Food Essay

The Retrogression of Poultry Farming

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” When we walk into a grocery store and go to the frozen chicken aisle, we don’t begin to assume where our poultry is coming from. We believe that all our chickens are raised in farms where there are other animals in an open field, which are fed with care and treated fairly. Sadly, that’s not the case though. Chicken farming has gone through a major transformation over time. From raising them in a cozy barn and nurturing them by hand to small cramped sheds filled with chemicals. That’s how our chickens are being maintained in the twenty first century. I believe our society has lost the respect and traditional values of chicken farming. What was once done with love and care has been demolished and transformed to corporate greed. Old style farmers have been revolutionized to multi billion dollar companies, which run these so called “farms” where our chickens are processed and packaged without the proper handling. The greed of money has come to interfere with the way our food is being processed.

            Imagine being a chicken that is raised in a small shed cramped with hundreds of other chickens just breathing in chemicals and diseases in the dark. Doesn’t sound so pleasant, right? That’s what these animals go through everyday until they are slaughtered. Not only are they suffering because of the environment but also internally as well since these multi billion dollar companies manipulate their biological development. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Advocacy for Animals, “The birds raised for meat, called “broilers” by the industry, are the product of genetic manipulation that has drastically increased breast and thigh tissue (the most popular parts of the animal) and produced a very rapid growth rate that outstrips the development of their legs and organs. Broilers raised in this way are supposed to reach “slaughter weight” at just six or seven weeks of age, but the death toll is very high.” In such a small amount of time, these birds are expected to reach their adulthood and are killed for their meat. They are forced to grow rapidly using these chemicals that are harmful to them. The bird’s abnormal growth causes them to collapse due to their incapacity of reaching the water nozzle and causes them to get deformities in their skeletons because of their weight. With all this artificial growth going on, it is obvious that chickens are prone to get diseases. These birds end up getting cancer, heart failures, and heat prostration, which is stated by the Encyclopedia Britannica Advocacy for Animals. There is no question why we humans suffer these diseases as well cause as the saying goes, “ you are what you eat”.

            Artificial development is just the beginning of the unethical ways these birds go through. You might think that they are at least treated right since they are going through some major changes in their body. Well, you are wrong. Studies show from the ASPCA, an organization that works to prevent cruelty to animals throughout the U.S, that egg laying hens live there whole life in this cramped cage called a battery cage. With only a small amount of room, chickens begin to fight. With all this commotion going on, factory farms come up with a “solution” which is to take off the beaks of these animals. The Factory workers either slice the beak off or burn it off without any painkillers. Imagine the pain these chickens feel when it is all over. Basically being burnt alive without any medications to help heal the wound. An organization called In Defense for Animals tells us that layer hens are constantly being manipulated for their egg production. They are deprived of food and water after there layer cycle ends to force them to molt and begin a new cycle. Imagine not eating or drinking anything for fourteen days. You would obviously not be in great condition for survival if you were to do that. That’s what our chickens are going through in order to lay eggs faster for the industry. Many birds lose all the minerals they have in their bodies because of these “diets” and just collapse or aren’t capable of laying eggs anymore. Once they cant lay eggs anymore, the birds are sent to the slaughterhouse to become another meal for a family out there. What kind of example does this set for our country? If we cant even respect our animals then how are we suppose to progress and respect human beings as well?

            Now many people in the United States agree that they don’t care with what is happening with our chickens. Instead they worried about other problems such as having enough to feed the family or ending world hunger. In my perspective, health should come first and then factors of survival. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t end world hunger or that we shouldn’t feed our families but if you’re going to help people out or your loved ones then the first step towards solving these problems is to check if the food is safe to eat. Instead of helping others out, you are poisoning them and ending their lives quicker. People should be more open minded about how our chickens are being processed for us instead of giving their close minded opinions. I’ve had many of my friends simply tell me that they “don’t care as long as they have their chicken then they are good” when I’m just trying to advocate them about the dangers of chicken factories and chickens themselves. People think that chickens are cleansed and are diseased free when they reach the market. According to the Organic Consumers Association, “Chickens are reservoirs for many food borne pathogens including Campylobacter and Salmonella. 20% of broiler chickens in the US are contaminated with Salmonella and 80% are contaminated with Campylobacter in

the processing plant. Campylobacter is the most common known cause of bacterial food borne illness in the US.” People who sell us our chickens can care less if the birds are contaminated with illnesses. All these multi billion dollar companies want is there money to continue poisoning people. That’s why there has been so many cases of people catching the Salmonella disease. Estimates from the National Center for Disease control and Prevention tells us that each year, Salmonella and campylobacter from chicken and other food sources infect 3.4 million Americans, send 25,500 to hospitals, and kill about 500. A lot of innocent people die or get ill because they aren’t aware of the illnesses chickens have.

            The role of love over the years has become endangered and extinct and the rise of greed and chaos has taken its place. The way chickens are being raised and treated now a days are becoming more unethical as the days go by. New ideas are being brought up to make the process of chicken farming quicker. This means more illnesses will rise and more people will become sick and corporations will continue to not care about the dangers.  Not only are corporations abusing the chicken’s lives but our lives as well. They manipulate with our biological development by exposing our bodies to chemicals we aren’t familiar with. We as society should spread the word and stop this madness we call normal. The education of factory farming is very little and isn’t very popular. It is up to us to advocate this injustice and bring it up to rise. After all, don’t we want a better healthier life?