by Barbara Fairbanks, VP of HSNTx Board of Directors

Picking up a package of meat, chicken, or carton of eggs to purchase in the grocery store seems far away from the images that make so many of us crusade tirelessly for humane treatment of our companion animals.  But is it, really?

I would guess that if you are in this website, you are more interested than the average Joe in humane principles.   

If we (those interested in humane principles) were to spend a day with each of the animals that ended up in those grocery store packages, many of us likely would think twice about picking up the package.   Most of us would see the personality in each of the animals that ultimately winds up as a food source, and would have a hard time disassociating the living animal with the flesh on our plate.   I doubt that many of us would make it half-way through a slaughtering or processing area without pledging to eat less meat.   

If we had to meet the hens that laid many of our grocery store eggs, we would see the overly-crowded, inhumane conditions in which they live and would likely think twice about buying "regular" eggs again.

But modern society allows us to place as much distance as we like between the food animals and our dinner tables.   As advocates for animals, isn't it really our responsibility to know more about those animals we never see?

It is becoming easier to put our money where our mouth is and purchase more free-range and certified humane products for our own kitchens.  Consumers still have to educate themselves about these types of products, because many labels are misleading.  Checking a website or making a phone call can provide some clarification.  For instance, a closer check into an "organic" label might reveal that an animal was fed a certified organic diet but was not actually free-range.   "Free roaming" laying hens may still be caged most of the day, and have likely gone through a painful de-beaking procedure to keep them from harming each other under stressful, crowded conditions.

Not all animal advocates are going to become lacto-ovo (dairy & egg allowed) vegetarians or vegans (strictly no animal products), but we can at least ensure that we are buying animal products that are consistent with our interest in the humane treatment of our non-companion animals.