It is unfortunate that one of the most important sectors in the food industry continues to face great suffering in its process. Poultry farming and processing is the biggest contributor to meat consumption in America. It has received great attention on issues such as hygiene and the treatment of meats to ensure that chicken and turkey are processed under the best conditions for the sake of final consumers. These measures have engaged advanced technology to ensure that poultry is treated humanely, and handled appropriately throughout the process of turning it into sumptuous meals for Americans. Indeed, the video shows just how public health officials regulate poultry rearing, in addition to the firms that process the same through constant inspections. A review of this video however, proves that more attention needs to be paid on the conditions under which most of the people who are employed in the poultry industry work. The implications arising from working in these conditions also need to be considered. After all, the existence of regulations ought to ensure that both poultry and man are treated with utmost respect.
At first glance, the US Poultry and Egg Association presents a very well equipped factory with high precision operations at every stage of the process. It is however, quite easy to note that all of the attention focuses on the chicken, and while there is some extent of consideration for the employees, it is not emphasized. High tech and high end poultry processing plants do not appear to be everything that they claim seeing as numerous complaints brought forward prove the suffering of employees in these same plants. It would be right to say that the video presented by US Poultry and Egg Association is an advertisement aimed at addressing issues in the industry. Its purpose is to encourage use of proper methods and processes in operation of poultry processing firms and firms. A closer look into the matter presents very controversial issues of employee abuse, workplace injuries and work related illnesses in the long term that arise from the same environments. This is not to say that the board is presenting false information, but that it does not reveal the particular woes of employees in the industry.
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According to some of the employees of Kentucky State, the farm process of bringing the chicken in has led to long term ailments arising from repeated activity of the limbs and other musculoskeletal movement. Simply bringing in chicken from the barn to the truck repeatedly and using two hands with a clutch of the fingers around four of these birds has been seen to cause painful spasms in employees’ hands. Furthermore, the same employees constantly inhale particles of the birds’ feathers and have been seen to suffer from respiratory diseases following the same. To deal with such issues, these firms ought to provide protective gear such as masks and ensure that their employees take proper shifts across a variety of other activities that focus on the various body movements rather than particular ones. Most importantly, these employers must ascertain workplace safety as well as provide reasonable insurance according to the dangers faced at work. Regrettably, such is not common as the same employers are oppressive of their employees making them work at extremely high and unhealthy rates and conditions. What is even worse is their unwillingness to cover damage caused by their actions. It is for this reason that videos from bodies such as the US Poultry and Egg Association ought to focus on the woes of employees rather than merely already existing good. While these improvements are useful to the industry, they come at the costs of employee health and sometimes their lives. This is not something that most Americans would be happy about
References
Peterson, W. L. (2016). Return to poultry research in the United States. Journal of farm economics , 656-669.
