Now, I know what you're thinking - BUT I'm not a vegetarian. I am a very enthusiastic omnivore indeed. So again, you might say, "So what's the big deal?"
The big deal is simply this: Restaurants want to make their food as cheaply as is possible while maintaining good flavour. This means that (unless you are informed otherwise) the chicken you eat at a restaurant wasn't a happy one, nor is it very good for you.
Factory farming, in a nutshell, is the raising of chickens (and also pigs) for eating and eggs in very poor conditions with the aim to save as much money as possible. It means that farmers can charge low prices for the meat, which increases demand from consumers. If you go to the shop, you see "2 chickens for $10" and think "Brilliant! Cheap protein!"
However, you'd be sadly mistaken. The thing is, the reason that chicken can be so cheap is because it has been either caged or cramped into a barn - living out its short life in claustrophobic and unhygienic conditions (think, sitting in your own wee and poo), unable to exercise, clean itself or eat natural food (getting pellets instead) so that it rapidly gains weight, and never seeing the sun.
This rapid weight gain means that factory-farmed chickens are not protein-rich, as you'd hope. Think of it like this: A person becomes obese, not muscly, by leading a sedentary life. And so chickens become fatty, not meaty, when they are factory farmed. And so you're not feeding your family protein when you purchase a cheap chicken - you're feeding them fat. Obese chickens make for obese people.
Pigs suffer similar - if not worse - treatment to factory-farmed chickens. While pigs are intelligent and affectionate animals, much like cats and dogs, they are kept in appalling conditions and treated with cruelty. Would you cut off your cat's tail or clip its teeth without pain relief? Would you confine your mummy dog about to give birth to a cold, concrete stall where she can't even turn around to see her new pups? I don't really think I need to say more.
This is the way that all of the meat you eat in a restaurant or other food store (cafe, fast-food chain, even the bacon on a bacon-and-cheese roll from the bakery) is raised, unless labeled otherwise. And that, my dear readers, is why I choose either vegetarian or chicken-and-pork free options when I eat out of home. You see, sheep and cows get a much better lot than pigs and chickens do. It's almost impossible to factory farm sheep and cows, because pretty much, they'll get sick and die before they're ready to be killed and sold as meat. So I have no qualms at all about tucking into a rack of lamb, because I know that it lived a life in the sun.
My general rule is this: If chicken, pork or eggs are not labeled 'free range' or 'RSPCA-approved higher welfare' then I don't eat it. Simple as that. And I feel a lot better for it.
Some links:
The Animals Australia "Make it Possible" campaign video with a lot of information on factory farming and how you can help.
The "Make it Possible" website with links and resources:
RSPCA "Shop Humane" site with helpful info about where to buy RSPCA-approved meat and meat products:
