Here a chick, there a chick ...

Foung Vang’s plan to open a store in Fresno where he would slaughter live chickens and dress them for customers on order has caused all manner of collisions: legal interpretations, planning considerations, social and cultural differences. Neighbors around Vang’s proposed First Street site, between Olive and McKinley avenues, object to the odors, noise and nuisance they expect from the business. City staffers say it would violate a state law. There are health and sanitation considerations.

And, no doubt, there are some who object because they regard the practice as foreign - most of the customers would be Southeast Asian - or because the idea is just too icky to contemplate. There are people who who think chickens are born in plastic-wrapped foam containers. They are far removed from the blood and gore that accompanies meat processing, and want to keep it that way.

Like the site’s neighbors, I probably wouldn’t want it being done nearby, but if health and sanitation issues are addressed, I don’t much care whether live chickens are being slaughtered and sold fresh. Some people like them better that way. And I remember, as a child, watching chickens meet their maker at the hands of a farmer with an ax. All I could think about was how good that fried chicken was going to taste.