Chickened ......... Out !!!

Monsoon 2013 behaved like a good student isn’t it? Started exactly in June and was not one day late for schoolJ. Rains in Mumbai invoke the tourist in us to get out of the city and explore nature. Few weeks back went out of for a short road trip. Awesome scenery, serene landscapes, pleasant winds were all part of it as usual, but this post has nothing to do with the trip; more about it maybe some other time.

Well after that candid introduction; let me jump in straight to the topic. We left Mumbai at early morning to avoid the weekend rush, but got stuck for awhile at the Mumbai – Pune express way. Not a packed traffic jam, but good enough for an expressway. Ten minutes later, realized that a chicken truck (the one that carries chickens J ), had stopped in the middle of the road and few Express way cops were investigating it.  The cops and few local villagers pushed the vehicle to the side and started clearing the traffic. 

Meanwhile, the driver walked towards back of that truck and opened the cage; and whhhooooossssssshhhhhh. Like a pack of cards, all the chickens fell out. Yes, you read it right, its ‘fell out’ and not ‘flew out’; since they were all dead…….khalaaasss. The truck driver, owner or whoever; too was surprised to see all of them dead. There were maybe 200 – 300 approx. How did they die? Maybe because of the heavy rains, being cramped in cages, some flue, infection or who knows what. He started panicking and explaining the cops that they were alive when he last checked. He then handed over few dead chickens to the cops and villagers [chicken bribe ;)] and asked them to help load back the truck.

The villagers were happy to get free chickens. You could tell from their excitement. They were holding them by their legs and waving in the air like a prized achievement. But I wonder what would happen of the remaining dead bodies…………I mean the dead chickens. Probably they would still end up at their destination – some slaughter house or a hotel. And still be served to the end consumer; that is we humans.

The sight of the dead chickens lying on the road and then being loaded in the truck was pretty awful. I am a veggie and it does not bother me much. But I had others with me who love eating chicken and were disgusted by the sight of it. It was a short moment of realization for all of us that we enjoy eating chicken when cooked and fried; but for it to get on to our plate, we don’t even bother or care to know how much suffering That life has to undergo to entice our taste buds.

Like the famous magicians Penn and Teller (total respect for their magic) would say……..it’s only a god dam chicken!!! (no respect for this statement of theirs). Some may also counter argue saying:

1.       Even plants have life, so what about their suffering when the vegetarians eat them?

2.       Its survival of the fittest buddy.

3.       There are so many chicken in this world, why not make use of them by eating them.

Case 1: Let’s take a situation where no one is going to serve us food for one day. We have to get and cook our food all by ourselves. There is a living chicken in front of us and potato plant (or any other veggie plant). Would you kill the chicken, cut its throat, pluck its feather, chop it into pieces and cook it OR pluck the vegetable, cut it into pieces and cook it?

My choice would be to pluck the veggie and cook it. If I cannot harm or kill a life myself, I prefer not eating it as well. Your choice may differ and you have the right to stick by it.

Case 2: Question of Survival arises only when there is a threat. What threat do chickens have for humans? In fact it’s we humans who are a threat to these species …maybe they should fight back J.

Case 3: True, so many chickens. Most of them we have forcefully grown. But if that’s the argument, then why stop at chicken? There are so many crows around. Why not consume the crows as well and make use of them? J

I haven’t posted any pictures in this post; did not want you all to feel disgusted by it. But next time you eat food, would be wise to spend a moment to ponder on what has it taken to prepare that meal for you.

This post is not to debate about veg or non-veg food. What we put into our mouth is entirely our choiceJ…………food is anyways a personal choice.