CHICKENS ARE BACK IN THE NEWS 

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed.”

                                         ~   Proverbs 31:8 (New Living Translation)

            Back in October, I wrote a post titled, “Opening Our Eyes – To Chickens.”   That post addressed an article about a proposed change to USDA regulations governing chicken slaughter.  The proposal would speed up the slaughter lines, allowing 175 chickens to be killed every minute (up from the current 140 birds).  Animal advocates (among others) opposed the measure because every year, even under current speeds, nearly one million chickens are not killed in the slaughter line and are instead dropped alive into scalding water.  I argued that this is the kind of information that demands Christian attention. 

            The proposal remains pending and last week I saw another article about this same proposal and it made me even angrier than the first.

Washington Post, full credit below

It seems there is a “Chicken Caucus” in Congress working hard to support the change.   According to the article, written by Coleman McCarthy for the National Catholic Reporter, the Caucus “has about a dozen members . . .  who are obedient to the lobbying and earmarking wishes of the National Chicken Council, the United Egg Producers, the American Egg Board, and corporate giants like Perdue and Tyson long tenured in the industrial farming of chickens.”[1]   The existence of the “Chicken Caucus,” by itself, should not be upsetting.  But for me it highlights the apparent failure of so many involved in this discussion (not just members of the Caucus) to consider that we are not just talking about jobs, profits, food safety, and worker safety (although those are all important issues as a general matter).  We are talking about living, feeling, thinking individuals being slaughtered at a rate of 3 individuals per second on every processing line in the country.  That fact should be at the forefront of the discussion.

            So, I want to make two observations in this post:
           First, kudos to the National Catholic Reporter, as a religious publication, for printing this column, which address both the risks to workers and the endemic suffering  of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses.  McCarthy notes the risks these new rules pose to workers in slaughterhouses, as well as the general lack of media coverage of animal suffering in both factory farms and slaughterhouses (noting the media rely on advertising from these very companies), the work of undercover investigators in trying to bring these realities into the daylight, and the obstacles advocates face as a result of “ag gag laws” (as I recently discussed). [2]  While there are several steps to go from publication of an article in a religious news publication to teaching about our faith-based obligations to animals as part of Christian development in churches, I want to celebrate this step in the right direction. 

Second, and here is the heart of the matter:  STOP.  Think for one minute (as long as it currently takes to end 140 lives, and soon possibly 175 lives) about the lives we are taking, the way we are taking them, and why we are taking them.   Three birds per second per processing line.  That is a staggering fact.   

            This is from the article I linked to in October, written by Kimberly Kindy for the Washington Post, describing the process at its current speeds:

On slaughter lines across the country, workers shackle the legs of live chickens and turkeys to hang them in place on the processing line before they are electrically stunned and a blade slices their necks.

If they are not shackled or stunned properly, the blade can miss its mark and live birds are dunked into scalding water used to help defeather them. Researchers say the resulting death is far more painful for the birds than if they are properly incapacitated and their necks cut.

“They are literally throwing the birds into the shackles, often breaking their legs as they do it,” said Charles “Stan” Painter, a federal poultry inspector and chairman of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals. “They are working so fast, they sometimes get just one leg in the shackles. When that happens, the chickens aren’t hanging right. . . . They don’t get killed, and they go into the scald tank alive.”

            As Mohan Raj, a British-based poultry-slaughter expert who helps advise the European Food Safety Authority (quoted in the October article) puts it, “It’s so fast, you blink and the bird has moved away from you.”[3]  Remember, chickens have virtually no legal protection, since they are not considered “animals” under the Humane Slaughter Act.

Can you imagine the (rightful) outcry if we treated dogs this way?  When it comes to knowing pain and fear, chickens are no different from dogs.  Chickens are intelligent, social birds who form loving relationships.  Why – why – do we so utterly disregard them? Why is their suffering a matter of such marked indifference to the Chicken Caucus, the proponents of the rule, and the purveyors of cheap, mass produced chicken and chicken products?   That’s what made me angry. 

The answer is that selling chicken, even (or maybe especially) cheap chicken, is profitable.  It is up to us to make the connection between the staggering per person increase in meat consumption over the last several decades and how animals are treated.  It is up to us to make the connection between what buy and eat and how animals suffer. 

Can’t we give those nuggets or that bucket of wings a pass? If you are going to eat meat, including (and maybe especially) chicken, do so mindfully.[4]  Sit down for a meal with a bird (or other meat) raised humanely, and do it only occasionally.  If you are looking for “fun” food for the game, or quick food for the road, take a moment to learn about plant-based options.  It’s not hard, it’s not expensive (beans cost less than cheap chicken), it’s much healthier, and it’s delicious.  See my Resources page for a place to start.  A quick Google search will find you more recipes and ideas than you will know what to do with. 

For sake of mercy, compassion, and justice; for the sake of the One who compared himself to a mother hen (Matt. 23:37): please.   Chickens, like this one, will be grateful.  

Photo credits: 
Washington Post chicken photo: This Dec. 2, 2008, file photo shows a chicken farm just outside the city limits of Pittsburg, Tex. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File).  This appeared in Kindy's April article, linked in the footnotes.
Chicken: My Pet Chicken

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[1] McCarthy writes that the Caucus members are “mostly Republicans from Southern states.”  I have dropped that part of the quote to this footnote because I have no desire to single out Republicans as bad on animal issues or to enflame partisan passions.  There is plenty of neglect of animal suffering among both parties (these regulations are being pushed by a Democratic administration, after all), and I believe HSUS has good working relationships with individuals in both parties.  If you want to know how your senators and representatives vote on animal issues (and you should), the Humane Society Legislative Fund has a Humane Scorecard with detailed information. 

[2] Regarding undercover investigations, McCarthy writes, “Among the titles, all available on YouTube, are "From Farm to Fridge," "Meet Your Meat," and "45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken." The latter reports that if a human being were raised similar to broiler chickens -- overfed and pumped with growth-promoting drugs -- a child of 2 would weigh 345 pounds.”

[3] On April 14, Kindy wrote again about this issue for the Post, discussing an inter-agency dispute between the USDA and OSHA over whether the regulations pose increased risk to worker safety.    USDA insists that a study proves there is no such risk.  OSHA insists USDA is misrepresenting the study.  She adds: “The new inspection program was first proposed two years ago, but it has not been finalized due in part to opposition from members of Congress, unions, worker and animal rights groups.”  Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, has also blogged about this issue.  

[4] Many people will give up red meat before they give up chicken.  From a perspective of humane treatment of animals, however, giving up chicken is a more effective first step.  Chicken comprise the overwhelming majority of animals raised for food, they have virtually no legal protection, and they suffer terribly, as I hope this post suggests.