I have collected together a few links on the evolving saga of chicken abuse at two #EggMafia farms in Alberta Canada on which I previously Blogged.
Since the video was first released, almost everyone is running away and distancing itself from this disaster, with the exception of the media, and a few brave (or dumb) individuals. To save themselves, Burnbrae Farms, the buyer/contractor for the two accused #EggMafia farms, has thrown them under the bus, and stopped buying eggs from them. McDonald's Restaurants, who has Burnbrae as their sole egg supplier, claims no connection with the accused farms. Egg Farmers of Alberta went into high alert, sending an emergency email/fax to all its #EggMafia members alerting them to refuse all farm visitors, and not to answer any inquiries from anybody, then refused to acknowledge or discuss the video themselves.
Since then, the #EggMafia have retained the services of 1 or more media gurus and Spin Doctors to try and put out the flames they ignited on themselves. Ontario Farmer Magazine calls it #EggMafia "damage control".
Better Farming has added that the Egg Farmers of Canada, the Canada-wide Don of the #EggMafia, have hired the USA-based Center for Food Integrity to analyze the video showing the alleged abuse of chickens to get an opinion from them as to whether abuse occurred or not.
I'm not sure why the #EggMafia needed to distance itself from deciding whether the shocking video depicts standard farm practices, or abuse of chickens. To me, the video clearly depicted abuse and unacceptable practices. I guess it's easier and less messy when you use a hired gun, rather than do the dirty work yourself. The only questions were whether the video was staged, and when/where the actions depicted occurred. That required expertise in forensic science and video taping, not egg farming expertise.
MikeTheChickenVet couldn't resist, and had many interesting points. MikeTheChickenVet tries to dismiss the video by suggesting what would a video of any of us look like if somebody snooped on us with secret surveillance for 5 weeks, then created a "5 Minutes of Horrors" from those 5 weeks of video. As a practicing vet in Ontario who earns his living working for the #EggMafia, his point of view is quite understandable. After I found his viewpoint, I sent him a link to my Blog posting and asked for his comments. All of a sudden, he doesn't have much to say about the 9 questions I posed for the #EggMafia, to answer except:
chickenvet
I find it ironic how every one of the websites for the #EggMafia focus primarily on rainbows, unicorns, and sunshine, and how their eggs are produced by their family of families, so that consumer's families can have eggs. Trust us, they whisper, again and again.
I'm not buying it.
There has been a serious breach of trust. The #EggMafia needs to make significant, across the board change. Neither media spin, nor unicorns and rainbows, will cover it up and make it all go away.
I hope all Small Flockers can, and do learn, some significant lessons from the crumbling empire of the #EggMafia.