Source: Rita Jane Gabbettt, MEATINGPLACE, 12/5/14


A North Carolina chicken farmer under contract with Perdue invited animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming to video flock conditions on his farm over a period of months to create a promotional video.

On Wednesday, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote an op/ed piece titled, “Abusing the Chicken We Eat,” about the video.

Yesterday, Perdue sent its own audit team to visit the contract grower Craig Watts’ farm to assess current flock conditions. The company has also asked the Center for Food Integrity’s animal care panel to review the video.

“We did send animal welfare team to the farm yesterday because we were concerned about what we saw on the video,” Perdue spokeswoman Julie DeYoung told Meatingplace. “We wanted to see for ourselves what the conditions of the birds on the farm are currently. I don’t have any results from that audit yet.”

DeYoung said Perdue flock advisors visit the farms periodically and are a resource for the growers. These advisors are their first line of communication with the company. It is stated in the contract that growers must notify their flock advisor within 24 hours of any issues.

“If that was done and we didn’t respond, we will certainly look into that,” DeYoung said. “And if he didn’t, then that would have bee the first step he should have taken to address his concerns.” She said no action has been taken against the grower at this point and he remains under contract with Perdue.

Perdue issued the following statement this morning:

Perdue Farms has thoroughly reviewed the video posted by an animal advocacy group, and we can assure you that the conditions shown in this farmer’s poultry house do not reflect Perdue’s standards for how our chickens are raised. It is clear from the video that he is not following our guidelines and has been negligent in the care of his flock. We sent a team of poultry welfare experts to visit his farm and assess the condition of his current flock, and will take whatever steps are need to assure their wellbeing. In addition, we have asked a third-party group of poultry welfare experts to review the video and give us their unbiased assessment.

The independent farmers that we entrust to raise our chickens are contractually and ethically obligated to notify their Perdue flock advisor immediately if any situation exists which would have an adverse effect on the health or well being of the flock. We are always available to respond with additional resources or expertise should a farmer need help in raising our birds. We also provide an anonymous, toll-free hotline, operated by an independent third-party, to provide a secure method to report any issues if a grower feels his or her concerns are not being addressed locally.

Contrary to Compassion in World Farming’s allegations, multiple layers of oversight, including audits by the USDA, independent third party auditors, and our own internal audits ensure that our chickens are raised appropriately.

National Chicken Council Vice President of Communications Tom Super issued a statement saying, “The conditions described in the New York Times article, and shown in the accompanying video, are not an accurate representation of the health and welfare of today’s broiler chickens. Nor are they indicative of the many Perdue farms that I have personally visited.”

Super suggested consumers view an industry-created video about modern poultry farming practices, which can be viewed here.