Bivalve molluscs, such as the oysters of Chesapeake Bay, probably fall below the line of sentience that many of us animal-rights promoters consider with great care.  (But cephalopod molluscs, the octopuses, squids and cuttlefishes, are definitely above that line.  Gastropod molluscs, e.g. snails, aka escargots, are probably up there with the cephalopods, but we need to study them more.)

Still, it is not well done to think of any animal, no matter how far from sentience (oysters in this case), simply as a "resource," who deserve our attention only as an ephemeral source of pleasure.  MFK Fisher is a gem of a writer; but her old Mediterranean friends are not likely to have been great moral examples, when it comes to how to think about the animals that they taught her to eat.

Anyway, the bay floor's ecosystems are rich, and the over-ample dumping of chicken shit surely is bad news for many animals besides the oysters.  Animal-rights ethics and environmental ethics are united on this issue.

To say nothing of the chickens ...

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

Chicken production is not the problem...its all the people who have moved here and put houses along the shore.  At one time no one lived near the water because there was no flood insurance. NOW there are houses all along the coastline, with green(fertilized)lawns. There are more people living in the area than ever before in history. The area cannot handle that kind of population. As for the drop in watermen, that drop is not necessarily a drop in crabs. I've talked to watermen this year who say there are more crabs than ever, but have quit because of incleased costs and regulations. The crab population is determined by how many are caught. If no one is out there fishing them....of course there appears to be less. Oysters were infected with disease years ago that killed off their population, even before the number of chicken farms that are operating now. Yes, I agree we should grow food on a smaller more humane scale, but don't tilt the facts to get us there.  If these chicken farms all shut down, no one in this country would be eating chicken once a week.

I don't understand the problem. Chicken farmers can either compost the manure and sell it at a great profit, or sell it to a company that will do so. Either way the farmers will get rid of the manure w/o harming the bay, it will be used to fertilize the earth and it will add to the farmer's income - something desperately needed since we know they are not the ones making a huge profit.

As an organic gardener I will take almost any manure available (usually free) from chicken, goats, horses, cows and yes, even emus. I compost it and add it to my sandy soil. The farmers are happy to have it hauled away, sometimes even helping me shovel it into my truck. My pure-sand soil grows amazing veggies and flowers and we're both very happy.

Put the poultry manure to good use so it isn't pollluting and the farmer's can make a better profit.

MickieC

That is EXACTLY what local farmers do, they spread the manure from the chicken houses on their fields instead of expensive manufactured fertilizer!  I'm telling you there have been chicken houses in this area for decades and decades. The increase in population and the portion of the population that have built houses to the waterline are the problem..not the chickens.