Mepkin Abbey to stop selling eggs under pressure from PETADoug Pardue
The Post and Courier
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Mic Smith Cassandra Curbelo, left, with PETA from Norfolk, Va., waves to passing motorist as she and Jeffrey Cohen from Charleston protest against Mepkin Abbey and their treatment of chickens in front of the Piggly Wiggly on Meeting Street Thursday. The abbey released a statement that they will phase out egg production. Under pressure from an animal rights group, Mepkin Abbey is phasing out its decades-old egg business. The Abbey made the announcement in a press release saying it will phase out egg production in the next year and a half. Egg production has been one of the Abbey’s main sources of income for its daily operating expenses for some 40 years. But earlier this year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accused the Abbey of “shocking cruelty” to its thousands of chickens. The organization said chickens at the monastery are painfully debeaked and crammed into tiny cages. It urged the Abbey to shut down its egg farm. The Abbey contended that it used humane practices, but offered to consider changes to the way it operates. Father Stan Gumula, Abbot of Mepkin Abbey, said the press release that the monastery decided instead to close down the egg operation, but maintains that its egg facilities were properly operated. “While the Monks are sad to give up work that has sustained them for many years, a hard and honorable work for which we are proud, the pressure from PETA has made it difficult for them to live their quiet life of prayer, work and sacred reading,” the press release says. “The monks have also found it difficult to extend hospitality, which is their hallmark, under such conditions.” The monastery made its announcement just as PETA resumed picketing at Piggly Wiggly, the main distributor for the eggs. In its release the Abbey said it is now looking for a new industry to meet daily expenses. As monks under the rule of St. Benedict, the monastery is supposed to meet its daily needs through “the work of their hands.” Traditionally, that work has been in agriculture. Eggs and compost are the abbey’s two commercial enterprises. The former generates about $140,000 a year, 60 percent of the abbey’s annual earned income, Gumula told the National Catholic Reporter. The abbey’s facilities produce about 9 million eggs a year, and the product is delivered to retailers in the Charleston area, including Piggly Wiggly. Eggs also are sold at the abbey’s own store. |
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Comments
This article has 31 comment(s)
Posted by eyfigueroa on December 20, 2007 at 12:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm sick to death of this political correctness crap!!!!!!!!
these monks earned an honest living by producing/selling eggs for several decades. i'm sure that their production facility was better than almost all other mega facilities in the country or even the world.
PETA's focus is in the wrong direction.
i say we protest PETA for this foolishness.
Posted by scnative4ever on December 20, 2007 at 12:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
PETA are a bunch of terrorists. Leave the monks alone! So are they going after all the other suppliers of eggs to Piggly Wigglys too?
Posted by PHiers on December 20, 2007 at 12:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Would PETA had cared if it had been any other egg producer other than an order of monks?
Posted by Rooster07 on December 20, 2007 at 12:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Have you ever seen these people?? They are literally insane. A few years back some crazy PETA woman protested the Gamecock mascot by tar and feathering herself and sitting inside a cage. Only thing she accomplished was providing a good laugh for onlookers.
Posted by Rooster07 on December 20, 2007 at 12:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
P eople
E ating
T asty
A nimals
Posted by MyView on December 20, 2007 at 12:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How could these idiots pick on the Monks? They live in peace and support their life by hard HONEST work. Why are they not protesting at Michael Vicks' house.............these people are terrorists. Ethical treatment.............stupid people with nothing better to do than interfere with other people's lives. Where are the Monks rights in all this crap!!!!!!!!!! That woman should take her self back to Virginia. How much more will eggs cost now????????? I suppose we shouldn't eat them......that's unethical too I guess. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID
Posted by MyView on December 20, 2007 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If they are so upset by the egg business they were running they should be coming up with the 60% of the income they are BULLYING them into losing. Where will PETA be when they can't replace that income and are facing hardships????? They certainly won't be standing in front of Piggly Wiggly with donation buckets will they????????
PETA-SHUT UP AND GO HOME, maybe someone there likes you.
Posted by stand828 on December 20, 2007 at 12:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
But does PETA have a point? Shutting down production seems to be an overreaction if indeed the chickens are being treated humanely. Maybe some simple changes could be made to ensure everyone that the conditions are appropriate, and then PETA would go away.
Posted by Edwin435 on December 20, 2007 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Its a sad time when Monks have to bend away from the will of God and succumb to the like of Peta because “While the Monks are sad to give up work that has sustained them for many years, a hard and honorable work for which we are proud, the pressure from PETA has made it difficult for them to live their quiet life of prayer, work and sacred reading." And what kind of A$$ causes a Monk not to want to be nice... "The monks have also found it difficult to extend hospitality, which is their hallmark, under such conditions.”
I will never support Peta or those associated with them.
Posted by vbenfield on December 20, 2007 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
PETA never 'goes away" and there will never be significant changes to ensure PETA that the chickens' conditions are appropriate. These are people that don't eat meat, don't eat dairy, don't eat eggs and certainly cannot support having chickens unless they are pets. If the Monks agree to one change, PETA will continue to harass them and harass them and harass them until they finally give up.
I think that the sad part of this story is that the Monks are giving in because "the pressure from PETA has made it difficult for them to live their quiet life of prayer, work and sacred reading,” the press release says. “The monks have also found it difficult to extend hospitality, which is their hallmark, under such conditions.”
This is truly sad...
Posted by kerwin1959 on December 20, 2007 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think it would only be "politically correct" for PETA to be forced to support the Abbey for the next few years, since they have forced them to lose their primary source of income.
You're right, these people are terrorists--can nothing be done to force them to cease and desist when it comes to terrorizing innocent people?
Posted by Rooster07 on December 20, 2007 at 1:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Obviously, no one even remotely associated with PETA has ever spent any time on a farm (other than protesting). Chickens as well as other farm animals are the source of livelihood for these monks as well as farmers and its a simple concept: If the animals die, they don't make any money, and they don't eat. So, why would farmers mistreat their animals if it could kill them?
PETA is a heartless, selfish, and ignorant organization with a sole purpose of being noticed. They don't really care about the animals, they just want to be extremists and what is more extreme that attacking the very thing our country was built on....farming.
Posted by havesense on December 20, 2007 at 1:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
PETA is ridiculous - like 1 comment said I'm sure the monks were a lot better at managing the chickens "properly" than some huge egg producer somewhere else - who'd by the way tell them to screw themselves if they protested their operation!!
It's getting a little ridiculous now - I bet 5 out of 10 PETA members have some type of leather, fur, animal product, in their homes and/or cars - I'd bet money on it.
Posted by bankz on December 20, 2007 at 2:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is a special on HBO about the creater of PETA, very intresting to see how stupid these people are and how desperate they are for attention. If you have a chance check out these nuts.
Posted by bribetaker on December 20, 2007 at 2:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Where's Andy Savage when you need him?
As an aside, I've been to the Abbey and bought many an egg from the Brothers. The chicken coup is in a restricted area, visitors are not allowed. Wonder how PETA knows so much about how they process the eggs? hmmmmm....can you say "breaking and entering"?......
Posted by 1300dreamz on December 20, 2007 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What is this world coming to? With all of the crime in the country, you mean to tell me that this group is seriously going after the monks at Mepkin Abbey. This is ridiculous! I remember going out to the Abbey for a field trip when I was in elementary school. It was so peaceful out there and I remember the monks saying that selling the eggs was how they kep things running. I really wish that the monks would have stood up and fought this one out, but I also understand they are a people of peace and would probably just like to go on with their lives. I guess I could never be a monk!
Posted by riddiksgirl on December 20, 2007 at 3:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mepkin Abbey is a beautiful place that I love to visit. The gardens are gorgeous, and you have a beautiful view of the Cooper River. It is so peaceful and a great place to take pictures. Every time I have visited, my fee to get into the gate has been $0. I can be a tourist in my own town, teach my girls some history, attend services, and explore, explore, explore. All for free. Are they going to have to charge a fee now? I really hope not. Why doesn't PETA go after KFC for KILLING chickens? If it's okay to kill chickens, but not use them for their eggs, then the Abbey should just start slaughtering the chickens and selling the meat to Piggly Wiggly. There we go, problem solved. PETA SUCKS!
Posted by clemson2000 on December 20, 2007 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Does anyone know if there is anything we can do to help Mepkin Abbey keep their egg business?
I hate the idea of them losing the source of 60% of their income!
Posted by MyView on December 20, 2007 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
clemson2000-I'm with you I'd love to put a stop to these terrorists.
If they can be a special interest group against. We can be a special interest group for them.
Any others interested?
Posted by Rooster07 on December 20, 2007 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I found the following link on PETA's website where you can leave comments read by PETA members.....there is one catch, though. They screen the comments before posting them. Thats hypocritical if you ask me. If they have the freedom to speak their minds, so should everyone else. Go to the link and try to leave comments:
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2007/12/de...
Posted by MSC on December 20, 2007 at 4:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Can chickens be treated humanly?
Too bad the Brothers caved to this radical group.
Posted by Edwin435 on December 20, 2007 at 4:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I went to the blog page and was disgusted at the gloating of these crazy people. I am so saddened by the loss of a tradition of the monks. Its not just a thing to them its survival.... I am going to peta suck.com and post there as well.
Posted by oakpoint56 on December 20, 2007 at 5:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations to all of you at PETA...You have probably destroyed any possiblility of this monastery remaining solvent. I hope you are all proud of yourselves...Great idea to pick on a small God-Fearing community who do not have the money to fight your facist onslaught and absolutely insane ideas. Man has eaten, slaughtered, and raised for consumption, animals since the beginning of time but you people now consider yourselves the arbiters of what and how we should eat. You people are the ultimate cowards...go after a very small, high quality egg operation when you could go after much larger production corporations. SHAME ON YOU ALL!!! I would wish you a Happy and Peaceful Christmas and I am sure these holiest of men will surely forgive you, but....I for one will never forgive your actions
Posted by Marietta68 on December 20, 2007 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm on board for anything you can propose as a remedy for this tragic fiasco. Publicity is key. Contacting television stations and talk radio stations (with local programming) is strongly recommended. Help the monestary to devise a different way of admitting visitors, too.
Posted by buff_o_rilla on December 20, 2007 at 7:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How does a chicken feed itself if it has no pecker to pick up the corn?
Posted by buff_o_rilla on December 20, 2007 at 7:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The monks need to hand PETA all their fowl to take care of and feed, If they are as concerned as they say they are we will see if they accepted the chickens!!!
Posted by lillady on December 20, 2007 at 10:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BECAUSE of the first article about Peta hounding these monks, I started buying these eggs. My husband swears they are better than any eggs we have ever gotten. I am deeply saddened to know that they have folded to the pressure of these horrible people. Peta needs to be driven into having to stop THEIR practices.
Posted by sullivans on December 20, 2007 at 10:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What these PETA fools don't realize is that many of the feathers that are created as a by product from chicken production ( both eggs and meat) go directly into organic fertilizers which are then used to grow many of the vegetables the PETA folks eat. Feathers are high in protein and often used in fertilizers for soccer fields, golf coarses as well as football fields. I guess these PETA folks refuse to walk on grass ...play golf or go to football games. This is all so insane. They need to spend more time assisting those in need like working in rest homes for the less fortunate.... oh but wait .. no cameras there and picketing is much more fun.
Posted by blackwoman on December 20, 2007 at 10:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
One of the main reasons I shop at Piggly Wiggly is to buy these eggs, thus spending $50 on other goods. Come on Corporate Piggly Wiggly!!! Defend your right to sell these eggs, or wait to see how many people end up switching to other grocery stores. PETA get a life focus on puppy farms and Michael Vick instead!
Posted by hollyman on December 21, 2007 at 12:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is purely discusting to see how the screwballs at PETA supposedly think. They scream and yell about chickens and a first class egg operation involving good, honest, hard work. Terrorists, without a doubt! They are self-righteous kooks with too much time on their hands who are looking for publicity and political correctness. By the way, I debeaked many chickens during my growing up on a farm. It is not painful to the chicken. It is exactly like trimming your nails. Only the tip of the beak is trimmed off, so that it won't be sharp. No pain is involved, and it does not impead the chickens's ability to eat. PETA needs to find something constructive to do.
Posted by tarj on February 16, 2008 at 10:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
PETA is a radical terrorist organization that will stop at nothing to fulfil their twisted agenda! They are about as hypocritical as they come. Check out http://petakillsanimals.com