This
morning’s edition of USA Today,
America’s largest newspaper, features an official editorial slamming the way chickens are
treated on factory farms and in slaughterhouses. The article centers on Mercy
For Animals’ shocking new investigation into a poultry slaughter facility
that supplies chicken to Gordon Food Service, the largest private foodservice
distributor in North America, serving The Melting Pot, P.F. Chang’s, Red Robin,
Culver’s, and Perkins.
Drawing
from our hidden-camera footage, the article describes the horrific cruelty
chickens experience leading up to their deaths: “Still conscious, they’re hung
and shackled upside down, at times breaking wings or legs. They go through an
electrified ‘stun’ bath, but some scientists say the shock might not render
them unconscious. A saw slits their throats at a clip of about two birds per
second. And when things go wrong—a bird raises its head above the stun bath or
jerks and evades the saw—they could end up scalded alive in a vat.
Noting that
there is no federal law protecting chickens on farms or in slaughterhouses, the
article continues: “There’s a big space between what’s legal and what’s right.
Other livestock must be rendered insensitive to pain before slaughter. Laws
covering chickens—which account for 96% of the animals slaughtered—focus on
food safety, not cruelty. If a chicken is scalded to death in the production
process, government inspectors won’t necessarily intervene. About 700,000 birds
died by scalding in 2013.
Finally,
the article makes its most powerful statement, something we’ve been saying all
along: “None of this is necessary. Alternatives exist to kill chickens with
less distress and suffering. …Consumers could inspire action to help chickens
raised for meat …when the public speaks with its dollars, companies listen and
producers change their ways.
Take action
now by signing our petition demanding that Gordon Food Service
stop torturing chickens.
Of course,
the best way we can help chickens and all animals is to choose humane vegan
alternatives to meat, milk, and eggs. Visit ChooseVeg.com
to get started.