Why I need to stop eating at McDonalds (or why Seaside will really suck this year!)

Months ago now, my husband sent me this lovely email titled: 10 Reasons to Stop Eating at McDonalds. I have to admit I did not want to read it, in fact it sat in my in box for a looong time before I finally decided to just read it. It wasn't as bad as I had assumed it would be, but it obviously wasn't good.  The part that bothered me the most was the part about the slaughter houses and how the animals are treated there. I won't go into details but it was upsetting to think about.

On our trip to California we saw a bumper sticker that said: Meetyourmeat.com. Of course as soon as Brandon got home he went there and read it. Not me, I love steak I have no desire to be a vegetarian. I am going to put my blinders on and continue to buy my meat at the grocery store and eat my hamburgers at McDonalds (not often but it is a nice treat!).

Then the other night my husband is gone again, nothing on TV, I've watched all my taped shows and I have some time to kill. Hmm... what is on On Demand?  I love the HBO documentaries so let's check that out. One is called "Death/Factory Farm". I, wrongly, think that this is about the Holocaust, and as I try to balance my trash TV with some serious learning, I choose to watch this. 

Well, it is not about the Holocaust, it is about animal cruelty on a factory pig farm. I lasted 10 minutes before turning it off. I wasn't even to the part where they show how they slaughter the animals, I just saw the sows being forced to nurse 24/7 with no room to move and the baby pigs crying and I turned it off. I ended up watching "Sex and the City" the movie - much less upsetting, although I did still end up crying!

Unfortunately, the last few days these thoughts have stayed with me. Where does the meat I eat come from, how are the animals treated, and what can I do about it? Seriously, I can not be a vegetarian, I've tried and lasted 2 days before I didn't know what else to eat! 

So, where does that leave me and my boys (I exclude Brandon because he would love to be a vegetarian!). Well, I thought the first thing to do was to stop eating at McDonalds, even if I don't eat the cheeseburger sans onions, the boys love the chicken nuggets and I just can't continue to buy them food that I know has been mistreated. But what do we eat as a special treat or when we are driving? This is the dilemma of fast food. It is so easy, and cheap, and the kids LOVE it. I haven't figured out the answer yet, but I am working on it.  

What does this have to do with Seaside? Well, our options for lunch on the road was already kind of challenging with all the different personalities, throw this in and I don't know what we will do. PB& J, anyone?

Stay tuned for a post on raising chickens in your backyard - my husband is determined that having our own chickens will be a good thing for us to do. Well, at least I will know how my chicken was treated before it ends up on my plate!