Mega Packaged Food Corporation Calls for New Killing Methods.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006
FA.Net

Last September, shareholders rejected PETA's proposal to see if such a switch was feasible.
Some studies show this form of killing is less inhumane and improves meat quality and yield. A spokesperson for Tysons Foods Inc., a ConAgra supplier, said he was not convinced about CAS as it is still an emerging technology. PETA is also targeting other companies that use chicken - while Applebee's shareholders have twice rejected a similar proposal, McDonald's agreed in 2004 to study the method. Recently, the organization asked Costco suppliers to use CAS. An op-ed by Paul Shapiro, director of the Factory Farming Campaign at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), in the July 12th Baltimore Sun, urges poultry processors on the Delmarva Peninsula to switch to CAS.

Other industry reform actions, such as the HSUS's campaign to pressure grocery chains to stop selling eggs from caged hens, are meeting with some success (detailed in the Hartford Courant article). Hens in battery cages cannot spread their wings or engage in nesting, perching, dust-bathing and other natural behaviors. Conventional producers prefer the method because they say it is produces cheaper eggs for consumers and keeps the birds more free of diseases. Recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports show the average price of a conventional Grade A extra-large dozen was 89 cents, and a dozen extra-large cage-free brown eggs averaged $2.50. Americans on average spend only 9.9 % of their disposable income on food, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service, a figure that has steadily declined over time.

The June 12 issue of Time magazine features a series of articles on food. In one, entitled "Six Rules for Eating Wisely," author Michael Pollan writes : "Spend more, eat less. Americans are as addicted to cheap food as we are to cheap oil. We spend only 9.7% of our income on food, a smaller share than any other nation. Is it a coincidence we spend a larger percentage than any other on health care (16%)? All this 'cheap food' is making us fat and sick. It's also bad for the health of the environment. The higher the quality of the food you eat, the more nutritious it is and the less of it you'll need to feel satisfied."