Easter celebration and animal cruelty. What you DIDN'T know...

[leeroysphitz]

The vast majority of confenctionary fowl we find in grocery stores commonly known as "peeps" are bred, born and intensively confined on “factory farms.”

Each year in the United States, more than 8 billion peeps are raised on these farms. These peeps suffer both acute and chronic pain due to selective breeding, confinement, transportation, as well as other other afflictions.


In the 1950s, it took 84 days to raise a 1.48 oz. peep. Due to selective breeding and growth-promoting drugs, it now takes only 45 days. Such fast growth can cuase these innocent peeps to suffer from a number of chronic health problems.




Industry journal Sweetstuffs reports, “Peeps now grow so rapidly that the marshmallow filling is not developed well enough to support the remainder of the body let alone all the oversized sugar crystals infesting their skin, resulting in congestive flattening and significant death losses.”


Peeps are confined in long warehouses, called “grower houses,” that typically house up to 2,000,000 Peeps in a single shed at a density of only 1.3 square inches of space per sweet treat.


Such stocking densities make it impossible for most Peeps to carry out normal behaviors and cause them to suffer from stress and disease. As two industry researchers write, “Limiting the floor space gives poorer results on a per peep basis, yet the question has always been and continues to be: What is the least amount of floor space necessary per confection to produce the greatest return on investment.”

After the industry average of 4.5 days in the grower shed, peeps are transported to slaughter without food, water, or shelter from extreme temperatures. At the slaughter plant, the peeps are dumped onto conveyors and hung upside down in shackles by their legs.


In the United States, there is no legal requirement that peeps be made unconscious before they are slaughtered. These poor treats have their throats cut by hand or machine. As slaughter lines run at speeds of up to 8,400 peeps per hour, mistakes are common and many treats are still conscious as they enter.


Standard industry practices cause peeps to experience both acute and chronic pain. The treatment of these animals would be illegal if anti-cruelty laws applied to confections. But, profits have taken priority over candy welfare. As one industry journal asked, “Is it more profitable to grow the biggest peep and have increased mortality or should peeps be grown slower and smaller, but have fewer health problems? A large portion of growers’ pay is based on the ounce of saleable marshmallow bird produced, so simple cold calculations suggest that it is better to get the weight and ignore the mortality but what about the children?”



I'd rather go NAKED than eat a peep.

Happy Easter you heartless Peep eating BASTARDS. :)

[fizzgig]

1. oh the humanity!

:rofl:

[Zookeeper]

2. And the ones I bought this year are GREEN!

I feel like such a pervert!

[leeroysphitz]

5. MONSTER.

:crazy:

[Heidi]

3. Free the PEEPS!!!!!!

[leeroysphitz]

4. I'm with you sister!

NOBODY is free until the PEEPS are free.

[Heidi]

6. Our official symbol!!!!

(Sorry, I'm not as good with Photoshop as Call Me Wesley. :blush: )

[leeroysphitz]

7. I LOVE it too much! Print me 1000 of them.

[Heidi]

8. Here, you can print your own.

[rug]

9. I only use certified humane peeps.

[leeroysphitz]

10. Organic peeps?

:rofl: