According to a new poll by NRG
Research Group, four out of five Americans want food companies to reduce
suffering for chickens in their supply chains, even if it means paying higher
prices.
Consumers were asked about
improving each step of a broiler chicken’s life, from genetic selection to
slaughter. Of those surveyed, 83 percent oppose using chickens bred to grow so
fast they often become crippled under their own weight; 76 percent support
ending shackling, shocking, and slitting the throats of conscious animals; and 78
percent support banning these horrific conditions even if it means paying more
for chicken meat.
While dozens of food businesses,
including Starbucks, Pret A Manger, Chipotle, and Panera Bread, have already
adopted meaningful chicken welfare standards, Tyson Foods—the largest chicken
producer in the United States—has failed to address the worst animal cruelty in
its supply chain.
Recently Tyson
announced improved methods for monitoring its suppliers’ treatment of
chickens. But the company offered little in the way of concrete improvements
for its treatment of animals.
Americans aren’t the only ones
willing to pay more for better chicken welfare. The Vancouver Sun reports that a recent poll conducted on behalf of
Mercy For Animals found 86
percent of Canadians support paying more for chicken meat if companies
implement meaningful welfare standards.
Chickens are some of the most abused animals on the planet and make
up 99 percent of animals raised and killed for food in the U.S.
Sadly, not a single U.S. federal
law provides protection to animals during their lives at factory
farms. Even worse, the law that’s supposed to protect animals at
slaughterhouses, the Humane Slaughter Act, doesn’t extend to birds, leaving
chickens with virtually no protection from abuse.
A recent MFA investigation of
several Lilydale supplier farms in Canada exposed
workers hitting, kicking, and throwing live birds; violently jamming them into
overcrowded transport crates; running over them with forklifts; and ripping off
their heads and legs.
Watch.
While welfare improvements help
prevent some of the worst cruelty to chickens at factory farms, the best way we
can help animals is to leave them off our plates and switch to a vegan
diet. Click here to get started!
Click here for a list of delicious vegan
chicken substitutes.