Probably like many of you, I think of Costco as an enlightened company exemplifying capitalism that works. One ranking listed it as the No. 1 company to work at in terms of pay and benefits — a prime example of a business that is both profitable and humane.
Unless, it turns out, you’re a chicken.
Rotisserie chickens selling for just $4.99 each are a Costco hallmark, both delicious and cheap. They are so popular they have their own Facebook page, and the company sells almost 100 million of them a year. But an animal rights group called Mercy for Animals recently sent an investigator under cover to work on a farm in Nebraska that produces millions of these chickens for Costco, and customers might lose their appetite if they saw inside a chicken barn.
“It’s dimly lit, with chicken poop all over,” said the worker, who also secretly shot video there. “It’s like a hot humid cloud of ammonia and poop mixed together.”
You may be thinking: Huh? People are dying […]
Wow! I too have trusted Costco for good quality, good prices, AND ethical practices across the board. Will no longer be getting the chicken and will be watching to see how they handle this.
You wouldn’t believe how they get them into the trucks, either. They use a big vacuum cleaner and vacuum them up.
My old friend, Les Blank, did a film on one of the early chicken mass production farms in the 1960’s. It has its thoroughly disgusting moments. He was hired to do it as a vanity documentary for the company, but they were not pleased with the results. Les went on to do iconic films about vernacular music and what is now called the slow food movement. See Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers for example. Here is a link to Chicken Real.
Chicken Real (1970) – Les Blank Films