like!
one of my friends & her grandma in ND and I raised Cornish chickens one year. (they called them "Cornings.") That breed gets very BIG. (Rock Cornish Hens are actually 6-week old Cornish chickens). My friend and her grandma used to let a few get very big before they butchered them--14-16 pounds. And they'd have them at Thanksgiving instead of turkeys. Ordinarily, I look for a 4-lb. chicken in the store. and clear out and throw away all the fat. But I'm out of the chicken raising business now. that was like 45 years ago!
ReplyDeleteWhat is WIWAK?? My goodness, Cop Car!! You have had quite the education!!
ReplyDeleteI rarely buy a chicken, but when I do, the origin of the bird is on the label. I don't have chickens at the moment, but I'll be getting some again . . . The homegrown ones have the most flavour and are a LOT smaller.
ReplyDeleteCop Car and Peggy: You're very right that homegrown chickens have the best/most flavor. The ones from the store taste like the plastic in which they are wrapped. Peggy....I recall going to Sainsbury's and being amazed that each fruit & vegetable bin displayed the country of origin. At WF, we get this informations on some items (e.g.,seedless grapes from Chile, oranges from S Africa, zucchini from Mexico, bananas from Costa Rica, blueberries from Canada, garlic from China) but as for most of the rest, we're in the dark. They make a big deal out of "local," i.e., Maryland, peaches, but Cathy, who grew up in Maryland, won't touch them. She says the farmers have told her peaches are the hardest to raise without copious sprayings of pesticide, etc. Elaine W. used to tell us they did just fine eating fresh fruits & veg. in Mexico every winter. They'd go to the markets, bring all the produce home, rinse the mud off, then put all in the sink, fill the sink with water, add a splash of bleach (Hilex or Clorox), and let it sit for an hour or two before they rinsed everything again, then let it air dry. I think that was some kind of magic, as I've never read that household bleach will counteract pesticides. Might as well have used holy water and said a few prayers.
ReplyDeleteWIWAK = when I was a kid
ReplyDeleteGot a good laugh out of bleaching the produce. Well...that might be useful in lands where cholera is an issue; but, as you note, doesn't kill the pesticides - might even interact with them to make something worse. (You'd have to ask a chemist.)
CC
well, I think I was mistaking what they were hoping to protect against. This was at least 25 years ago, when we gringos were not as aware of the dangers of pesticides as we are now. The people who worked in the fields were well aware of the dangers of pesticides. My friends did not get cholera! points for that. they also did not get the dreaded "turista," which is kinda similar, non?
ReplyDeleteWIWAK is an abbreviation for "When I Was A Kid" :-)
ReplyDeleteWIWAK, we dint talk like that! when did acronyms become so popular??
ReplyDeleteGuapo from Democracy for Bell posted a similar article: http://bit.ly/1bUdgbK
ReplyDeleteGuapo from Democracy for Bell posted a similar article: thttp://bit.ly/1bUdgbK
ReplyDeleteThe best chicken I ever ate was in Spain,from an open market in a town south of Barcelona. I think most chicken is ho-hum at best,even "organic"chicken.
ReplyDeleteThe best chicken i ever ate was at my mother's dining room table--or my own, for that matter. never been to barcelona, but I'd love to go there and sample the chicken!
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