What arrived first, egg or chicken?
Lets hear your speculation.
What arrived first, chicken or egg?
Were there feathers before ovulation?
I used to work with a man who earlier in his life worked in a poultry processing plant. He would work all night killing, plucking, gutting, chilling and packing young chickens. The chickens would ship to the counters of grocery stores or find themselves turning on the rotisserie at restaurants.
Every once in a while they would receive an order to process a group of older laying hens who's production had fallen off. These birds were prepared for a company that made soup, meat for soup making need not be overly tender. My friend told me that often when slaughtering the hens they would find eggs within the bodies of the chickens. The crew would divide the eggs up at the end of their shift and bring them home to feed to their families.
I eat lots of eggs and enjoy chicken soup, either canned or homemade, but I found this story to be rather disturbing. I know that my eggs are not gathered by pretty maidens in bonnet and apron. I know that large scale production keeps prices down and puts protein on the plates of children who would otherwise have very little of it, but there's something about the industrialization of agriculture that is undeniably nasty.
If you are a carnivore with a conscience,
eat less meat, though eating meat be seductive.
If you happen to be an older laying hen,
then for goodness sakes remain productive!
