Shining light on poultry farms

We wrote the other day about animal rights, our food and chicken farms. Reader Linda Leas writes:

“I have been concerned about chickens since 1983, when I saw my first video about farm animal abuse. I was aghast to learn about some of the more glaring issues, like extreme crowding in cages and on broiler house floors, the inhumane discarding of unwanted male chicks of layer hens, and of course the fact poultry is not covered under the Humane Slaughter Act.

“I think things would be different if more people were aware, but a lot of unawareness seems to be by design — factory farms and slaughterhouses are not exactly open to the public. Information comes via undercover folks. The industry tries to squelch this by passing ‘ag gag’ laws to make whistle blowing illegal. Lastly, consumers are also guilty, since many are very adept at avoiding information that might upset them or their eating choices.”

Your thoughts? Email rrollins@coxohio.com.

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