Removing Consciousness From Farming

By on February 22, 2012 in News 44

04detailcananrnr9Every year, billions of animals suffer in the name of cultivating food for humanity. But, suppose none of them had minds? A nightmare or a solution? Via We Make Money Not Art:

Each year, the UK raises and kills 800 million chickens for their meat. Rearing [is] unethical and unsustainable… chickens spend their 6-7 week lives in windowless sheds, each containing around 40,000 birds. André Ford proposes to adopt a ‘headless chicken solution’:

By removing the cerebral cortex of the chicken, its sensory perceptions are removed. It can be produced in a denser condition while remaining alive, and oblivious. The feet will also be removed so the body of the chicken can be packed together in a dense volume. Food, water and air are delivered via an arterial network and excreta is removed in the same manner. Around 1000 chickens will be packed into each ‘leaf’, which forms part of a moving, productive system.

Read More: We Make Money Not Art

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  • Anarchy Pony

    Jesus fuck, it’s like the matrix, for chickens. 
    Edit: When I typed this, Chaorder’s comment wasn’t here.

    • Ronniedobbs

       now that would be an awesome movie

      • Anarchy Pony

        Like a cyber punk version of Chicken Run?

        • Calypso_1

          Those would be some wicked cockfights.

    • Lakota

      i was thinking the same thing. Gyyyyaaad. what a terrible existence…i just had some chicken for dinner and i feel kinda terrible…. But it was so good. maybe ‘d feel different if i had to Kill my own….

       i was also ( for some reason) watching how cows get slaughtered [youtube] & they are careful not to scare or stress out to cow or the androgens will make the taste of the meat bitter. We take on those hormones of anxiety. unhappy meat leavins….

      • Hadrian999

        the sad thing is that baseline industrial chicken tastes like total shit anyway, The first time I had totally naturally raised chicken it didn’t even taste like the same animal, now i cant stand to eat mass produced chicken

        • Jin The Ninja

          that is how i feel about any mammalian meat product, it’s become so potent in my mind that i can’t really eat meat out unless it’s naturally raised- which is not that hard in terms of western food, but dim sum/chinese food i have to stick with the vegetarian/buddhist sort, because i can’t enjoy it otherwise…

          • Hadrian999

             I’m so glad i live in the heart of the mid-west where it’s insanely easy to get naturally grown meat and produce

          • Jin The Ninja

            i also live in a so-called “green belt” – and it is amazing in terms of produce/meat, but living in an insanely expensive city means those things are priced accordingly…

          • Hadrian999

             thankfully I live well outside “the city”

          • Jin The Ninja

            one day…

          • Anarchy Pony

            Well, if you ever need to flee, say during a traumatic collapse induced emergency, you can flee to sparsely populated southern coastal Oregon, where, once we drive off/clear out the white trash right-winger foot soldiers, if you can find me, are welcome to take refuge. Barring the unknown future impacts of global warming, it should be a great place to make a sustainable future, and one can always use the assistance of a Ninja. 

          • Jin The Ninja

            that sounds perfect, i was already thinking west coast, vancouver island or one of the gulf islands.

          • Anarchy Pony

            West coast is the best coast.

          • Jin The Ninja

            i`ve always loved the west coast, i lived in vancouver for a short time as a kid, and almost went to school there, and i`ve been to portland and seattle quite a few times- and i always thought i`d end up over there either north or south of the border.

          • Just sayin’

             Why don’t you two just get a room already!

          • Anarchy Pony

            Well green and organic things are generally more expensive, mostly because they don’t cut corners and externalize the costs(as much) as Big Ag production does.

          • Jin The Ninja

            don`t get me wrong, i`m notoriously spendthrift when it comes to organic, fair trade or macrobiotic groceries, but i still recognise the high cost of it (and also the inherent value of it).

    • Hadrian999

       great now i keep hearing Morpheus’ lines voiced by foghorn leghorn

      • Anarchy Pony

        You are welcome.

  • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

    Anyone heard of that movie: The Matrix?

    • chinagreenelvis

      It was the first thing I thought of.

  • citizen69

    it’s a sad world we live in.

    • Anarchy Pony

      Gettin’ sadder all the time.

  • Calypso_1

    ” How do the machines know what Tasty Wheat tasted like? Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat tasted like actually tasted like oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn’t figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything.”

  • saint_al

    …and soon they’ll be grown in FEMA camps for the Corrections Corporation of America. Cheaper is doubleplusgood.
    /maybe not JK

  • Rbnpro

    What sick F*&@ came up with this idea?  Seriously, this is one of the most vile things I have heard.

  • Malk

    i was almost coughed my morning granola back up =[>

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gary-Clark/100001697222220 Gary Clark

    Hmmmmm….wonder if they can do that with people too….

  • eyeoftheaxis

    but what about pork? the other white meat…
    http://i.imgur.com/mAwRA.jpg

  • Redacted

    “My gift to industry is the genetically engineered worker, or Genejack. Specially designed for labor, the Genejack’s muscles and nerves are ideal for his task, and the cerebral cortex has been atrophied so that he can desire nothing except to perform his duties. Tyranny, you say? How can you tyrannize someone who cannot feel pain?” – Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, Alpha Centauri

  • http://twitter.com/alizardx A.Lizard

    Since I’m neither vegetarian nor hypocrite, I’m not going to pretend horror at what’s described here. I am extremely dubious about cost-effectiveness. I presume everyone around here knows that a researcher in EU is promising a ‘vat-grown’ hamburger by some time this fall. 

  • D.D.B.

    We really need to ask ourselves if fucking with nature is in our best interests.

    Do we really need 10 billion people to feed?
    How about mandatory sterilization for 95% of teens with lowest IQ scores?

    • Shep778

      let’s start with you…I am sure you think Hilter had some great ideas too

      • Just sayin’

        Actually I have already taken care of my own sterility. I practice what I preach.
        But thanks for thinking of me!
        Don’t get me started on Hitler.

  • Merv

    In some other dimension shadowy beings are commenting on an article titled
    “Removing Consciousness From Human Farming”

    • Anarchy Pony

      Vampires?

      • Jin The Ninja

        i’ve got a 6 shooter crossbow armed with blessed and rune-marked oak bolts, on the ready.

        • Anarchy Pony

          I’ve got some Ash stakes and a named hammer called Grimmgr.

  • Kozz

    While I don’t necessarily agree with the article, because I am not aware of the full implications, I have to ask everyone this:  is this REALLY worse than the treatment they currently receive?  What if this is simply the lesser of 2 evils? IMO the only better alternative is to change the way we mass produce our foods altogether, but until then I can’t say I feel this is any worse than the way we currently run things….I’d argue that it is not as bad

  • apdubya

    “O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world. That has such people in’t!”  Shakespeare, The Tempest

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Carson/1278406114 Alex Carson

    This idea would make a Nazi proud.

  • Simiantongue

    Chicken in the picture looks like a Velociraptor. It’s going to open its eye and look at me any second now.