Shameless self/cross-promotion

I visited Marin Sun Farms last Sunday, and I wrote a huge long post about it for The Ethicurean. It was a very informative, interesting experience, which I may or may not have conveyed in my account.

I didn't get as up close and personal with the animals as I was hoping, but I did learn a few things (that I didn't put in the other blog):

• Male broiler chicks are killed as soon as they hatch. They don't fatten as fast as female chicks, so they're not economically viable.
• Rancher David Evans is not a fan of kosher slaughter, in which the steer has its throat cut and slowly bleeds to death. He thinks it's more humane for slaughterhouses to use a stun gun, which causes instand brain death.
• You can't kill one steer on a farm and legally sell its meat to consumers, but you can kill up to 2,000 chickens and do so.
• Chickens are not very bright. If there is one laying box that is slightly darker or quieter than the others they will all lay their eggs in there, in a big broken pile.