Today we’re talking about my beef with chicken.
Listen in here :
This episode is going to focus on chicken…because we could spend all day talking about the meat industry that is a hot mess concerning pork, beef and fish…but we’ll get to those later or in the next season.
Growing up, I ate chicken. A lot of chicken. And it was cheap chicken. No frills…
It was probably Tyson chicken. They’ve been around since 1935, and they are one of the top 5 largest chicken producers on the planet. This was a difficult episode because it’s deep and complex. But my deep dive into the food supply chain on this topic, started with two questions. The first question was, about whether I am ready to take responsibility for my own personal consumption of chicken.
For years, I abandoned all meat from my diet…but I recently decided to try and raise my own meat and just see what it would take for a variety of reasons. I know that meat does contribute nutrients that are complicated to get in a vegetarian diet. It’s not to say that I want to eat a lot of meat, but chickens do play a vital role in a permaculture garden system. So raising them, for meat and eggs and also to have them perform the job I need them to do in the garden seemed worth a try.
However….I realize most people can’t raise chickens for a lot of reasons.
But the thing is, we’ve been told to eat more chickens. For years, doctors and wellness professionals have told us to leave that steak alone and eat more chicken. It’s healthier, right?
Well…that’s what we’re going to get down to the bone on, in this episode. But before we get into it…the second question stemmed from my finding that chicken is compromising our health, the environment and our economy? Or is the commercial production of chicken responsible for the plethora of these issues?
That’s the $95 billion dollar question…so let’s dig in, to my beef with chicken.
First…let’s talk about the facts….
Most of us buy chicken from the grocery store. So, the tip of the iceberg, from an environmental perspective is, the styrofoam tray and plastic shrink wrap that chicken comes in. In 2019, the family farmers across the country raised the 9 billion chickens that we consumed and sold to us at the grocery store for $95 billion not only created this waste problem, but it turns out that according to EcoWatch, one of the top 5 corporate chicken producers is responsible for the largest toxic dead zone in history.
From an environmental standpoint…
In 2017, the Environmental Working Group found that more than 200 million Americans—more than half of the people in our country—are exposed to contaminated drinking water due to fertilizer pollution. The contaminant found in the water is nitrate.
Nitrate, a suspected cancer-causing chemical from fertilizer…
Gets into drinking water sources when chemical fertilizer or manure runs off poorly protected farm fields.
Next…the same company responsible for the largest toxic dead zone in history has also been the subject of several lawsuits related to water and air pollution in recent years – even though this company reported record revenues of $40 billion in 2019.
They have admitted to illegally dumping untreated wastewater from one of it’s processing plants in Missouri; they pleaded guilty to 20 felony violations of the federal Clean Water Act; and they paid $7.5 million in fines.
In 2018, this company, along with others were accused of working together to restrict the supply of chickens and to manipulate chicken prices – which allegedly started in 2008 and this went on for 10 years. That’s called price fixing in economics.
Speaking of economics…
The family farmers who raise the chickens we eat, recently brought a lawsuit against this company and some of the other major corporations that control the majority of the broiler chicken industry marketshare, because over 95 percent of chicken production in the U.S. is done under contract.
Contract poultry farmers are paid in an opaque “tournament system,” which pits farmer against farmer in a zero-sum pay structure. Many farmers allege that poultry companies use the tournament system to suppress farmers’ wages and restrict farmers’ abilities to move among processors.
So….I bet by now, you’re wondering who we are talking about?
Tyson Foods, and they’re not the only big player running the chicken industry…The other top four players include Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue, Sanderson Foods, and Koch Foods.
Together, the companies own and operate all the means of production and about 60% of the marketshare, including the feed mills, slaughterhouses, trucking lines and even the hatcheries that develop the best strains of chickens.”
The National Chicken Council and its lobbyists donated almost $250K in 2018 to top Government officials including Senators and House Representatives but the top recipients are House Reps. Aderholt of Alabama, Jim Costa of California, Tom Graves Georgia, Senator Cyndi Hyde-Smith Missouri and House Rep David Rouzer of North Carolina.
Just so we understand the BS that’s in play here…California House Rep Jim Costa has been receiving kickbacks from the chicken lobbyists for years…so much so that in 2015 he proposed, along with Congressman Steve Womack (R-Ark.) “the formation of a new, bipartisan Congressional Chicken Caucus in the House of Representatives.
He says, “The caucus will serve as a formal group of members whose mission is to educate members of Congress and others about the history, contributions and issues of importance to U.S. chicken producers, pertaining to food safety, international trade, labor, animal welfare, immigration and environmental issues, among others.”
In addition to that, and curiously, California is home to the largest US poultry producer in the West. 🙂
Chickens raised commercially are marketed with propagandistic marketing terms; all natural, cage free, free range, no antibiotics; whereas the USDA has limited regulations and even less oversight.
So, what can we do about it?
- Talk to your House Reps & Senators to help family farmers get fair pay
- Support Local Family Farmers near you
- Eat duck!
- Stop eating chicken…as much!
Remember, if you like what you hear, you can support this show in four ways. Join other supporters on Patreon, make a one-time donation or purchase some seeds from the website and listen in and share these episodes with people you love. And if you feel it, leave a review.
Listen in to the bonus interview with the Oncologist this week, and next week, we’ll be talking about that Avocado toast. Though avocados are great for a lot of things, what they go through within our food supply chain is eye opening. So, tune in for that.
That said, eat clean, eat healthy and love your food. I’ll see you on the other side of the plate. Chow!
