What About Chickens? "Each act of denial, conscious or unconscious, is an abdication of our power to respond." —Joanna Rogers Macy   OK, so I won't be setting fish on my table for a long time, but chicken or turkey? Why, just the word conjures up pleasant memories of home and family times together, warmth, love and laughter. It's got to be good, right?   In the Atlanta Constitution, Sunday, May 26, 1991, the headlines in this special 10-page report challenged, "Chickens: How Safe? Millions of Tainted Birds Make it to Market, Inspectors Say." The article stated: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, responsible for ensuring that poultry products are wholesome, is failing so completely that the distinctive USDA seal of approval today no longer [if ever] guarantees that chicken is safe to eat, said more than six dozen USDA inspectors....Every week...millions of chickens leaking yellow pus, stained by green feces, contaminated by harmful bacteria, or marred by lung and heart infections, cancerous tumors, or skin conditions are shipped for sale to consumers, instead of being condemned or destroyed, the U.S. inspectors said.... Thousands of contaminated birds are salvaged by cutting away [the] visibly diseased meat and selling the rest—much of which is also diseased—as chicken parts [or breaded chicken, or soups], 70 inspectors said. Maggots, especially in the summer months, often infest cutting and processing machinery, 47 inspectors said. And then there is the high-speed... machinery that rips out the entrails of the birds at the rate of 90 birds per minute, spreading bacteria from one bird to the next, causing cross-contamination. 1   It hardly seems any would consider this clean. I do not believe that God would bless such obviously unhealthy, contaminated creatures for food. He has given us a plethora of unquestionably healthful, attractive foods. Whatever God gives us is always very good. He doesn't settle for anything less than the best for those He loves so desperately. All rights reserved Copyright © 2006 By J. Lee