In large chicken productions, where does the waste go?

It is said that chickens are one of the most efficient feed to meat producers consumed on the market today. They are feed and managed under optimal conditions which produce an egg and hen that has been farmed precisely for the needs of the market.

Research conducted by the Life Cycle Assesment in Austrailia have concluded that from cradle to grave the greenhouse emissions are low for chicken production. When it comes to waste the droppings and bedding are used to produce fertilizer so essentially there is virtually zero waste.  The chicken litter goes to various fertilizing projects from organic fertilizer to turf farming, it uses are endless for farming.

When it comes to water waste, most of it comes from processing plants. The industry is actively trying to find ways to reduce water waste in ways that reduce sacrifices to food safety and environmental harm.

Chicken processing

Read more about chicken sustainability at chicken.org.au

Why are chickens such a sustainable commodity?….It’s​ in the poo!

Raising your own chickens has many benefits, fresh eggs, insect control, and cute pets!

But let’s face it… chickens poop a lot! Like a TON! 50 times a day to be exact and that is where the real value in sustainability shines.

All that poop can be used as a natural fertilizer for small gardens. What makes having this steady supply of chicken produced fertilizer is that it is all natural, no added chemicals. Adding wood clippings and grass trimming to a coop can also help produce a rich compost.

Read more about it on backyardchickencoops.com.au. A great place to start if you want to improve the sustainability of your home garden using the help of feathery friends.

Detrimental Effects of Chicken and Egg Factories to Nearby Residents

Humans greatly benefit from animal farming, which produces, not only clothing but food. There have been numerous factors affecting the growth rate of chicken factories and farms worldwide, the two most important being stricter environmental regulations and an increasing demand for chicken and eggs.

What has this increase of factories and farms brought us? These factories have brought harm to nearby residents, who have already established their home before the new factories have been built. In Surry County, North Carolina, many residents have begun to convert their land to chicken farms. However, other residents view these “farms” as industrial operations. Ricky and Donna Bryant are residents in Surry County and now live between four chicken houses, made by other residents. Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have lived in Surry County for 30 years and plan to retire there. However, since the chicken home conversions began, they have been thinking about moving, but they are afraid that no one would buy their home due to the chicken homes, factories, and farms expelling odor and pollutants to nearby homes (Gutierrez, 2015). Other residents have agreed with the Bryant family as the stench is unbearable. Many residents are afraid that their homes have now lost value due to the unbearable stench these farms are giving off.

In Central Valley (California), a Stockton Farming Accident Lawyer has written his take on poultry farms being built by nearby residents. Ed Smith addresses the harm of poultry dust that is being produced by these chicken factories. The poultry dust is being produced when chickens are being loaded onto trucks for transportation. The dust is getting caught between feathers of each chicken. The dust contains high concentrations of particulate matter, microorganisms, and other particles that may affect people’s respiratory tract. Some diseases that are associated with poultry dust include chronic airway obstructive disease, chronic bronchitis, and organic dust toxic syndrome. What these diseases have in common is shortness of breath and difficulty breathing (Smith, 2016).

 

References:

Brown, K. (2017, September 18). Poultry Farm Expansions In Western North Carolina Pit Neighbors Against Neighbors. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://www.wfdd.org/story/poultry-farm-expansions-western-north-carolina-pit-neighbors-against-neighbors

Journal, B. M. (2015, March 22). Paying the price of living too close to chicken farms. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/paying-the-price-of-living-too-close-to-chicken-farms/article_f2388f9e-d027-11e4-ba11-73ce89526f16.html

Mimi Kura, Student at University Malaysia Terengganu Follow. (2014, April 30). Indoor Air Particulate Matter. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://www.slideshare.net/aimininsyirah/indoor-air-particulate

PETA. (n.d.). 21 Things the Egg Industry Doesn’t Want You to See. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://www.peta.org/features/egg-industry-cruelty/

Smith, E., M., A. &., B., T., A., M., J., D., S., & M., D. (2017, July 19). Unknown Hazards Living Near Poultry Farms. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://www.sacramentoinjuryattorneysblog.com/2016/11/poultry-farms.html

 

Practical Recycling methods from CHICKEN

Many may not know that using egg-shells as fertilizer is a very effective way of recycling consumed goods. Egg shells are eaten quite frequently in households, so throwing them in the trash when they can be used for your garden is one of the important ways chickens can positively impact the environment. Next time you make an omelette, crush up the shells and mix them with your soil!

The environment and the chicken/egg industry

In order to mass produce chickens and eggs for consumption, industries prescribe an enormous amount of antibiotics to the chickens. Due to close living spaces and harsh conditions, chickens are more likely to die due to disease. To counteract premature death antibiotics are implemented, resulting in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. According to the FDA, 18 out of the 30 antibiotic feed additives that are being prescribed were classified as a high risk to humans. If such practices continue, a time may come where modern medicine is rendered useless against such bacteria (PETA NA).

Raising billions of chickens a year results in large quantities of feces, 750,000 tons of it to be exact. Such waste contains enough antibiotics and other nutrients to impact surrounding environments. Chicken feces penetrates the soil and is ultimately carried away by bodies of water. As a result, plants are destroyed and water systems are polluted. The waste is said to contain more nitrogen and phosphorus than cow or pig feces. Due to the nutrient-rich feces, rivers, and lakes give rise to excess algae, creating dead zones and destroying aquatic ecosystems (Davis 2016).

According to William and Mary Cunningham, 600 million metric tons or one-third of the world’s grain production is given to livestock as feed. Interestingly, two kilograms of grain is needed to produce one kilogram of chicken meat. Essentially, twice the population could be fed if the grains were consumed directly. Chickens and hens require a lot of water to survive also. According to Moncrief, “Raising animals for food requires up to ten times more water than growing crops.”(Moncrief 2013) To give a better idea, 4000 liters of water is needed to produce a kilogram of chicken meat. In comparison, around 1500 liters of water is used to produce a kilogram of wheat (Cunningham 2017, 160, 256). Keep in mind that wheat is one of the many additives found in chicken feed.

The commodity consumes 25.37 gigajoules of energy per 1000 kilograms and contributes to global warming both directly and indirectly (Leinonen 2012). Although the industry has a far better carbon footprint than beef, it’s certainly not as sustainable as a plant-based diet. According to an article from Greeneatz, chicken and eggs have a CO2 kilo equivalent rating that is 2 to 4 times higher than plant-based foods (Greeneatz NA). Earth doesn’t have an infinite supply of natural resources, yet everyone apparently thinks otherwise as we consume more and more.

References:

Cunningham, William, Mary Ann Cunningham. 2017. Principles of Environmental                Science Inquiry and Application. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Davis, Karen. 2016. Which Is Worse For The Environment- Poultry Or Beef?. United Poultry Concerns.http://www.upc-online.org/environment/160503_which_is_worse-poultry_or_beef.html

Greeneatz. NA. Food’s Carbon Footprint. http://www.greeneatz.com/foods-carbon-footprint.html

Leionen, A. G. Williams, J. Wiseman, J. Guy, I. Kyriazakis. 2012. “Predicting the environmental impacts of chicken systems in the United Kingdom through a life cycle assessment: Broiler production systems”. Poultry Science 91 (2): 8-25. doi.org/10.3382/ps.2011-01634

Moncrief, Dawn. 2013. 10 Reasons To Say NO To Animal Gifting Hunger Relief Organizations.

Free from Harm. https://freefromharm.org/agriculture-environment/10-reasons-to-say-no-to-animal-gifting-hunger-orgs/

People for The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA). NA. Top 10 Reasons Not to Eat Chicken. https://www.peta.org/living/other/top-10-reasons-eat-chickens/

 

How Poultry Animals are Raised in Farms

Many companies take a lot of steps in the process to produce chicken products from raw materials. First, farms are places where chicken are raised. Industrial hens have been bred and produced chicken eggs more and faster. An industrial hen can lay 320 eggs in about 18 months. It equals with four years of traditional breeds. In fact, the producing eggs affect their bones. It makes their bone become weaker and easily broken (Lawrence, F 2016).

By nature, chicken can be lived in a group of 30 to become social birds and intelligent. They are happy to sit on their eggs and raising their children.

But, factory farms force then to live in the way that is unpleasant for their psychical and physical health. Many factory farms try to have more chickens, but they do not extend their space because space is money. In order to save their money, they have to put the chickens on extremely crowded condition like less than one square foot per chicken. These chickens become stress because they have to live in a limited space without sunshine and fresh air: it is impossible for them to scratch, go roam, and have privacy. Thus, they usually peck at each other and fight, so their lifespan is shorter (Wildcraft 2017).

According to a New York writer Michael Specter who wrote on his first visit a broiler poultry farm, “I was almost knocked to the ground by the overpowering smell of feces and ammonia.” Michael’s eye and lung burned so he could not see or breathe. He guessed there are about 30000 chickens in front of him. Michael cannot suffer more than an hour with that living condition, but the chickens have to suffer for every second of their six-week lives. With that living conditions, next generation of chickens will be infected by some bacteria, such as salmonella and campylobacter. Therefore, the farmer uses a large amount of antibiotic and other drugs to keep the chickens live well and grow fast. As consumers, we are likely using chicken products that contain dangerous contaminants (Garces 2013).

 

Reference:

Garces, L. 2013. Why We Haven’t Seen Inside a Broiler Chicken Factory Farm in a Decade. Food Safety. http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/01/why-we-havent-seen-inside-a-broiler-chicken-factory-farm-in-a-decade/#.WfJqTFtSyUk

Lawrence, F.2016. If consumers knew how farmed chickens were raised, they might never eat their meat again.”The guardians”.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/24/real-cost-of-roast-chicken-animal-welfare-farms

Wildcraft, M.2017. Inside Chicken Family Farms – The Awful Truth. http://thegrownetwork.com/raising-chickens-factory-farms/

Chicken to Human Food

Nowaday, chicken becomes the top resource of human food. We can easily find many different kinds of chicken products in the meat areas of supermarkets and grocery such as Lucky 7, Lion, Walmart, and Safeway. Many chicken products were products are produced by big poultry industry companies, such as Sanderson Farm, Perdue Foods, Pilgrim’s, and Tyson Food. Many consumers want to purchase chicken products because it is cheap, and it is better than red meat, but they are not knowledgeable about how dangers can come to their body and affect their health. Many people do not know what behind chicken products and how chicken’s production process affects their health. Besides those unqualified products, people can also find organic products which are produced by certified organic poultry suppliers. Unfortunately, these good products are not really popular in the poultry market due to the limitation of certified poultry suppliers and its low price. Fortunately, with the development of information technology, we easily can inform consumers to be aware of products they are using which are destroying their health and environment