This blog topic good not be more perfect for me this week! Thanks to the research I have been doing for my intervention project, I have been learning a lot about the chicken industry, and I’ve recently generated many, many new opinions regarding my feelings for it. What I have ultimately decided is, frankly, it disgusts me.
Before conducting my intervention research I was aware that most of slaughter houses in the United States weren’t as humane as I would like them to be, but I had NO idea just how true this was in the case of chickens. It turns out that there is only one law in this country that protects livestock during slaughter, The Humane Slaughter Act, and this law completely excludes chickens. As a result of this the methods that most chicken suppliers use during slaughter are absolutely outrageous. Not only are the sedation attempts during slaughter usually weak and ineffective (resulting in most chickens being completely conscious while their throats are slit and they are boiled alive), but the treatment that the animals receive from the factory workers is often very sadistic. Undercover PETA investigations reported workers kicking the animals and hurling them against the walls for fun. So from an ethical lens it is easy to see why I think that the consumption of chicken from any supplier who does slaughter humanely is wrong.
Looking at it through a health lens, I also have many qualms with the consumption of inhumanely slaughtered and factory farmed chickens. Often health regulations in inhumane chicken slaughter houses are lax, and the birds end up covered in their own fecal matter and rot for long periods of time. Birds who are raised on factory farms are also incredibly unhealthy to consume. Not only are they incredibly overweight, but they are also pumped full of growth hormone. Free range chickens who are slaughtered in humane ways do not experience these problems and are much healthier.
Finally, if you examine the inhumane slaughter of chicken through a scientific lens, you will also see right away that killing these animals in such cruel ways is absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary. It is not like the technology does not exist to slaughter them in more compassionate ways, because it does. The best example is the "controlled-atmosphere killing". "CAK" involves the removal of oxygen from crates that carry chickens and replacing it with argon or nitrogen. This method results in a completely painless slaughter. Kentucky Fried Chicken franchisees in Canada signed an agreement with PETA in 2008 to reform to the “CAK” method of slaughter. This proves it is a practical solution and has worked elsewhere.
So after having learned all this, when I was faced with my food “choice” I knew right away what to do. You see, I was spending the afternoon with my little brother and taking him to lunch. When one of the options he put on the table for eating was KFC (one of the biggest corporations in the US who does not practice humane slaughter methods), I kindly convinced him that perhaps some macaroni and cheese back at home might be better.
After all, inhumanely slaughter chicken…is pretty fowl (HA!)
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ReplyDeleteNot sure what just happened there, but I'll try this again.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Willmar, MN, home of Jennie-O turkey. Turkeys and chickens in this area are raised in much the same manner, which usually involves a gigantic pole barn that is practically overflowing with birds. I like to refer to these barns as turkey concentration camps. I'll leave it to you to draw the parallels there.
Since they brought us the astounding and odious Double Down sandwich (where the chicken is the bun), I wonder if KFC would make the argument that they don't need to practice ethical killing since their chicken ends up as buns. And we all know that buns don't have feelings.