[pct-l] Pct-L Digest, Vol 101, Issue 18

[Seth Jacobs]

By all means, let's not be mislead by persons with an agenda who leave out
pertinent information:

"The harvesting of feathers from live geese can be an important source of
income from geese being bred for the production of either meat or fatty
liver and from those in breeder flocks. The harvesting of feathers and down
from the breast of live geese is possible because between 9-10 weeks of age
their mature down feathers, together with the other soft feathers, moult
naturally. By timing the plucking process to coincide with the natural
moult, the breast feathers and down can be harvested as shown in Figure 36.
Growing geese can then be plucked approximately every six weeks as this
will coincide with each successive moult. The yield of feathers and down
from the first plucking is approximately 80 g and for each subsequent
plucking between 100-120 g. The percentage of down will normally be between
15-20 percent of the total weight. The actual number of pluckings for
market geese generally depends on the market conditions for the meat or
fatty liver and the current market value of the feathers and down. All
breeds can be plucked, but white plumage is more valuable. Whether plucking
live geese or harvesting feathers at slaughter, the feathers must be
mature."

http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4359e/y4359e0c.htm#bm12

Seth






> Message: 5
> Date: Tue, 17 May 2016 19:12:41 -0700
> From: Melanie Clarke <melaniekclarke at gmail.com>
> To: Jay Bruins <jbruins at gmail.com>
> Cc: PCT-L <Pct-L at backcountry.net>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Sleeping Bag recommendations
> Message-ID:
>         <
> CAKeeMLfz6chBPQ240+MVnwkBXRwzt276yfdKy1h57289jj5bmQ at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> First of all, I want to applaud you for a strong desire to purchase
> ethically produced animal products.  However, please be aware that there is
> a tremendous amount of deceptive "legalese" with, well, many consumer
> products including animal products.  This "Meat Processing Facility", most
> likely includes food for dogs, cats and other pets as well as humans.
> After harvesting down from alive screaming geese for the life of a goose,
> it is then, most likely, sold for dog food.  Therefore, you are still
> supporting this cruel industry. Please don't allow yourself to be deceived!
>
> Has anyone met anyone who has even eaten a goose?  Eating a goose in
> America is a rare event.  There are no restaurants that I know of that sell
> them.  They are not in any grocery store.  I had some European Foreign
> Exchange Students when my children were in High School. They told me that
> Europeans do not eat as much beef as Americans and they eat more "lamb".
> I've never known Europeans to eat geese. Two of my daughters have been in
> Europe, Iceland etc.  They never talked about the geese served in Europe.
> People in China eat a lot of duck, pork, chicken but I've never heard of a
> large goose consumption.
>
> Meanwhile, the world is generating millions of tons of down for billions of
> down products.  With all the down products, everyone in the world would
> have had to consume 10-20 geese to harvest that much down.
>
> Many labels with "Humane meat", "Cage Free Eggs" even "Organic" have been
> exposed as fraud or "deceptive legalese".  I'm sure this place in Europe is
> completely certified from dead animals.  However, this is after a lifetime
> of cruelty!  The number of yearlings sold for human consumption, who have
> never had their down plucked live; is a small, small small percentage of
> their "meat industry"!  If this company only sold down from "virgin" geese;
> you would not have enough product to fill your orders.  The price would be
> astronomical!
>
> PLEASE DO NOT BUY DOWN!!!!  You would not pull the hair out of your dog or
> cat every 6 months.  Please do not subject other animals to this cruelty.
> Do not support this industry!
>
> Diet Plan
>
> On Mon, May 16, 2016 at 9:48 AM, Jay Bruins <jbruins at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > If you're vegan, down is probably out of the question. If you're not,
> many
> > manufactures use reasonable sources.
> >
> > "Is your Goose Down ethically sourced?
> > Yes. Our white goose down comes directly from a meat processing facility
> > in Europe. It is a byproduct of the goose meat industry and would be
> thrown
> > away if it didn't have a use. No birds are force fed, live plucked, or
> any
> > of that nasty business."
> > http://zpacks.com/FAQs.shtml#sleepingbags
> >
> > I would be glad to know what Enlightened Equipment says about their down.
> >
> > Armstrong
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>
>
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>
>