# Yet another reason to go vegetarian. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598 "2003-05-02T12:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![the\_great\_dalmuti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b2d939/32.png) [@the\_great\_dalmuti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_great_dalmuti)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/1 "2003-05-02T12:13:23Z")
[Here’s the full story.](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&ncid=757&e=1&u=/nm/20030414/od_nm/odd_chickens_dc) > [@](#): > > LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two California poultry farmers who fed some 30,000 live chickens into wood chippers will not face criminal charges because they had permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prosecutors said on Friday > > … > > The farmers needed to destroy the chickens because they were “spent” – or no longer able to produce eggs – and could not make chicken soup out of them because the farms were under quarantine for the poultry virus Exotic Newcastle Disease, District Attorney’s spokeswoman Gayle Stewart said. > > … > > Pacelle said the District Attorney’s decision not to prosecute the brothers rested on the “faulty assumption” that using wood chippers to kill chickens was an accepted practice. Whenever you eat eggs or chicken, remember that you’re supporting an industry which dictates that “using wood chippers to kill chickens” is “an accepted practice.” Best, TGD ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/2 "2003-05-02T12:22:53Z")
How would you have liked them to kill the chickens? ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/3 "2003-05-02T12:43:13Z")
and why is this a reason to go vegetarian? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/4 "2003-05-02T12:45:26Z")
hmmmmmmm chicken ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/5 "2003-05-02T12:49:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by the\_great\_dalmuti \* > **Whenever you eat eggs or chicken, remember that you’re supporting an industry which dictates that “using wood chippers to kill chickens” is "an accepted practice."** Can-do. 'Scuse me while I order a ham-n-cheese omlette. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/6 "2003-05-02T12:52:43Z")
The only reason I would ever stop eating eggs or chicken is if a chicken itself were to walk up to me and plead me not to eat it. Then again, I am bigger than the chicken… ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/7 "2003-05-02T12:59:03Z")
I don’t see a problem with the method of dispatching the chickens as described in the OP. It was economical and expeditious. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/8 "2003-05-02T12:59:20Z")
mmm…shredded chicken for breakfast. Seriously: > [@](#): > > they were doing “what we thought we had to do” based on expert advice and stopped as soon as they learned otherwise Well, were the farmers doing what they had to do in a manner that wasn’t the right way to go about it? Sure. Did they screw up? Absolutely. Is that going to stop me from eating chicken, eggs or any other sort of meat? Nope, not at all. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/9 "2003-05-02T13:01:44Z")
I agree with you **Juanita**. A wood chipper would be a quick death for a chicken. And, if they already had a wood chipper it wouldn’t be very expensive to the company. That is why I wanted to know how the OP suggested they be killed. I am curious weither it is really the method or the result he has a problem with. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/10 "2003-05-02T13:04:34Z")
I just got a great mental image of the movie _Fargo_, except substituting Big Bird for Steve Buscemi. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/11 "2003-05-02T13:08:58Z")
Bleary eyed and slow, I got out of bed this morning. As I leave the comfort of my mattress, I ponder how the simple act of sleeping was causing me to support an industry that charges people outrageous prices for blind items. I shuffled into the bathroom to relieve myself of a night’s pent-up pee. As I flushed, I was reminded of how my local water district was planning to charge me through my taxes for the new sewer upgrade while doing nothing about the black stuff that comes out in our water. From here I head over to the computer in an effort to see what changes have been wrought upon our world while I was supporting the evil mattress industry. As a result, I find myself unwittingly in collusion with the shady business practices of Microsoft. How did it come to this? How have I helped in the perpetuation of a monopolistic software empire? I stare coolly into the ethical minefield that is my kitchen. What new horror awaits? ---
**Author:** ![deball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@deball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deball)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/12 "2003-05-02T13:10:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by the\_great\_dalmuti \* > > Whenever you eat eggs or chicken, remember that you’re supporting an industry which dictates that “using wood chippers to kill chickens” is “an accepted practice.” > > Best, > > TGD \*\* I didn’t see any industry dictating in the article. Sounds like the farmers were baffled about how to kill all those older, potentially diseased chickens. Cetainly an ax and stump wouldn’t do the trick. Too many chickens. Burning them would be worse. They probably asked around, and someone suggested the wood chipper. Then, they got permission from a senior veterinarian with the Agriculture Department to use it. (Not sarcasm) How _can_ you kill 30,000 potentially diseased chickens humanely? On that note: 30,000 chickens in a wood chipper! That’s gross. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/13 "2003-05-02T13:30:17Z")
Anyone ever see the Penn & Teller act using a bunny and a wood-chipper? They walk onstage, magically produce the rabbit and then throw it into a wood-chipper with red junk coming out the other side. But they’re shock-magicians, right? So that isn’t real, right? They must have used a trick chipper, right? Or… -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/14 "2003-05-02T13:36:30Z")
Well, now we know where McNuggets come from. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/15 "2003-05-02T13:38:23Z")
I see no problem whatsoever. That huge spinning grining blade would kill a chicken instantly. It seems a lot surer faster and more humane then twisting their heads off (which is how I did it) trying to chop it off, drowning them. Once any part of the chicken touches the blade it will get sucked right in so there are no valid concerns about maimed chickens suffering. Unlike most other methods there is no likelihood of a chicken surviving when it comes out the other end of the chipper, and lingering in pain. Show me another method that is so sure and fast and foolproof. It also takes care of body disposal in admirable fashion. The only objection I can ascertain is that these chickens were under quarantine. That chipper would create a huge cloud of chicken mist that would float around with the wind. Do this in a field and move the chipper around though, and you’ve fertilized the feed. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/16 "2003-05-02T13:40:17Z")
:rolleyes: **the\_great\_dalmuti** -How is this a reason to go vegetarian? Didn’t a kid die recentally because his parents forced him to ‘go vegetarian’? ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/17 "2003-05-02T13:40:39Z")
Actually, I don’t eat chicken. Something about eating a bird, and all those icky little bones…yuck! Now beef, that’s different. Mmmmmm…beef ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/18 "2003-05-02T13:40:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > \*\*That chipper would create a huge cloud of chicken mist that would float around with the wind. > \*\* Am I a bad person if this made me hungry? ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/19 "2003-05-02T13:42:25Z")
Granted, I do think it’s an waste of pontentially tasty chicken meat. Think of the starving children…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598/20 "2003-05-02T13:45:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > \*\*I just got a great mental image of the movie _Fargo_, except substituting Big Bird for Steve Buscemi. \*\* **friedo** , you are a sick and disgusting pervert. I think I love you. Regards, Shodan [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-reason-to-go-vegetarian/172598.md?page=2)