It looks like that chicken is aiming a fresh egg right at the camera...

Guess what? Chicken butt.

Proof I need to pay closer attention as I'm scrolling through Google Reader: I read "Eat Humane: Food Guides for Meat, *Dogs*, and Dairy.

Yikes! I didn't think this was that kind of website.

What is wrong with that chicken's butt?!

For chicken and pork and eggs, "pasture raised" is what you are looking for. I think it may be referred to as "naturally raised" but you need make sure it's pasture raised. For cattle, most cattle are technically "grass fed" most of their lives. Its the last few months of their lives, where commercially-processed cattle are sent to feed lots where they live in squalid conditions and are fattened up with hormones and additives, that make the difference. So you are looking for "grass finished" beef to be truly naturally raised.

I think even many of the smaller, naturally-raising farmers use the same slaughter houses that commercial ranchers do, so it gets a lot more fuzzy with the humane-ness of that part. I think the quality of their lives tips the balance in favor of method of death, ultimately.

Is it really necessary to show the the butt end of a chicken in the opening photo?

Thanks for the guide! I have a pocket guide for seafood the the Monterey Aquarium (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_recommendations.aspx) so in those situation where I have to eat seafood I don't feel to bad about it

I suggest reading Jonathan Saffran Foers book "Eating Meat" if you're interested in knowing exactly where your meat comes from! It exposes the shocking truths about factory farming and such.

the best way to know? buy local and visit the farm. labels are meaningless if you don't know where your food actually comes from.

Just a heads up that Whole Foods have "grass-fed, grain-finished" beef - what? Don't get suckered into the whole grass-fed thing, because it can get quite tricky.

babyfishmouth is right, pastured poultry and pigs are the way to go, try to eat more bison than beef.

Foer's book is actually called Eating Animals and is apparently pretty eye-opening in a horrifying way.

Just downloaded the iPhone app, thanks!

Or, you know, you could just go veg :-)

Oh yes! I'm sorry.. Eating Animals. Thank you for the correction.
And I absolutely agree with veggiesho! Just become vegetarian so you don't have to worry about all of that stuff!

"Proof I need to pay closer attention as I'm scrolling through Google Reader: I read "Eat Humane: Food Guides for Meat, *Dogs*, and Dairy.

Yikes! I didn't think this was that kind of website."

really, there's no difference. dogs and cows - both animals. in some countries it's absurd to eat cows just as much as americans find it absurd to eat dog. how about not eating any animals instead of picking favorites?

anyways, gross.

and there's no "humane" meat. it's humane not to kill them at all. it's ridiculous.

Nothing "humane" happens in the bowels of a kill floor.

"Humane" means to be concerned with the alleviation of suffering. These beings are not ill, maimed or otherwise "unhealthy". They are not in an aging pain. They are delivered "fit for living", so there is no "suffering to alleviate".

If one is really concerned with animal "welfare" the best thing that can be done for animals is to stop eating them! There are so many healthy and satisfying plant based alternatives.

Want to create a better world? Eat like you mean it-Go Vegan
http://www.nonviolenceunited.org/veganvideo.html

This is why my stay in this community will be short. All the lecturing in the comments get really old, really fast.

Did I miss something or did PETA just swarm The Kitchn's comments section all of a sudden?

Goodness. There's nothing wrong with eating meat; if anything, our eating meat has ensured survival of both cows and chickens. Humans were born omnivores, and I sure feel much better after eating responsibly raised and slaughtered meat than I am after eating fake, usually overly processed substitutes for it, like that awful Tofurky junk. Plus all that money towards soy-based products ironically feeds back into giving more money towards the factory farming system, since the government gives more money to subsidizing soy which is used BOTH in factory farm feed as well as in "vegetarian alternatives."

If you want to make a difference, you won't do it with changing your eating habits. If you're doing it for religious or dietary reasons, that's respectable, but you won't make a difference by funneling your money into the factory farm system via a different (not to mention usually much more expensive) means. The best thing to do is eat less processed foods, whether it's omnivore-friendly or not.

I'm a little late chiming in here but I'm catching up on my posts and the news about the dairy farm abuse in Ohio (Google if you're interested). I find it heartbreaking that animals can be abused at a family farm, by a worker AND the farm owner, although only the worker was arrested.

I know that many of us only eat food that we can visit. But what can we do as eaters to demand better behavior from our food producers across the board? I'm in the midst of contacting food companies to find out if they have ways of monitoring their suppliers. I know that most farmers go into the business because they care for their animals, but the system has become so depraved that I feel at a loss. On the other hand, maybe it's that reporting has become more prominent and we are on the path toward more humane standards across the board.