USA Today Slams Horrific Animal Cruelty Following MFA Undercover Investigation

This morning’s edition of USA Today, America’s largest newspaper, features an official editorial slamming the way chickens are treated on factory farms and in slaughterhouses. The article centers on Mercy For Animals’ shocking new investigation into a poultry slaughter facility that supplies chicken to Gordon Food Service, the largest private foodservice distributor in North America, serving The Melting Pot, P.F. Chang’s, Red Robin, Culver’s, and Perkins.

Drawing from our hidden-camera footage, the article describes the horrific cruelty chickens experience leading up to their deaths: “Still conscious, they’re hung and shackled upside down, at times breaking wings or legs. They go through an electrified ‘stun’ bath, but some scientists say the shock might not render them unconscious. A saw slits their throats at a clip of about two birds per second. And when things go wrong—a bird raises its head above the stun bath or jerks and evades the saw—they could end up scalded alive in a vat.


Noting that there is no federal law protecting chickens on farms or in slaughterhouses, the article continues: “There’s a big space between what’s legal and what’s right. Other livestock must be rendered insensitive to pain before slaughter. Laws covering chickens—which account for 96% of the animals slaughtered—focus on food safety, not cruelty. If a chicken is scalded to death in the production process, government inspectors won’t necessarily intervene. About 700,000 birds died by scalding in 2013.

Finally, the article makes its most powerful statement, something we’ve been saying all along: “None of this is necessary. Alternatives exist to kill chickens with less distress and suffering. …Consumers could inspire action to help chickens raised for meat …when the public speaks with its dollars, companies listen and producers change their ways.

Take action now by signing our petition demanding that Gordon Food Service stop torturing chickens.

Of course, the best way we can help chickens and all animals is to choose humane vegan alternatives to meat, milk, and eggs. Visit ChooseVeg.com to get started.