{"id":2142,"date":"2017-11-07T17:57:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T17:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmforward1.wpengine.com\/?p=2142"},"modified":"2022-11-04T18:19:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T18:19:39","slug":"the-human-costs-of-factory-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/news\/the-human-costs-of-factory-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"The Human Costs of Factory Farming"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Most Americans know that factory farming is a nightmare for animals and our environment, but too often we forget that the people who work within these industries suffer as well. To remain employed, workers are forced to slaughter and process animals at dangerously fast rates.1<\/a> The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) limits meatpacking line speeds to reduce rates of foodborne illness, but no state or federal statute limits line speeds standards for worker safety.<\/strong>2<\/a> Unsurprisingly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, meatpackers face an illness and injury rate two and a half times higher than the national average.<\/strong>3<\/a><\/p>\n

In working conditions the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) associates with \u201chigh noise levels, dangerous equipment, slippery floors, musculoskeletal disorders, and hazardous chemicals,\u201d<\/strong>4<\/a> meatpackers must quickly perform precise and repetitive tasks, often with knives in hand.<\/strong>5<\/a> Line processors commonly have only seconds to kill or cut apart one animal before turning to the next. Since profit margins are slim, volume is paramount, and workers are under constant pressure to process more animals in less time.6<\/a><\/p>\n

Lives on the Line<\/h2>\n

While the poultry industry thrives, the workforce pays the price, as detailed in Oxfam America\u2019s 2015 report\u00a0\u201cLives on the Line: The Human Cost of Cheap Chicken<\/em>.\u201d Each worker handles thousands of birds every day: hanging live chickens, trimming skin, cutting off wings. Hourly wages are low; injury and illness rates are high.7<\/a> Even breathing takes a toll, as workers are often confined to spaces where the air is laden with dust, chlorine, and ammonia.<\/strong>8<\/a> According to a 2011 study, poultry processors have one of the highest rates of human exposure to some cancer-causing agents, and have an elevated risk of dying from chronic disease including leukemias, thyroid diseases, and bacterial infections.<\/strong>9<\/a><\/p>\n

The rapid line speeds cause a range of worker injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome and other musculoskeletal disorders.10<\/a> The current poultry industry line speeds generally range from 70 to 140 birds per hour. This rate is harmful not only to workers but also the birds facing slaughter; nearly 1 million chickens and turkeys are unintentionally boiled alive <\/strong>each year in U.S. slaughterhouses, often because fast-moving lines prevent workers from killing the birds before they are dropped into scalding water.11<\/a> Nonetheless, in 2012 the USDA conducted a pilot program in 20 slaughterhouses to test an increased line-speed limit of 175 birds per hour. Thanks to two years of pressure applied by animal protection organizations and workers\u2019 rights groups, including Farm Forward, the USDA dropped the proposal after a two year battle12<\/a>\u2014but the industry\u2019s valuing profit over welfare has led to a new tactic:<\/p>\n

In September 2017 the\u00a0National Chicken Council (NCC) petitioned USDA<\/a>\u00a0Secretary Sonny Perdue to waive line speed limits entirely<\/strong>, complaining that line speed limits reduce profits and dampen the industry\u2019s competitive advantage in a global marketplace.<\/p>\n

Taking Action<\/h2>\n

Farm Forward has joined a coalition of organizations that\u2014on behalf of our combined tens of millions of supporters\u2014have urged the USDA to deny the NCC\u2019s petition<\/a>. On October 16, 2017 our coalition met in person with USDA representatives to urge the department to reject these new rules. The USDA has not yet made its decision, and has launched\u00a0a public comment period, open until December 13, 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We urge all readers who support worker safety to comment now, even just by writing \u201cI urge you to reject the NCC petition.\u201d To comment, click the blue button in the upper right corner of\u00a0this page<\/a>. Please share this article with your social networks and encourage others to\u00a0join us!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For years, Farm Forward has worked to create a more just and sustainable food system, where the experiences of workers and animals are respected and valued, but\u00a0we can\u2019t continue this work without your help<\/strong>.\u00a0Please\u00a0donate<\/a> now\u00a0and support our mission to change the way our nation eats and farms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The factory farming industry harms human workers as well as the living animal products they must process at breakneck speed. Learn more here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,20,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legislation","category-animal-welfare","category-public-health-pandemics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2142\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}