How to kill a chicken

My beloved Slate has posted an article from a part-time chicken farmer on the ins and outs of killing a chicken. Personally, I know I could do it but I don't want to do it. Mr. Wonderful has been throwing the idea around of having chickens. Especially if I don't return to work. I think it's a good idea if we have them for eggs but I don't know about the meat part...I can't see us with five chickens one day and the next, there's only four. I can just picture it:

Jackson: "Mommy, where did Pete go?"

Me: "Who's Pete?"

Jackson: "He's the brown chicken."

Me: "They're all brown."

Jackson: "Yeah, but he has the little *some characteristic that only a child can pick out*. Where did he go?"

Me: "Uhh....maybe now is the time to talk about the purpose of chickens and how some chickens go to Chicken Heaven. By the way: did you name all of them??"

Yeah, not a pleasant conversation. Although: look how great my son* is!!

*My son is currently six months in utero. But I bet when he's born, he's going to be just as inquisitive, smart, and meticulous. :)

Some Scary Farming News

According to this report I heard on the radio this morning, the agricultural weed killer, Roundup, has been used for so long, weeds have finally genetically mutated to resist it. Now it seems farmers, instead of plowing their fields to get rid of the weeds, are instead adding MORE chemicals to their arsenal.

Mega-corporation Monsanto owns the patent on Roundup, as well as those of the seeds it sells to produce Roundup-resistant crops, like soybeans and corn. Yes, genetically-modified foods now compete for sun and soil with mutated Roundup-resistant weeds. Is it just me or is Monsanto going to genetically modify our food supply out of existence? Hie ye to ye olde organic farmer's market!