Before I ever met a real, live chicken, I was a vegan/vegetarian of over 10 years.
There is an argument for chickens as the most systematically abused animal on Earth. The vast majority of the 9.5 billion chickens raised in the US annually are confined in CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). This means that they are packed in tight, indoors, with no access or agency to forage or exercise. Lots of detestable things are done to them in order to make this work.
Beyond the misery of their life in general, chickens also have no protections to reduce pain and suffering in slaughter the way that other animals, like cows, do. As bad as the chickens have it, the workers at chicken processing plants and CAFOs regularly experience physical hazards and psychological harm on the job.
The current system we have for chicken production is disastrous for the environment, as high levels of pollution from concentrated manure takes its toll on the land and water. The average number of miles a chicken travels from farm, to processing plant, to retailer is over 3,000 miles.
My journey from veganism to raising and processing my own animals for meat is a story for another time. Based on my current understanding, veganism is correct about the problem: the conventional meat industry. The recent outbreak of bird flu in chicken flocks across the country, resulting in millions of birds culled, underscores the fact that we cannot continue raising these animals the way we have been without expecting more of the same outcomes. Most of us already can’t afford the products produced by this system, with meat and egg prices way up.
However, after over a decade of growing food, I also see a lot of things wrong about the proposed vegan solution to the problem. I could write a whole substack for each: nutrition, soil fertility, ethics, cultural relevance, sustainability, and risk of developing an eating disorder to name a few.
So what is the solution? I’ll get to that by the end, but first, I want to make my case for chicken in general.
Why are these animals an important part of a local food system, especially the Midwest?
Chickens are beginner-friendly, as they don’t require nearly as much space as other larger livestock. Farmers who are just starting out, or from low-income or marginalized communities, can raise them without as much up-front investment on land and infrastructure.
Chickens are productive. Heritage meat breeds can reach an ideal weight in around 9 weeks. For a relatively short growing season like we have in the temperate Midwest, that turn around is important.
Fertility. When properly composted and applied, chicken manure is an important source of organic fertilizer. No miracle grow needed here!
Descended from jungle fowl, chickens are naturally well-suited to an agroforestry system. They love to forage under trees and shrubs, which provide them safe cover. They provide an annual harvest while the perennial tree crops take time to mature.
Chickens are adaptable. There are some breeds suited to hot climate zones, and others are more cold-hardy.
Despite what labels may imply, chickens are not vegetarians. They are omnivores, and their ability to thrive on a variety of food sources can be an opportunity for them to source their favorites from the environment (when allowed to forage outdoors).
They are small and physically manageable. They can’t break your foot by accidentally stepping on it.
Chickens are in demand! Most Americans eat chicken at least once per week. That demand means opportunity to fill a need.
Chickens provide high-quality nutrition, including their meat, eggs, bones, and organs like liver and hearts.
Chickens are a culturally-relevant food for many, and are an important part of traditional Mexican, South Asian, Chinese, French, and Indian cuisine.
They’re A VIBE! Beautiful, sassy, and weird. If you’ve ever fed a chicken a caterpillar and watched as the lucky winner ran around the yard with all the others trying to steal the prize, you know what I mean. There’s a reason why chickens are so common among cartoons and children’s storybooks. It’s a personality thing.
As promised, here’s the chicken vision that I will probably spend the rest of my farming career trying to bring to fruition:
Neighborhood-scale urban farms raising eggs for residents. They would be spaced out to prevent the spread of disease between them, but placed within neighborhoods so that everyone can reach their egg source even without transportation
Young and beginning farmers making a living by raising broilers for meat in alternating paddocks under a canopy of native plants like elderberry and hazelnut (per the Tree-Range Poultry method by Regenerative Agriculture Alliance).
Taking a preventative stance to strengthen immune systems against infectious disease like bird flu. Lowering the flock size, selectively breeding for resistance, spreading out flocks, increasing their access to the outdoors, herbal supplements and probiotics, and enhancing the quality of the paddock with immune-boosting elderberry, mulberry, and nutritious ground covers are a few ways of doing this.
More mid-sized poultry processing facilities with unionized workers spread out strategically to serve farmers and minimize transportation miles
Reduce waste by rendering unused bones and feet into nutrient-dense and versatile chicken stock
On-farm composting for manured bedding from the coop
Workshops and other learning opportunities for raising, processing, and cooking all edible parts of the chicken
Public support by way of subsidies for conservation practices, land access, and feasibility
We got a long way to go, but it’s never too late to start. If you feel called to raising chickens, whether it’s a backyard flock for a full-scale farming endeavor, answer that call. I especially encourage those who feel the most sensitive to the suffering of animals. You are the ones who should be responsible for raising them. The essence of what I call “Empathetic Farming” is that relationship between the wellbeing of the animals and crops you raise, and your own.
Even when life gets overwhelming, I look forward to my chicken chores. I get to share their joy when delivering a bowl full of mulberries at their feet. I rest knowing that their coop is sound and secure at night. Walking past their run and seeing them napping in the shade of the plants I planted for them puts me at ease. My kid and I laugh at their silly dust bathing rituals, their snarky interactions with each other, and how curious they are about new foods. And when they need something, you can bet that I will take care of it quick because I share their stress too.
Do chickens have teeth? That’s a question I got asked during harvest today. It’s a good one because it shows just how much we don’t know, and how curiosity-inducing it is when you start asking questions. The simple answer is no, they don’t have teeth. Instead, they have an organ called a crop in their neck/shoulder area. It’s basically a bag of small rocks and grit that constricts and relaxes when food enters it, “chewing” up the food for them. The same goes for other birds, like ducks and turkeys.
If you have chicken questions, or want to share your chicken story, please sound off in the comments! I hope to resurrect the backyard chicken keeping classes I used to host, so if that’s of interest let me know. I also plan to host tree-range farmer trainings eventually, once we transition to the new land, and our paddocks are up and running.
Cheers to chickening the future of local food! <3
Sources:
Regenerative Agriculture Alliance’s Poultry Training
FRESH EGGS DAILY and GARDENING WITH CHICKENS by Lisa Steele
THE CHICKEN HEALTH HANDBOOK by Gail Damerow