62 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 67 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
Life Arts    H4'ed 5/21/11

Natalie Portman's $600 Carton of Eggs: The Black Swan and The Chicken

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Charlotte Laws
Become a Fan
  (1 fan)

You may have heard of the goose who laid the golden egg. This time, the goose is a chicken named Mae Poulet, and her eggs sell for $50 a pop. All proceeds go to nonprofits that benefit poultry in need.

I adopted Mae a year ago from Craigslist. The ad read, "Free. Would make a good dinner."

"It's either you or some lady who wants to make chicken stroganoff," I was told when I phoned.  

I am an animal rights advocate like Natalie Portman; and recently heard of the vegan actress' dilemma: she wanted to consume eggs during her pregnancy. Portman is a compassionate soul, so I wanted to help her with a compassionate alternative, plus factory farm eggs are filled with toxins that could harm an unborn child.

  

I offered to provide Natalie with eggs from Mae and the other five, happy hens who roam my half-acre property in Los Angeles. The others were adopted from public animal shelters. My hens will never be killed even though chickens can live 10 -- 15 years and typically stop laying after three. Commercial egg businesses usually slaughter them at one and half, which is equivalent to killing a person at age seven. It is a fowl situation indeed.  

Chickens are probably the most exploited and tortured species on earth. Each hen spends her entire life in darkness crammed into a space the size of half a sheet of 8 x 11 paper. She is treated like a disposable food machine. And when baby boy chicks are born, they are ground up alive. The factory farm has no use for them because they don't make good meat. The whole thing is heart-breaking.

I put an extreme price tag on the eggs to mirror the extreme conditions that hens endure; plus I want to raise funds for chicks in need. However, Portman need not crow about the high price, at least for the first dozen, because two, generous LA businessmen have already paid the tab. Members of the public are invited to buy eggs for Natalie. Proceeds will go to Animal Acres, Farm Sanctuary and the League for Earth and Animal Protection. 

The first $600 carton of 12 eggs is ready for delivery, but it seems Mae's feathers will be ruffled if she cannot meet her favorite actress. She has always loved black swans.

From the perch on her nesting box, Mae whispers, "Tell Natalie to come up and see me some time."

_____

Charlotte Laws, Ph.D. is an author, NBC commentator and member of the Greater Valley Glen Council in Southern California. If you would like to buy a tax-deductible egg for Natalie, please contact Charlotte at http://www.CharlotteLaws.org  (Photo of actor Jason Alexander above displaying one of Natalie's eggs. Other photo of Charlotte and Mae.)

Rate It | View Ratings

Charlotte Laws Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Charlotte Laws, Ph.D. is an author, TV host and renowned activist. She was voted one of the 30 fiercest women in the world for 2013 and is a former politician in Southern California. Her 2015 memoir is called Rebel in High Heels, which tells about her fight as the "Erin Brockovich of revenge porn" (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Adam Lambert: Don't Worry, Elvis Would Have Lost American Idol, Too

Genetics, Judaism, and Finding My Birth Family

Miss Hooker Beauty Pageant: Naked Facts about Women and Equality

Natalie Portman's $600 Carton of Eggs: The Black Swan and The Chicken

Am I A Reality Show Reject?

Clueless at City Hall: Foreclosures and Tenants

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend