Sorry gang, I suppose I (hopefully for a brief moment) had become one of the people I was railing about.
Deborah, yes I understand where you're coming from now. If one were to fly over my county, they'd think small cities have sprung up out of nowhere, so many poultry houses abound. There is a small concerned citizens group working to block the spread of CAFOs in our area. From what I understand, it's a vicious cycle. The bank lends money to begin a poultry house (line of 6 minimum), Sanderson Farms sends the first batch of chicks out and from then on, the farmer is working not for himself, but for the next batch of medicated chickens. Besides Deborah's mention of the smell (you can't sit outside if you live close to one), the roads are deteoriating badly because our little county farm-to-market roads weren't designed for the 18 wheeler traffic of feed delivery and finished poultry going to and from these places. So land prices have gone down in the last few years. Also, ironic that we have many wild hogs (Russian wild boar) around and one solution the poultry houses have found to dead birds is to toss them in a heap out where the hogs can get at them. I understand Europe is creating a niche market for our 'organic' feral hogs, but if they're testing the meat, looks like it would show the same crap that's fed to the chickens. The banks are repossessing these farms when they can't pay their note, and Sanderson Farms is 'restocking' with their own workers. Since the dollar figure given per chicken is determined by Sanderson Farms itself, a bit like the fox guarding the henhouse to me. But the lure gets people every time. Promise them that you'll deliver chicks, feed and all they have to do is take care of them and they'll earn $17,000 every 7 weeks, and many people will decide the risks aren't that great after all. I don't know how many times I've broken an egg from the store next to one from my own hens and there is absolutely no comparison. Ditto a carton of milk vs from my own dairy stock. If I can ever figure out which end's up in biodynamic practices, I'm hoping I'll be able to say the same thing about my vegetable crops also.
