The truth behind ‘cheap’ chicken

Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming, tells us why cheap chicken is bad for you, the chicken, and the planet.

I was travelling through Argentina and Peru studying factory farming’s insatiable desire for animal feed from far-flung lands when, driving through the desert north of Lima, I realised just how all-pervasive factory farming really is. It was the most barren landscape I’d ever seen; just flat sand, not a cactus in sight. Punched up from the ground were ridges and mountains, some like wind-blown burial mounds, others jagged and scarred. But there in the distance, spread across the sand, was what looked like the encampment of an army on the move. Long white tents lined up in the desert. It was an eerie site. This was an intensive chicken meat farm, seemingly on the edge of the Earth.

Fifty billion chickens

The sad truth is that intensive chicken farming has indeed become all pervasive. An estimated 65 billion farm animals are reared and slaughtered worldwide every year. Over fifty billion of these are chickens reared for their meat, mostly in barren and overcrowded sheds. In Britain, about three-quarters of our chickens are reared in factory farms. A system that creates vast quantities of seemingly ‘cheap’ meat – but at a cost.  They are bred to grow faster than nature intended and, as a result, can suffer enormously. Millions go lame as their legs can't support their over-developed bodies. Many will die of heart and lung problems.

Compassion in World Farming campaigns for chickens to be reared in more humane and natural farming systems, and urges the poultry industry to change from mass-producing cheap meat to producing better quality chicken that comes from animals given a better life.

Please help us to end the suffering of factory farmed chickens

• Buy free-range or organic eggs and chicken meat.  
• If you can’t afford free-range, look out for the RSPCA Freedom Food standard. 
• Many food products, like mayonnaise, cakes, biscuits and quiches contain egg. Unless the ingredients state ‘free-range eggs’ they are likely to be from caged hens.
• Remember, when you’re eating out, ask if the chicken on your plate or in your sandwich is free-range.

For more information and advice, download our Chicken Guide and Pocket Egg Guide and order your free Compassionate Food Guide here. Visit Raw.info for more information on the impacts of factory farming.

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