[Sidenote: Fattening poultry]
The methods of fattening poultry by shutting them in small coops or
compartments, and feeding them upon soft mushy foods, is condemned by
some writers on the ground that it is unnatural and harmful to the
health of the fowls, and therefore the meat cannot be wholesome. In
truth, this process, if not carried too far, will produce a quality of
meat less harmful than that of the barnyard and ill-fed poultry. One of
the greatest objections to the use of animal food, as already explained,
is the presence of the unexcreted waste-products of animal metabolism.
The flesh of fowls, fed and fattened in coops, contains the smallest
possible quantity of waste or decomposition products, because of the
limited amount of motion or exercise they are permitted to undergo. For
this reason, when poultry is to be eaten, the whiter the meat the less
objectionable it is as an article of food.
[Sidenote: Marketing poultry undrawn]
The marketing of poultry in an undrawn condition (without the removal
of the internal organs), has been much condemned by the public, and the
legislatures of some states have passed laws against this practise.
This, however, is to some extent a misapplication of good intentions.
When poultry is to be killed for the market by those who thoroughly
understand the business, the fowls are left without food for a period of
twenty-four hours. Since the digestive processes of these small animals
are very rapid, this results in emptying the intestines of most of the
fecal matter, which removes the principal objection to the practise.
On the other hand, if the fowls are drawn at the time of killing, and
several days elapse before their consumption, bacteria gain access to
the interior of the carcass and cause very rapid decomposition.
[Sidenote: "Hanging" poultry]
It is the practise in some oriental and European countries to "hang"
poultry for a few days before they are eaten. This process, as in the
case of ripened meats, is simply one of partial decay. The enzymotic
action taking place in the meat is arrested only by the process of cold
storage. Decomposition proceeds slowly until it reaches that point when
it is pronounced high-flavored and "ripened." This is very largely
practised in this country at the present time. It is a custom that is
instinctively condemned by everyone from the standpoint of both hygiene
and aestheticism. The people should demand and force Congress to pass a
law labeling all cold storage meats with the date of slaughter, and all
canned meats with the date of packing.
[Sidenote: Slaughter of game as sport, a step backward]
What is true of domestic poultry is also true of all wild game. The
amount of actual food contributed to the world by the slaughter of game
is exceedingly small. A similar quantity of domestic food could be
produced at one-tenth the cost of time and labor, without slaughtering
the wild creatures of our forests. The popularity of hunting as a sport,
and the idea that the flesh of all wild animals is a rare and dainty
article of diet, is merely an illustration of anthropoid inheritance. It
is a step backward toward savagery instead of forward toward a higher
civilization.