Okay you guys, let’s get real for a minute. Bear with me while I talk about some gross stuff. And for once it’s not me talking about poop. At least not human poop.
As you can probably tell if you follow me on any social media, I’m obsessed with shopping at Whole Foods. Not just because I want to be super cool and look really pretentious, but I have changed the way I buy my meat. We focus primarily on poultry, with the random pork proscuitto or pepperoni from Applegate. But I’ve been sorely disappointed, and primarily grossed out, but some sub-par chicken in my life. I’ve been buying premium chicken for about a year now and I haven’t been disappointed yet. Plus it makes me feel less of a jerk for eating animals – when at least I know they were treated fairly before they were murdered for my dinner. I know, I know, I make jokes about being a meat-a-saurus, but if you’ve ever watched factory farming videos, you know how precious animal welfare can be to a chicken, turkey, pig or cow. While I haven’t eaten beef or drank milk in years – I’ve got to start working on making sure my animal welfare for poultry is better. And here’s where ASPCA steps in.
I met up with ASPCA a few years ago at a blogging event and I’ve been happy to spread the word for their campaigns for a few years now. While I’m hosting a giveaway for this campaign, I urge you to really think about the pledge that you are making before you enter. Although definitely enter because we all need ASPCA animal-friendly swag.
You first want to visit CHANGEYOURCHICKENCHALLENGE.COM and read up about why it’s important to choose humanely-raised chickens. It’s also important to learn all of the terminology that chicken manufacturers use in order to confuse the consumer (like we didn’t have enough to worry about).
Always check for CERTIFIED HUMANE, ANIMAL WELFARE APPROVED, or GLOBAL ANIMAL PARTNERSHIP 5 STEP PROGRAM (this is the one that I use at Whole Foods to identify what I should buy).
If your store that you love doesn’t carry chicken, you can print out a request form and ask them to carry truly humanely-raised chickens.
Take the 30 day challenge to fight factory farming for chicken. I’m not going crazy and yelling at you for your food choices, I promise. But I am urging you to understand where your food comes from and urge to buy better for your family and for the chickens. Bock Bock Bock (that was a chicken saying thank you).
Please consider watching the below video. Simply click on the image and you’ll be routed to YouTube.
Okay, so here’s the deal. Pledge to #ChangeYourChicken. Really REALLY consider it. It’s only a few bucks more – you can even buy in bulk and save – and meanwhile you’re changing the life of the chicken (before it’s slaughtered and served for dinner). At least let the chicken have a happy life before then.
Here’s what you can win when you decide to #ChangeYourChicken:
- ASPCA Logo Tote
- ASPCA Travel Mug
- ASPCA laminated Label Guide
- Truth About Chicken Band Aids
- Truth About Chicken Keychain
- Truth About Chicken Sticker
Thank you again to ASPCA for providing this gift bag and thank YOU for changing the world, one chicken at a time. I’m serious guys, this is important to me, and I thank you for taking it seriously too. As much as you can make “why did the chicken cross the road?” “to have a more humane life” jokes.
i buy tyson chicken. i have never thought about any of this til i saw your post. i will really look into it now!
I currently buy the organic stuff at Costco but I am going to change to the place that Jewel’s gets theirs from….Red Bird Farms.