Georgians for Pastured Poultry

By Priyanka Pathak, Compassion in World Farming (intern)

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) presented a proposal in January 2012 to save the federal government $39.6 million and the industry $258.9 million annually. The proposal known as HAACP-Based Inspection Models Project, or HIMP, aims to make the poultry slaughtering process more efficient by using fewer USDA inspectors to decrease the likelihood of foodborne illness, thereby allowing for faster processing. Even at first glance, the proposal seems too good to be true. Critics are not convinced that the FSIS provides ample evidence that food safety will actually improve with these changes and also point to the fact that increasing the speed of processing poses an increased risk for worker injury.

Worker health and safety is a significant problem in poultry industry processing plants, where workers use repetitive motions 20,000 to 30,000 times a day on an assembly lines used to process, on average, 200,000 bird per day. Poultry processing is among the most dangerous occupations in the United States according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked poultry processing as having the fifth highest incidence rates of total nonfatal occupational illness cases in 2010. The combination of having to do repetitive motion at extremely fast line speeds, or the speed of the assembly line, is primarily what makes this occupation so dangerous. This occupation endangers workers as they interact with fast-moving live or dead birds by either causing them to seriously cut themselves or develop crippling musculoskeletal disorders over time. Line speed in not only directly correlated to worker injury, but also company profits. In other words, the faster the line speed, the more animals the facility processes, and the more money is made wile endangering workers. For a detailed reporting on occupational health in Georgia’s poultry industry, check out GPP’s Out of Sight Out of Mind Report, the chapter entitled “A Problem of Scale.”

Unfortunately for plant employees, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has not promulgated line speed standards in the industry. Therefore the USDA only considers two factors when regulating line speed: the physical design of individual facilities and the meat inspection process.

The inspection system proposed by the FSIS is a proposal that ensures faster line speeds without considering worker health and safety. It is proposing to increase efficiency by modifying the inspection process by decreasing the number of federal food inspectors while improving food safety, thereby hastening of the line speed facility-wide. The FSIS is essentially removing inspection as one of two limiting factors of line speed. Its language narrowly defines public health and environmental health by including food safety and excluding occupational health. The USDA has asked the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to prepare a report explaining how increased line speed with affect worker health by studying 5 non-HIMP facilities.

This proposal is an extremely disappointing for processing plant workers and advocates of occupational health. If the FSIS seriously considered occupational health increasing line speed would be out of the question. The public hearing date for this proposal has already passed, but as concerned citizens, we must be critical of this policy.

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Calling all Georgians for Pastured Poultry! Now’s your chance to not only show your support for a humane and sustainable food and farming system,  but to try it out for cheap cheap cheap! We’re so excited that Whole Foods is doing a one day sale of Georgia’s very own White Oak Pastures chickens.  Don’t miss out on May 4th!  Support pasture poultry – a one day sale at WholeFoods

And in case you hadn’t noticed, ’tis the season for farmers markets! For many farmers in Georgia, the pastured poultry season is in full throttle. If your local farmers market doesn’t have pasture raised poultry let us know at GPP@ciwf.org ! We’ll contact the market manager and let them know there is a demand.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. We vote with our forks. Get out there and vote!

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By Priyanka Pathak, Compassion in World Farming (intern)

Last week, Darby Farm’s Daniel Dover hosted the first Georgia Pastured Poultry Association meeting on a sunny spring day in Good Hope, Georgia.  The group is setting out to build a farmers’ cooperative that will facilitate resource sharing, build unity, and support the needs of up-and-coming pasture poultry farmers. Sixteen enthusiastic farmers drove from across the state to partake in the gathering. Leah Garces, USA Director, and I, a graduate student intern, also participated as representatives of the international animal welfare organization Compassion in World Farming (CIWF). Two rather interested chickens and three surprisingly affectionate kittens also attended the meeting.

 Several of the most pressing challenges faced by small farmers were discussed, mostly relating to unfavorable state laws and the lack of infrastructure in the State.

 One issue that deeply concerned the farmers was the absence of accessible independent USDA-inspected processing plant for poultry in Georgia (See previous blog by Jennifer Owens).  Additionally, farmers essentially cannot conduct on-farm processing and then sell the meat if they raise between 1,000 and 20,000 birds, due to a confusing and obstructive set of state regulations. The majority of farmers at the meeting fell within this range.  These regulations also do not provide such farmers with any alternative options. This has become one of the greatest barrier preventing these farmers from participating in the local economy.

 As a solution, Georgia Organics, Compassion in World Farming, and members of this farmers’ association are joining forces to investigate alternatives to the processing plant accessibility issue by looking into for legal, humane, and cost-effective broiler chicken slaughter. In the meantime, farmers at the meeting discussed pooling resources to transport their birds to processing plants in the neighboring state of North Carolina. However, for many small farmers, this may still prove to be a cost prohibitive option due to gas prices and the cost of slaughter.

 Growers also discussed the possibility of selling under a cooperative label in future. The hope is to create a common identity under which consumers and chefs alike could chose  a Georgia pasture raised product. Certainly from a humane and sustainable perspective, we hope it is not too long before we see a Georgia Pastured Poultry Association logo on the shelves and menus.  

 For a copy of the bylaws or for further information please contact gapasturedpoultry@gmail.com.

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By Jennifer Owens, Georgia Organics

On Monday, March 19^th, I left Atlanta, accompanied by my over-caffeinated co-pilot Leah Garces, and pastured poultry producer, Daniel Dover, to visit the newest USDA-inspected poultry processing facility in the SE open to independent farmers. I specifically use the term “independent farmer” because the majority of processing facilities in GA and around the country are available only to farmers on contract with the large vertical integrators – the Tyson’s, Perdue’s and Pilgrim’s Pride of the world.

Why, you ask, did we drive 200 miles at 4a.m. to go see chickens slaughtered and processed? (If you didn’t ask it, my husband did.)  Well, GA is in desperate need of a legal processing option for independent poultry growers. On-farm exemptions recognized by other states are illegal here, due to the deletion of the key exemption that allows farmers to raise and process up to 20,000 birds on-farm, under the federal Food Safety Inspection Service sanitary guidelines. While a toe-hold was gained in late 2011 with the state issuing a sub-1,000 exemption, it serves more the hobby farmer than one trying to raise poultry for a viable market to include the farm’s profitability.

So, Georgia Organics is currently investigating other processing options. In 2012, we will be completing a feasibility study looking at the regulatory framework and enterprise opportunity for a mobile processing unit as well as a brick-and-mortar fixed facility that could serve the state’s growing number of independent poultry farmers. We have been working closely with folks from North Carolina, who are really leading in local food production and rural farm economy development, so – off we went to see their newest innovation – Foothills Pilot Plant. (Or as my daughter exclaimed, “Mommy is off to have a meeting with chickens!”)

It is an interesting facility – USDA-inspected, operating on less than one acre, with the goal of processing between 2,500-5,000 birds a week. They also process rabbit, by the way, which apparently is fetching quite a price from local chefs. Farmers, take note.

During our two hour visit, we saw about 200 birds processed. Two things struck me as very interesting: 1) the USDA inspector had a solid 30-45 seconds per bird to ensure it wasn’t compromised or contaminated. That is amazing and no doubt ensures a very safe product for the end consumer. And 2) the processing was being done by prisoners as part of a workforce development program. This keeps the cost of labor low, translating to lower costs to the farmer, and gives prisoners a skill once they return to their community.

The plant was a partnership between the local growers association, some funds from the USDA and a local economic development agency.  

With the growth of the local food movement, and a surge of consumer demand for sustainably produced local meats, local abbatoirs are making a comeback. Foothills Pilot Plant, which opened in January in Marion, NC, is serving a unique niche for North Carolina’s producers.

Nothing would make me happier than Georgia having a safe, economically viable facility that would meet the needs of our state’s independent poultry growers. Stay tuned for news on that front. It would open the floodgates for more pastured poultry in the marketplace and ultimately give consumers a lot more choice in the type of chicken they feed their family.

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Georgians for Pastured Poultry (GPP) applauds Atlanta chef and entrepreneur Shaun Doty’s move to open the first fast-casual chicken rotisserie in the state committed to sourcing 100% local free-range and pastured chicken. Doty’s commitment to animal welfare is growing, he is also the co-founder and executive chef of Yeah!Burger, which is dedicated to using grass-fed beef.

This announcement comes a month after GPP’s launch in Atlanta, where Shaun Doty prepared pasture raised chicken at the launch event. The coalition includes lead members Compassion in World Farming, Sierra Club and Georgia Organics.  The group has set out to make Georgia the number one producer and consumer of higher welfare chicken in the country.

“I am personally deeply committed to using high welfare chicken not just because of the superior taste, but because it is more humane. People in Atlanta are demanding high welfare chicken, and I want to ensure that the demand is met,” said Shaun Doty.

“We fully support Shaun’s pioneering move that will directly result in thousands of chickens  living a better life. As far as we are aware, this is the first fast-casual restaurant of its kind not just in the state, but in the southeast. Shaun is a true leader in his field and we are certain this will be a huge success.” said Leah Garces, USA Director for Compassion in World Farming.

The restaurant is set to open in September 2012 in the Ansely mall shopping center at Piedmont Avenue and Monroe Drive.

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_{Your voice will make a difference. Read the below, cut and paste it, rework it however you want. But DO email EPD before March 2oth 4:30pm.  EPDComments@dnr.state.ga.us}

EPD’s proposed modifications further threaten the economic viability of small farmers, human health and the environment, as well as federal clean water protections, in Georgia.  We request significant reconsideration and revision of EPD’s proposed Animal Feeding Operations Permit Requirements.

_{In Georgia, on any one given day, there are:}

• _{205 million broiler chickens,}
•  _{9 million egg-laying hens,}
• _{235,000 hogs,}
• _{35,000 dairy cows}
• _{producing as much untreated manure as 85 million people — nearly 9 times the population of Georgia.}

_{Annually GA raises and slaughters some 1.4 billion meat chickens, the largest producing state in the country. In fact if we were a country, we’d be the sixth largest producing country in the world. The 17.5 million broilers in Franklin County, Georgia produce as much waste as the greater Philadelphia metro area (equivalent of 5.9 million people). The more than 10.7 million broiler chickens on factory farms in Gilmer County, Georgia produce as much untreated manure as the sewage from the Seattle metro area. Annually, the broilers farms of GA produce 2 million tons of untreated poultry litter annually, which is 20% of the US total. I say this so that we understand the scale of the untreated waste we are talking about.}

_{Georgians for Pastured Poultry, an alliance made up of farmers, chefs and advocates including Compassion in World FArming, Seirra Club and Georgia Organics,  recently conducted an intensive study into what impact the industrial chicken meat production model is having on our state. The conclusive evidence, supported by over 300 references, including scientific journals, was that it has  an unchallenged detrimental impact, including with regard to the environment. Surely the answer with such high volumes of waste is not to scale back, but rather to enforce existing regulation and look to increase control.}

_{The report, Out of Sight, Out of Mind, concluded that there is another business model, a new market emerging in the state, that should be supported. In just 5 years, Georgia’s farmers markets have grown by 600%. The national average is around 16% for the same time period. Georgians are exploding with the desire to support small scale humane and sustainable farmers. Pasture poultry farming is one example, detailed in our report,  of a higher welfare, higher environmental models.}

_{However, if the industrial model continues to be allowed to externalize its pollution costs, that is to force someone else, i.e. taxpayers, to pick up the bill for any clean-up costs that are needed to keep our recreational and drinking waters clean for, the small farmer, who does not cause such extensive environmental impact, does not stand a chance.}

_{In fact, the clear competitive advantage to the small sustainable farmer is that he or she is more environmentally friendly and does not have to pay for extensive environment control mechanism. The very system of farming that they have adopted does this naturally because it works with nature and has less of an impactful on the surrounding environment. This is the competitive advantage of this model of farming. If industrial farms are not required to pay for control for the environmental impacts, small farmers are being unfairly stripped of perhaps their only advantage in the market and they will not flourish. It will not be a level playing field by any stretch of the imagination if GA CAFOs are not required to limit and pay for the pollution, which is inherent to this system of farming.} 

_{CAFOs, which are not farms, but factories, must be required to plan and report what exactly is going to happen to the enormous amount of waste produced by farm animal factories -  the equivalent of 85 million people’s untreated waste on a daily basis – and how they plan to control the impact of this waste on our collective environment.   If not for the sake of the environment, for the sake of creating a level playing field for the emerging small scale humane and sustainable farmers.}

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As detailed in the “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” report, Georgia’s industrial chicken farms and the 2 million tons of litter they produce annually pose a major threat to Georgia waterways. Dry litter is applied to crops as fertilizer, but because of the large volumes produced, the nutrients in the litter are often more than can be absorbed. The excess nutrients, along with veterinary pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and heavy metals wash into Georgia’s streams and rivers, into aquifers and drinking water.
Last summer, the EPA’s Office of Inspector General issued a report, which was based on an anonymous complaint that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division was not enforcing rules that are meant to protect our waterways and public health from CAFO pollution. Shortly thereafter, a bad court decision was issued, relieving many industrial farms from being subject to these protections.
These developments have been disappointing, but Georgia EPD’s response has been even more so. Under the auspices of revising the Georgia regulations to be consistent with the court ruling, Georgia EPD has proposed ignore the Clean Water Act and all but eliminate water protections for factory farms with dry litter. No permits, no nutrient management plans, no recordkeeping, no nothing!
Georgians for Pastured Poultry supports educating consumers having a choice when they choose their chicken, and it’s no secret that part of the equation is how much the chicken costs. If industrial chicken farms don’t have to pay for their pollution, they pass those costs on to everyone else, and can offer their product at unrealistically low prices. This subsidy is unfair to the smaller, more sustainable farmers, who operate at a level where their litter can be absorbed by their crops and they don’t need to pass on their pollution and health costs on to the rest of us.
Georgia EPD is accepting comments on these proposed rule changes until March 20th. You can write to the Chief of the Water Protection Branch at Linda.MacGregor@dnr.state.ga.us or call her at 404-675-1750.

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At the end of January, Congress began considering new legislation (H.R. 3798) to improve the lives of hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens in the United States.

 Although GPP has focused to date on meat chickens, this historic move is very worthy of our attention. This is because it would be piece of federal legislation to protect the welfare of chickens. The United States does have Animal Welfare Act, but farm animals are not included in that. And the only piece of federal legislation to protect farm animals, the Humane Slaughter Act, does not include chickens.

 This legislation (H.R. 3798) would essentially double the space per laying hen, ban forced starvation molting of hens, and create a labelling program to  provide consumers with consistent information on production systems (e.g. “eggs fro caged hens” and ”eggs from cage-free hens” on cartons). The proposal was introduced on Janaury 23rd by a bi-partisan group of four U.S. representatives, introduced the Egg Products INspection Act Amendments of 2012 at the urging of Humane Society for the United States and the United Egg Producers (UEP). This came in the same month that the ban on the barren batter cages, used to keep laying hens in close confinement and barren conditions, has come into force throughout the 27 coutnries of the European Union.

Although we believe no chicken belongs in a cage, this legislation would improve the lives of hundreds of millions of laying hens, who would otherwise be kept in barren, overcrowded cages. We believe this marks the beginning of the end of cruelty to chickens in the United States. 

The battle is likely to be long and hard. While the United Egg Producers is onside, there is much resistance from other livestock industries. Afterall this would be the first piece of federal legislation passed for farm animals since the Humane Slaughter Act was passed and perhaps a watershed moment for the welfare of  farm animals in the United States. We need everyone who cares about farm animal, and especially chickens, to speak up. We are urging all citizens to contact their U.S. representative and Congress person and urge him or her to cosponsor H.R. 3798.

How to take action:

Find your US representative contact details here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/

1.  Find your Senators’ contact details here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. Phone your U.S. Representative, and also your two U.S Senators

2. Ask to speak to a staffer who is dealing with agriculture and the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, (H.R. 3798).

2. State that you are resident of ______________ (city/state) and that you are urging your representative to co-sponsor the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012, (H.R. 3798). State that farm animal welfare is a matter of importance to you and your community and that you support this step towards improving the lives of hens.

5. If you prefer to write an email or a letter, or to write in addition to calling, here is what you can say:

Dear Legislator,

As a constituent and resident of ___________(city/state) concerned about preventing cruelty to animals, I’m writing to urge you to support and co-sponsor H.R. 3798, the Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012. Please do everything you can to help pass this critical legislation, which will significantly improve the lives of hundreds of millions of egg-laying hens in our nation. It is strongly endorsed by animal protection organizations like Compassion in World Farming and The Humane Society of the United States, and by the industry’s trade association (the United Egg Producers) that represents 88% of the U.S. egg industry.

 Thank you,

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Georgians for Pastured Poultry (GPP) applauds Whole Foods Market (WFM) for being the first grocery retailer in the state to commit to stocking Georgia-raised pastured poultry. It has firmly stated that the higher welfare poultry will be available on a daily basis, year round.  This makes Whole Foods Market the most widely accessible grocery resource for Georgians who wish to purchase pasture poultry.

WFM has committed to purchasing at least 22,000 pasture raised birds (both chicken and turkey) in 2012 and making these available on a daily basis, supply permitting, in all of their southeastern stores. 

This comes just two weeks after GPP’s launch event in Atlanta, which included lead members Compassion in World Farming, Sierra Club and Georgia Organics.  The group has set out to make Georgia the number one producer and consumer of pastured poultry in the country.

“Whole Foods Market is deeply committed to supporting Georgia farmers who raise pastured poultry and making pastured chicken and turkey available to our customers. We are proud to support Georgians for Pastured Poultry’s efforts by making this pledge,” said Stephen Corradini, Regional Vice-President of Purchasing for WFM’s South region.

“We fully support WFM ‘s pioneering commitment that will directly result in 22,000 birds in 2012 living in pasture – that is, pecking in the grass, stretching their wings and being able to express their natural behavior, as chickens should.  Any commitment to higher welfare chicken production above factory farmed production is a step in the right direction.  Pasture raised poultry is the gold standard for chicken welfare and we wholeheartedly applaud this excellent news,“ said Leah Garces, USA Director for Compassion in World Farming.

Whole Foods Market has been making Georgia pasture raised poultry available to consumers since November 2011.  Its ongoing commitment throughout 2012 was announced at the Georgia Organics Conference being held this weekend  in Columbus, Georgia where over 1000 interested individuals from across the region are coming together to discuss the virtues of local and organic farming. Compassion in World Farming is hosting a table at the conference where more information regarding Georgians for Pastured Poultry, WFM’s  commitment, pledges to encourage consumers to commit to purchasing pasture poultry, and WFM coupons to purchase pastured poultry can be found.

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As the move toward rearing poultry on pasture expands in the state of GA, present and future pastured poultry producers are wanting to form an entity that will address their concerns and needs.  By forming the GA Pastured Poultry Association producers hope to fulfill these expectations.
Here are some of the goals of the association that have been discussed thus far:

1. Establish a working group for beginning and veteran pastured poultry farmers to garner relationships between farmers and foster the advancement of the pastured poultry model in GA.
2. Make available educational resources such as instructional videos and classes, feed mill sources, processing options, farm tours and other info pertaining to proven and experimental methods of pastured poultry production.
3. Investigate, probe and lobby the USDA, Georgia Department of Agriculture, local officials and Representatives to facilitate changes needed to and clarification of regulations on poultry slaughter in GA.
4. Develop plans for implementation of mobile and fixed poultry processing facilities for fairer and more cost effective market access to producers.

Further discussion of these topics and more will be at the Georgia Organics Conference in Columbus on Saturday Feb 25, 2012 from 12:30 to 2:30. Another meeting will be taking place in ATL in late March for any who wishes to come.
Please contact Daniel Dover at gapasturedpoultry@gmail.com for further details.

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