Intention of this Site:

The poultry industry has been under a great deal of scrutiny lately - from priests in the south fighting for workers rights, to issues of immigrant labor, environmentalism, and questions of animal cruelty. In this site, I intend to examine some hot topics surrounding the industry, while trying gather research from several different angles. The information here is both a composite of research I have done, divided into different sections, and also a base for access to other websites addressing relevant issues.

To access other pages on this web site and other relevant information on poultry outside of this web site, click here.

Environmental and Labor Concerns:

As the consumption of poultry continues to gain momentum due to overwhelming acceptance of poultry as a healthy alternative to red meat, the poultry industry has boomed. With this expansion, the amount of waste (in terms of manure and bird parts) has increased, the line speeds for workers have gone up, and the amount of imported immigrant workers used has risen in an attempt to harness a cheaper, more compliant labor force. The poultry industry is widely considered to be one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States, due to hazardous working conditions, weak unions, and a high rate of disease from contaminated birds. Other pressing concerns have surrounded around an ecologically sound method of manure disposal and spare chicken parts - the poultry industry have been continually lampooned for shoddy environmental practices. These issue have been addressed in the EPA's National Strategy for Animal Feeding Operations and in President Clinton's Clean Water Action Plan. The labor laws broken are in clear violation to the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other regulations laid out by the Department of Labor.

Nutritional Issues, Genetic Engineering, Political Contributions:

Poultry has widely been considered a "clean" meat - that is, low in fat and cholesterol. While a piece of chicken may be preferable to a steak, there is data showing that chicken may not be all that it is cracked up to be. There is a call as well to tighten the regulations on poultry inspection, in order to arrest the spread of dangerous bacteria such as salmonella. The use of genetic engineering - in order to produce chickens with tenderer meat who lay larger eggs- has also gotten a lot of press. Many opponents to genetic engineering are concerned with the grand scale consequences of messing with nature - what does this do to natural evolution, what does this do to the quality of the product, and who are we do to go changing a species that has been around (and doing fine) for thousands of years, solely for the fulfillment of own capitalist desires?. A growing number of people are becoming aware of the effects of genetic engineering and are raising their fists against it. The poultry industry has been further soiled by charges that they pay politicians (in the form of campaign contributions) to look the other way when it comes to tightening standards and regulations.

Commentary:

I have tried to gather research from several different angles in creating this site, in order to provide a (somewhat) rounded overview of the poultry industry. However, during the course of my research, I found myself more and more appalled by the state of the poultry industry, particularly with regards to the environmental consequences and the issues surrounding labor rights. While the poultry industry does provide for a good many jobs in America, I feel that it has (until recently) been an overlooked and abused industry, on all fronts. The poultry in dangerous for the environment, people, and animals, and these issues are only slowly being brought into the forefront. Some companies, like Foster Farms, it appears have made efforts to clean up their act, but many continue to abuse their power as players in a large and lucrative industry.

Sites on this Web Page:

Click pic for environmental consequences	Click pic for labor rights and working conditions	Click pic for Foster Farms information	Click pic for statistic on poultry industry

 

Access to other relevant Web sites:

• Information on Nutritional Benefits of Poultry: click here
• Information about poultry contamination: click here
• Information on government ignoring food safety issues, click here
• Information about immigrant labor: click here
• Information on genetic engineering: click here
• Information on the humane slaughter act: click here
• For a draft of the EPA guidelines for animal feeding operations: click here
• Information on poultry industry labor rights violations, click here,
• For more information on worker violations from the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, click here
• Information on Fair Labor Standards Act: click here
• Information on manure disposal: click here
• Information on Foster Farms political contributions: click here
• Information on Tyson Foods political contributions: click here
• For current marketing concepts within poultry industry, click here