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The Chicken Who Made Me Give Up Chicken
Posted by Kerry Anderlik at 5:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
When I was in my early 20s, I fell in love with a meat-eater named David. He was willing to give up eating red meat, but he wanted me to compromise by eating chicken. Back in those days (30 years ago), the value of a vegetarian diet was not yet understood. David was afraid that we would suffer protein deficiency without some type of meat in our diet. I hated the idea, but I had heard that chickens were "as stupid as potatoes," so I agreed under one condition: If we were going to eat chicken, then we had to raise and kill our own chickens. If we were going to eat them, I argued, we had to take responsibility for their death.
David rushed down to the farm supply store and bought 12 peeping baby chicks. We started our peeping baby chicks out in a box with a hot water bottle in the living room while we finished building a little chicken barn. It was so much fun to watch them grow and get to know them. Every morning, they would waddle over from the barn to the house and cluck and scratch around until we came out to scatter their feed. They were so excited to see us when we got home from work, and they followed us around everywhere. Each chicken had his or her own unique personality, and they were filled with such joy and gusto for life.
Baby Huey was our favorite of all the chickens. She was a lover girl, always wanting to be petted and held. She had a big plumped up chest, and whenever she saw us, she would come running a hundred miles an hour, often falling over forward if she was running too fast. She reminded us of the cartoon duck Baby Huey, so we named her Baby Huey.
One day, a neighbor came to visit and accidently ran over Baby Huey with his car. As part of his apology, he offered to take Baby Huey home and cook her in his smoker and bring her back the next day for us to eat. I was so relieved when David announced that we were vegetarians and would no sooner eat a chicken than we would a dog.
I will never forget Baby Huey and our little flock of chickens. I can't look at chicken on a plate or packaged in the grocery store meat department without thinking that every one of those chickens is a Baby Huey who never had the chance to be loved, to be held and petted, or to peck around in the sunshine. Baby Huey and our little flock of chickens taught us that chickens are friends, NOT food.
Have you had any similar experiences with individual farmed animals?
Posted to Family & Friends | Posted to Tags: chicken, Kerry Anderlik, vegan, vegetarian
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selena says...
April 12th, 2011, 8:27 pm
Great story, thank you!
Nancy C. says...
April 13th, 2011, 2:17 pm
i became a vegan a few months ago. i haven't felt better in my life (i'm 53). the thought of eating meat of any kind, makes me sick. i won't even cook meat. there are so many food products out there that are vegan, or at the least, vegetarian, that there is no reason to eat meat. people argue that soy is bad for you…bolderdash, I say! animal products are worse!! fish too! i'd rather eat soy than fish or meat or dairy any day, and i do! i've lost 10 lbs since becoming vegan and am not hungry.
Kayleigh says...
April 15th, 2011, 10:31 am
Keeping chickens is what made me vegetarian. You are told they are stupid and dumb, but until you keep them yourself you wont know how special they really are. Each and every one has their own unique personality and love to peck, scratch and sunbathe in the garden all day. Every one of my chickens died from old age eventually and were buried in the garden. THIS is the life chickens deserve.
Mike Quinoa says...
April 16th, 2011, 3:23 pm
Beautiful story!
Reminds me of a Mark Twain quote, "It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions."
Connie says...
April 17th, 2011, 3:36 pm
I went to someone's house and met Bully-a wonderful young bull. I asked if I could go over and pet him through the fence. The owner said 'he won't let you near him'. I talked to him for awhile and said-I would never eat you, or any of your kind. We looked in each others eyes. I reached through the fence-pet him and hugged his big head with my arms. It was a wonderful experience. Every animal deserves the right to a full life. I changed my eating habits many years ago. I am much happier.
Merilyn Phillips says...
April 24th, 2011, 12:19 pm
I'm still crying…..I could never eat an animal…my grandmother raised me and meat never touched her lips. Thank you Mama.