Being Alive is Broiling
Introduction
Chickens, chunky little beings that know how to work McCormick spices and make the grill sizzle. Mindlessly clucking away to slaughter day, making silly faces in cartoons., or so it seem. They may not be the brightest, but they are not brainless. Which do you think came first? The chicken or the egg? The chicken or the farm? The farm or the industry? The industry or poultry mistreatment? Chicken welfare or profit?
Origin
Long before their Chick-fil-A days, chickens were revered birds, descendants of the Red Jungle Fowl, a bird with beautiful, vibrant, orange, brown, red, white, gray, and gold colors. For their striking and exotic visuals, they were worshiped in Thailand for wealth and prosperity, and were a symbol of light against all evils in the Fables of Aesop.
Red Jungle Fowl (National Parks Board)
Golden Age to Golden Brown
Through the use of bone and genome (set of DNA) analysis, scientists were able to unveil the timeline of the chickens’ domestication. Their domestication into the little meatball we know now, begins way back in 1650 BCE, central Thailand. During that time, the Red Jungle Fowl were bred with a different species of the Jungle Fowl found throughout Southeast Asia, creating a genetic mutation (change in genes) which became chickens. The modest-looking bird was found to be unworthy of worship, and people had found other uses for them. Around the same time was a rise in rice and millet production… Naturally, chickens found their way into different countries’ farm.
Categories
Since then, the Poultry farm (chicken industry) has grown into a 58.3 billion dollar industry, slaughtering over 70 billion chickens per year. The industry has categorized chickens into two categories, the first for laying eggs and the second for meat consumption. Laying eggs is cool and all, but the focus here will be the latter: chickens bred for meat consumption.
In 1923, Wilmer Steele, selectively bred chickens to keep up with demands and as a bonus: at a lower cost. Those chickens were then coined as Broiler chickens, deriving from a cooking method. Broiler chickens are bred to grow at an abnormally rapid speed and gain exponential weight. Even with these changes, their minds remain untouched. From the skin on the outside to the taste buds within, chickens are highly sensitive unlike the industry made them out to be.
“It has been reported that chickens have a low taste bud number and thus low taste acuity. However, more recent studies indicate that chickens have a well-developed taste system and the reported number and distribution of taste buds may have been significantly underestimated.”
- Hong Xiang Liu (PhD in Neuroscience)
Poultry
Palace
Bede Carmody, was an animal rights activist who ran a poultry sanctuary called a “Poultry Place.” Aside from advocating for better treatment for the feathery beings, he also helped out any animals that needed his assistance, and that includes humans. He worked with Amnesty International, campaigning for human rights worldwide, but his main focus is his poultry sanctuary: A Poultry Place. In his talk on TEDxTalk, he goes into detail about the cruelty they face being: denied standard living conditions, caged without room to expand their wings, debeaking, and bred till they are barely able to balance on their two legs. These poor living conditions lead to depression, aggression, and long-term chronic pain.
Bede Carmody 2021
"If humans were done the same way, an 18 weeks old child would be 227 kilograms."
- Bede Carmody
Capabilities
Unbeknownst to the world, chickens are smart. They are beings capable of solving math equations.
A recent research by Dr. Rosa Rugani, Processing Individually Distinctive Schematic-Faces Supports Proto-Arithmetical Counting in the Young Domestic Chicken. Presents how chicks can perform calculations at only three days old! The method is to bring a newly hatched chick into a secluded location and hang a cardboard piece with chick-like features. The results show that the exposure to the cardboard chicks help with differentiation, and that includes numbers. The main idea is that chicks are better at math if they socialize more. This article contributes to chicks doing math, but also explores how their social life contributes to that skill.
Furthermore, chickens that are not constrained to the Broiler-life, are said to be amicable and social. They even have a social hierarchy!
Not to mention, their brain capacity means they are capable of empathy and maternal love as shown in the research: Avian maternal response to chick distress. When the chicks were made distressed, the mother chickens would become more alert and make comforting gestures such as wing flapping.
Problem
What really are Broiler chicken? As mentioned prior, they are chickens bred for the purpose of consumption, but along the way, they become a shell of what they should be. Before their life even begins, their future is ruined with a greed-ridden selective breeding. Following that comes a short and torturous life, ending with an equally painful death.
Selective Breeding
Selective breeding is a process that starts off with choosing which characteristic is desired. Followed by bringing two things of the same species with the desired trait together to breed. The genetics of the two will then be passed onto the offspring. Once this process is repeated over a few generations, the trust will naturally stick and pass onto the next generation and so on and so forth. The process of selective breeding is common in the food industry, but what is not common is continuation of the inhumane outcome. What they have bred Broiler chickens to become is a morbid mess. Had there not been profit to be made, the scientists and farmers who brought chickens to such a state would be facing charges under California Penal Code 597a, “Animal Cruelty – Penal Code §597(a) makes it a crime to intentionally maim, mutilate, torture, wound, or kill a living animal.” For example, in comparison, a broiler chicken takes only 30 days till they are large enough for the slaughter house; whereas, normal chickens, say, country chickens, takes at least 120 days. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The unnatural growth has repercussions as their bodies are littered with health complications. Because the targeted genes were meat and only meat, the chicken’s skeletal system grows at a slower rate, and in turn, it is unable to support the body, which creates bone deformations. As one could expect, that is not an easy thing to live with. But that is just the tip of the iceberg, along with skeletons that cannot give structure to their bodies, their hearts cannot support their abnormality as well. Finding a broiler chicken with Cardiovascular dysfunction (problems with the heart such as: damage to the vessels, lack of structure, and blood clots) is as common as finding a red M&M in an M&M jar.
In addition, simple movements such as walking are near impossible thanks to their crushing weight. The rapid growth also strikes again as it causes lameness (abnormal stance due to pain).
The body and mind are connected. As mentioned before, these chickens have comprehension skills as much as cats, dogs, and even young children do. To be cursed with a disabled body, locked in their own filth, fighting for room to breathe, Broiler chickens release their anger on one another. Agitated by despair, they either peck at one another, or commit self harm. Plucking away at their feathers, or willow in depression.
“Artificial breeding of chickens leads to degradation of the variability of genes encoding elements of the immune system, which can cause a decrease in resistance to various diseases.” (A.M. Borodin) Genes although have different codings which makes them responsible for different traits such as: hair color, hair texture, skin tone, skin texture, and etc… at times, their duties can interfere with one another and that is exactly what is happening with the selective breeding of Broiler chickens. Their rush growth gene is harming their immune competence.
CONDITIONS
Aside from what has been done to their bodies, their housing is no improvement. Broiler chickens are raised in cramped and unsanitary “farms”. Stuck in that one single place for their entire lives, they have no choice but to defecate where they eat and sleep, resulting in ammonia burns. By law, each chicken only needs to be given 0.8 square feet of space.
From the day they were conceived to the day of their slaughter, it is safe to say they never had a good day. The killing method used is just as miserable. Quoting former slaughterhouse employee, Virgil Butler, “the chickens scream, kick, and their eyeballs pop out of their heads.”
Antibiotics
With their sickly bodies, it would be a miracle if a single one of them are still alive after a week in the fecal-filled factory farms. So how do these factory farms do it? The answer lies in antibiotics.
The Humane League, provides a “short” list of antibiotics all Broiler chickens take in:
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Aminoglycosides (treat intestinal infections)
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Bambermycins (prevent the synthesis of the cell walls of bacteria)
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Beta-lactams (two types: penicillins and cephalosporins)
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Ionophores (prevent intestinal infections)
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Lincosamides (combat joint and bone infections)
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Macrolides (treat a fatal condition called necrotic enteritis, which is caused by overeating)
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Quinolones (broad-spectrum drugs that affect a wide range of bacteria)
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Streptogramins (prevent cell wall formation and protein synthesis, used to treat and prevent necrotic enteritis)
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Sulfonamides (prevent and combat Salmonella, E. coli, and other pathogens)
Typical Broiler in a typical Broiler habitat
As Consumers…
The effects don't end with chickens. The chickens are frequently injected and fed antibiotics to keep their frail bodies alive in the unsanitary factory farm. The antibiotics that were force fed and injected into the chickens does not leave the body. When we ingest the meat, our gut takes in the antibiotics as well. Over time, as the amount of antibiotics accumulate, it creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria which is difficult to treat with traditional antibiotics as the name would suggest. This is important as not only does it increase the risk of us getting infections, but also makes it harder to cure once infected.
Opposition
Many consumers stand by the poultry industry, as their involvement in steroids and hormone injections has been proven to be false. However, selective breeding for extreme qualities and antibiotics causes just as much damage. People were fearful of consuming chickens raised with steroids as it raises the chance of having salmonella, enterococcus and campylobacter. All of which are food-borne illnesses that could cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever, cramps, and even be fatal. Unfortunately, steroids and hormonal injections are not the only things that would raise chickens’ probability of carrying such diseases. Food poisoning is much more common than one would think. In America alone, 1 in 6 people get it in a year. Not coincidentally, America is also the number one chicken consumer country.
Solutions
1) Selective breeding is not a new technique nor is it problematic. It is the very thing that kept bananas from extinction and has been and is being used to strengthen crops like lentils so that they can survive in harsh climates. The difference between the selective breeding of the lentils and the broiler chickens rests on the fact that the selection is causing health deterioration in chickens while the plants are thriving better than before.
By putting on less focus on just the meat, companies can still grow their empire but also give chickens a decent life. They can solve Broiler chicken immobility, cardiovascular diseases, skeletal deformities, and so much more. If they are willing to go the extra mile, they can even offer chickens a clean home, a home that has enough space for every one of them to stretch their wings and take a walk. It is hard to imagine any business willing to give up the profit they have been raking in, but if Nestle, can do it, so can other companies. Back in 2017, Nestle launched a seven-year plan to better chicken welfare. The promise had five main parts:
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Switching to breeds approved by Global Animal Partnership (GAP) as shaving lower growth rate and healthy legs.
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Less chickens per vicinity
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"Including access to natural light, improved litter, and enriched surroundings to help allow expression of natural behavior"
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"Ensure broiler chickens are processed in a manner that avoids pre-stun handling, and instead use multi-step controlled atmospheric system that produces an irreversible stun."
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Have these process be transparent and viewable as possible
2) By taking things into our own hands, we can do what we do best, utilizing social media. In the short span of ten weeks, I experienced Twitter for the first time and found a beautiful community of people who are fascinated by chickens, experts on the bird, researchers, and farmers. I was impressed by the different ways the platform could be used. From silly pictures, and funny tweets, to share ideas and research on impactful subjects. The open-to-all platform allowed me to see and interact with organizations across the globe that are invested in giving chickens the proper treatment they deserve, and you can too. The Chicken Journal Club is a multi-institutional club dedicated to chicken research. Another interesting account is PSA (Poultry Science Association) An international association that bands together to, “advancing the discovery, dissemination, and application of knowledge in the poultry sciences.” Along with these professionals, we can advocate anywhere in the world. The platform also makes it easy to locate communities with hashtags.
3) Help promote or advocate alongside The Humane League. This organization is dedicated to ending, “the abuse of animals raised for food by influencing the policies of the world’s biggest companies, demanding legislation, and empowering others to take action and leave animals off their plates.” They have taken the United Kingdom government to court for, “the existing legislation states farmed animals must be kept ‘without any detrimental effect on their health or welfare.” (Plant Based News) With the current selective breeding causing chickens to grow a whopping 400% faster than in the 1950’s, The Humane League partnered up with Advocates for Animals, an animal law firm in the UK, to present a case.
4) Interested in changing your diet? Watermelon bugs may be just the trick! The research done by Mariod goes over using watermelon bugs as an alternative source of nutrition to broiler chickens. Broiler chickens were created for efficiency and to cut cost, and these watermelon insects could do just that, and even more. Unlike the broiler chickens, these insects are healthy and won't harm your health. In fact, the insects are very good for your body. With so many things to consider, the reserachers focused on protein. The focus was protein as most consume chicken for the sake of intaking protein.
Work Cited
1) Gorman, James. “Before Chickens Were Nuggets, They Were Revered.” The New York Times, 7 June 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/science/chicken-domestication-origin.html.
2)Peters, Joris, et al. “The Biocultural Origins and Dispersal of Domestic Chickens.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, no. 24, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121978119.
3)Graham, Rachel. “How Many Chickens Are Killed Each Year?” Sentient Media, 20 Jan. 2023, sentientmedia.org/how-many-chickens-are-killed/#:~:text=Worldwide%2C%20estimates%20suggest%20more%20than,killed%20by%20the%20egg%20industry.
4) Siegel, P.B. “Social Behavior of the Fowl.” Poultry Science, vol. 55, no. 1, 1976, pp. 5–13, https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0550005.
5) Edgar, J. L., et al. “Avian Maternal Response to Chick Distress.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 278, no. 1721, 2011, pp. 3129–3134, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2701.
6)Rugani, Rosa, et al. “Processing Individually Distinctive Schematic-Faces Supports Proto-Arithmetical Counting in the Young Domestic Chicken.” Animals, vol. 12, no. 18, 2022, p. 2322, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12182322.
7)“California Penal Code § [Section] 597(a) – Animal Cruelty.” Kann California Defense Group, www.kannlawoffice.com/california-penal-code-section-597-a-animal-cruelty#:~:text=California%20Penal%20Code%20%5BCPC%5D%20%C2%A7,or%20kill%20a%20living%20animal. Accessed 13 June 2023.
8)Balakrishnan, Pavithra. “Difference between Country Chicken & Broiler Chicken!.” FoodGravy, 24 Mar. 2021, foodgravy.com/difference-between-country-and-broiler-chicken-explained/1422/.
9Borodin, et al. “Chickens Productivity Selection Affects Immune System Genes.” Vavilov Journal of Genetics and Breeding, vol. 24, no. 7, 2020, pp. 755–760, https://doi.org/10.18699/vj20.670.
10)Thehumaneleague.Org, thehumaneleague.org/article/factory-chickens#:~:text=Like%20layer%20hens%2C%20broiler%20chickens,very%20poor%20quality%20of%20life. Accessed 13 June 2023.
11)Writers, Free From Harm Staff. “17 Chicken Facts the Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.” Free From Harm, 4 Apr. 2022, freefromharm.org/animalagriculture/chicken-facts-industry-doesnt-want-know/.
12) Editorial, CureJoy. “Side Effects of Eating Broiler Chicken: Beware of Fowl Play.” CureJoy, 5 Mar. 2018, curejoy.com/content/side-effects-of-eating-broiler-chicken/.
13)YouTube, YouTube, 20 Mar. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zzA9XA67ew&ab_channel=PLANTBASEDNEWS. Accessed 13 June 2023.