Matthew Stainbrook

English 015.007
Dr. McChesney
Formative essay
31 Oct. 2015
Chickens in the American Farming Industry
A man named Jason Donahue once said, I see humanity but no humans. Cruelty and
neglect to chickens seems to be the norm in the American chicken farming industry. After
looking into the treatment of chickens in the American farming industry; words such as insular,
harsh, and barbaric come to mind. Although it seems impossible in this day in age, the callous
treatment of these chickens is sanctioned by the farms themselves. Sadly, many Americans are
blind to the sacrifices these animals make for us to consume. According to Beef Magazine,
Americans are eating more chicken than ever; an estimated 60 pounds of chicken per person
each year are consumed by American citizens. The chicken farms trade morals for profits,
humanity for money, and their conscious for their luxuries. The abuse, humiliation, and neglect
of chickens in the American farming industry must be resolved.
First, the conditions in which meat chickens are forced to live would be unsuitable for
any creature, let alone an inquisitive, intelligent creature such as the chicken. So called cage
free chicken farms in reality consist of long barns where thousands of chickens are forced to
live. The animals often live in darkness for most of their life and never see sunlight. Artificial
lighting is used to manipulate the birds into eating as often as possible.(Embar 1) The cruel
shelters might as well be cages; each chicken may only have less than two-thirds of a square foot
to themselves. As a result of the cramped conditions and pure negligence most chickens to lose

their feathers resulting in rubbed raw flesh on their underside. Most chickens do not even make
it to their adolescent stage and die of infection or disease.(Bentar 2)
Next, genetic modification is common in the chicken farm industry. Scientists breed and
single out certain traits in the birds DNA to increase the muscle mass of the chicken which
results in increased meat yield. However, the genetically engineered chickens have enlarged
breasts to the point where they can no longer walk; if they could walk they would be at risk for
their heart bursting due to the strain that is exerted on their irregular bodies. Genetic
modification is also done to change the rate at which the chicken matures. The organization
People for the Ethical Treatment of animals conducted an inside study on the chicken farming
industry practices. Genetic selection and a steady dose of growth-promoting drugs are used to
ensure large, fast-growing birds. (PEETA 1) A normal chicken matures in 16-20 weeks. The
genetically engineered chickens fully mature as soon as three weeks after birth. Poultry Science
journal has calculated that if humans grew at the same rate as modern chickens, a human would
weigh 660 pounds by the age of eight weeks.(Kristoff 2) Many chickens do not reach maturity
and die from disease which is caused by the inability of the birds heart and lungs to keep up
with their rapid skeletal growth.
Finally, the treatment of hens is just as torturous as the treatment of meat chickens. Each
year, 360 million hens are raised for eggs in the United States. The company NBC placed an
undercover activist as a worker at an egg farm owned by one of the largest and well known egg
producers in the country. They found hens, unlike their counterpart, the meat chicken, spend their
entire lives in cages stacked on top of each other in expansive warehouses. The warehouses
rarely offer any fresh air or sunlight. Live birds were roaming outside their cages, some falling
into manure pits.(NBC 1) Meanwhile, the wire mesh on the small cage often rubs off the

chickens feathers and causes their feet to stop working properly. In addition, the chickens are
forced to be immobilized throughout the entire laying period which almost inevitably results in
various fractures of the chickens bones. They are kept in constant light to fool their bodies into
churning out more eggs than normal (Newkirk 25). It is estimated that each egg that is produced
costed about twenty two hours of labor for the hen. Hens can live up to 10 years laying egg under
normal conditions. However, in these warehouses they are slaughtered at about two years of age
when their production of eggs decreases. On the other hand, roosters are needed for fertilization
of hens only. Male chickens are deemed useless to the farm, therefore not long after birth male
chicks are fed into a macerator, a machine that kills and grounds them into a mix of angry red
meat. (PEETA 1) Unbelievably, this is an everyday occurrence on chicken farms where millions
of chicks are fed into the machine
In conclusion, Americans have been eating more chicken, causing more inhumane and
cruel treatment of chickens to keep up with the demand. Cage-free doesnt always mean fresh
air and sunlight. New standards must be sought to treat these animals compassionately. Although,
many consumers are now demanding that these animals be raised humanely, it is not enough. The
unrighteousness of these farms should widely known and can not be ignored. To show empathy
and respect towards the number one animal which feeds our nation is an absolute necessity.