Chicken Industry: Exploiting Farmers, Chickens, And You

The chicken industry has been criticised for its treatment of both chickens and farmers. Chickens are often subjected to cruel practices such as beak trimming, which is performed to prevent pecking but causes pain and discomfort, and intensive confinement, which breeds filth and disease. They are also genetically modified to maximise profit, resulting in larger chickens that often become crippled due to their inability to support their own weight. The industry's use of antibiotics to increase growth has led to concerns about antibiotic resistance, and some drugs used contain arsenic, which is highly toxic to humans. Chicken farms are often located in communities of colour and those with higher rates of poverty, exposing residents to harmful emissions and environmental consequences. Farmers are placed in dangerous situations with low pay, and small farmers are disadvantaged due to the profit-driven nature of the industry.

Chicken farmers are locked into a cycle of debt and low pay

Chicken farming is a profitable business for massive corporations that exploit farmers, poultry, and the environment. However, it is often not a profitable venture for individual farmers, who are locked into a cycle of debt and low pay.

Chicken farmers are at a severe disadvantage due to the power dynamics in the industry. In the US, just five companies—Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride, Perdue, Sanderson Farms, and Koch Foods—controlled about 60% of the entire chicken market in 2015. These companies have access to detailed information about farmers' pay and production costs, giving them significant leverage during contract negotiations. The farmers, on the other hand, do not have access to the same level of information, making it difficult for them to negotiate better terms or ask for pay increases.

The chicken industry's business model relies on cruel conditions and externalizing costs. Chickens are genetically modified and kept in overcrowded conditions to maximize profit, leading to various health issues for the birds. They are often confined to massive, windowless sheds with tens of thousands of other birds, causing social issues and the spread of disease. The chickens' beaks are trimmed, a painful procedure that can cause chronic pain and negatively impact their ability to eat and drink. The farmers are tasked with raising the chickens as efficiently as possible, but the business is largely out of their control.

The environmental impact of chicken farming is also significant. Factory farms produce emissions such as methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, which contribute to air pollution, water pollution, and climate change. These farms are often located in communities of color and those with higher rates of poverty, forcing residents to endure the health and environmental consequences.

Chicken farmers are caught in a cycle where they struggle to stay afloat on thin margins. The industry's structure, with a few large corporations holding significant power, makes it difficult for farmers to switch to other poultry companies. As a result, they are locked into a system that offers little financial stability or opportunity for improvement.

Chickens are genetically modified to maximise profit, causing health issues

Chickens have been genetically modified through intense breeding programs to maximise profit, causing health issues for the birds, and impacting farmers and consumers. This process is distinct from genetic engineering, which uses modern technology to edit a genetic structure. Chickens are the result of intense breeding, aimed at emphasising certain characteristics that increase profitability. The average chicken today is four times bigger than one in the 1950s, and chicken breasts are 80% larger. This has led to chickens becoming crippled as their legs cannot support their weight, and they suffer from degenerative bone disease and microfractures.

Genetic modification has been carried out with little to no regard for the welfare and health of the chickens. The focus is almost entirely on maintaining or increasing profitable traits. As a result, chickens suffer from leg disorders, cardiovascular disease, and high mortality rates. They also endure physiological, anatomical, and biochemical changes, as well as acute and chronic pain, due to beak trimming practices.

The welfare of "breeding" animals is largely ignored, and they are confined to filthy sheds without access to sunlight, fresh air, or anything else they would naturally enjoy. To stunt the growth of "breeder" chickens, farmers drastically limit their feed, keeping them in a constant state of hunger. After over a year of deprivation, their bodies are too worn out to produce as many chicks, and they are sent to slaughter.

The chicken farming industry also places employees in dangerous situations with low pay. The profit is made by corporations that exploit farmers, poultry, and the environment, externalising the costs of cruel conditions. The intensive confinement of chickens breeds filth and disease, and the emissions produced by factory farms cause health issues for farmers and neighbours, including respiratory problems and an increased risk of cancer.

Heritage poultry farming is an alternative method that requires higher welfare genetics and conditions and can be more profitable for farmers, better for the environment, and kinder to the birds.

Cruelty is inherent in industrial chicken farming

The industrial chicken farming industry is inherently cruel, with chickens suffering from inhumane conditions and treatment. With a focus on maximizing profit, the welfare of the chickens is largely ignored, and they are subjected to intense breeding programs, overcrowding, and cruel practices such as beak trimming and forced molting.

Chickens raised for meat, known as "broiler" chickens, are typically confined to massive, windowless sheds that hold tens of thousands of birds each. In these sheds, the chickens are denied important natural behaviors such as nesting, roosting, and flapping their wings. The high density of birds also makes it impossible for them to establish a social structure, leading to relentless pecking at one another, causing injury and even death. The intensive confinement also breeds filth and disease, with chickens suffering from respiratory issues due to the ammonia in the air.

Genetic selection and drugs are used to make chickens grow faster and larger, with the average chicken today being four times bigger than in the 1950s. This rapid growth often leads to chickens becoming crippled as their legs cannot support their weight, and they suffer from heart failure, trouble breathing, and chronic pain. Chickens are also subjected to beak trimming, which causes acute and chronic pain and inhibits their ability to express natural behaviors.

The treatment of "breeder" chickens, which are kept alive longer than "broiler" chickens, is even more cruel. In an attempt to stunt their growth, farmers drastically limit their feed, keeping them in a constant state of hunger and frustration. After over a year of deprivation and confinement, these chickens are sent to slaughter, often experiencing suffering during the slaughter process as many are not successfully rendered unconscious before being burned or drowned alive.

The industrial chicken farming industry also has negative impacts on the farmers and surrounding communities. Chicken farming is often not profitable for individual farmers, locking them into a cycle of debt. The farms are usually located in communities of color and those with higher rates of poverty, forcing them to endure health and environmental consequences, including emissions of methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, which contribute to respiratory problems and an increased risk of cancer.

Chickens are kept in overcrowded, filthy conditions

The chickens are genetically modified to grow so fast that their legs cannot sustain their weight, making it impossible for them to reach food or water, resulting in their death. They are also kept in overcrowded conditions, with each chicken receiving slightly more space than the size of an iPad. They lack the space to exercise and are disturbed or walked over by other birds. As they grow larger, they have less space to move and may find it difficult to access food and water, especially if they are lame.

The sheds where the chickens are kept are filthy, and the birds live in their own waste, suffering ammonia burns, respiratory illness, and infections. The air in the sheds is filled with dust, feathers, and ammonia, which, when combined with the fans, irritates the skin. This intensive confinement also breeds disease, and the high prevalence of dangerous contaminants in chicken flesh is largely due to these filthy conditions.

To prevent pecking caused by frustration, chickens also undergo a painful procedure called de-beaking, where the tips of their sensitive beaks are cut off. This causes acute and chronic pain and often results in many chickens starving to death as eating becomes too painful.

Chicken farms are disproportionately located in communities of colour

The health and environmental consequences of housing a factory farm are significant. These farms produce emissions such as methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Ammonia causes respiratory problems for farmers and nearby residents, while volatile organic compounds cause headaches, nausea, and an increased risk of cancer. The waste from tens of thousands of chickens in close confinement creates a strong smell of ammonia, causing irritation to the birds' eyes, throats, and skin.

In addition to air pollution, chicken farms also contribute to water pollution. Nitrogen and manure from chicken waste pollute waterways and can seep into groundwater. The over-application of poultry litter as fertilizer on crops increases the potential for nutrient runoff into nearby water bodies. Medical studies have linked "blue baby syndrome" or methemoglobinemia to the use of fertilizers and manure in farming communities using groundwater.

The largely unregulated poultry industry has a disproportionate impact on communities of colour, as seen in North Carolina, the second-highest poultry producer in the United States. Commercial poultry farms in the state produce more waste laden with nitrogen and phosphorus than commercial hog farms, yet they face fewer permitting and oversight requirements. This lack of regulation has led to concerns about the impact on vulnerable communities, as environmental regulators are not even aware of the locations of all the poultry operations.

The industrialization of chicken farming has led to overcrowded and inhumane conditions for chickens, with genetic manipulation and intensive breeding programs maximizing profit at the expense of animal welfare. Chickens are confined to massive, windowless sheds, unable to engage in their natural behaviours, and suffering from various health issues due to their genetically manipulated bodies. The suffering extends beyond the chickens to the people and the environment in the surrounding communities, particularly those of colour, who are forced to bear the brunt of the negative consequences of the chicken industry's practices.

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