~The Feather Debate~

So today I was trying to order more feathers from an online feather shop.  I ordered two of my usual long feather earring pads and finished the other thinking nothing of it.  Then I got an email from the seller saying that the feathers were no longer available. :-( He then sent me this:


Hi Virginia
I do not know if we will ever see the saddles again. With the popularity of earrings and hair extensions it has caused that breed of bird to possibly go extinct.
Thanks
Frank


Now I know for a fact this bird will not go extinct in the new future...as it is a chicken.  However it is a specially modified chicken that has been bred by fly fishing enthusiasts that use their long feathered birds for making flies for fly fishing.

These feathers are created through selective breeding by small time farmers.  They are not genetically modified, but rather selected. From people I have talked to they usually eat the roosters and don't let the whole bird go to waste. I've felt about as guilty using these feathers as I have eating a chicken sandwich.

Okay....maybe this one would make me feel a bit guilty....so cuuute.


However, I did just finish watching Food Inc.....OMG.

Now PETA has been shoving graphic images down our throats for eons...I understand based on studying non-violence, and Buddhism, but I don't when it comes to denying the fact that humans are omnivores.  HOWEVER, I REALLY don't agree with the fact that American foods are made out of cows that are being forced fed corn which causes Ecoli, or chickens that have been genetically modified to the point that they can't carry their own body weight....UGH.  Its not the fact that we eat meat that is disgusting...its the fact that we have turned meat consumption into a capitalist assembly line; that is disgusting. There is no respect for life or food anymore.

As Feathers of Artemis however, I have really striven to stick to a "Native American" philosophy when buying or finding my feathers.  In other words I am all about "recycling", I use what is no longer needed or I use the entire bird.  In that way I like buying feathers from hunters that eat the bird but have no need for the feathers.  Or I find feathers that have molted or even from birds that have died naturally (disinfected of course).  When I buy feathers that are on a pelt, I try to make sure that the whole bird has been utilized rather than thrown out. 

 However, if this growing trend for earrings and hairpieces forces these small companies to go big, I don't know if I will continue to buy these feathers.  What are your thoughts?