Somehow, the USDA actually figured out a way to diminish the value of factory farm poultry

Crying Fowl

Imagine going to your local grocery and finding chicken with this note splashed across the label… “Now with added chlorine and antimicrobials!”

Of course, nobody will ever put that note on a chicken label. But the extra chlorine and antimicrobials WILL be there.

And who do we thank for this new “improved” chicken?

Meddling bureaucrats and greedy industry bean counters.

Something extra equals significantly less

With government, I’m in the (much, much) less-is-more camp. If you let free market do its job, it will usually prevail.

But USDA in-factory meat inspection might be the one area I think the government protects us better than free market can. I don’t expect miracles. But this is one case where even the foxes wouldn’t eat what’s coming out of this chicken house.

Let me explain.

Last year. I told you about a new USDA plan that would do three things…

1) Drastically reduce the number of USDA inspectors in poultry factory slaughterhouses

2) Replace many of the remaining inspectors with slaughterhouse employees

3) Nearly double the speed of “kill lines” where birds are killed and inspected

Wow. That has “BAD IDEA” written all over it.

Months later, I’m sick to tell you that this plan is going ahead and will soon be locked in.

But the USDA has since added a fourth element to the changes listed above.

And it’s a doozy.

Currently, inspectors separate contaminated birds. Then they treat the birds with “online reprocessing.” That is, they douse the birds with chlorine and antimicrobial chemicals.

Under the new plan, they’ll douse ALL the birds. That’s right. Every bird. Even the healthy ones.

And there you go. We now have the missing part that makes this a complete disaster. Regulators managed to do something I didn’t think was possible. They diminished the health of factory farm food.

They’re like geniuses…in reverse!

But there is an upside. The government will save a little money by laying off inspectors. But the poultry industry will save hundreds of millions every year.

It’s a win-win-lose. Needless to say, you, me and every chicken-eating consumer lands in the “lose” part of that equation.

Sources:
“USDA Ruffles Feathers With New Poultry Inspection Policy” Tom Philpott, Mother Jones, 4/24/13, motherjones.com