How Safe Is the Chicken You’re Eating?

A 9 year old boy was left paralyzed after eating a tainted factory farmed chicken. A certain amount of bacteria is allowed under USDA rules, but corporations routinely exceed that—and don’t have to recall their products.

This is a recent story we came across that we thought was worth sharing. It’s about the dangers of mass-produced meat and how the major chicken producers in North America can get away with cutting corners and putting our lives at risk just so they can maximize their profits.

To us, this is yet another example of why corporations can’t be trusted. We need a new, localized food system. The reason we believe locally-produced meat is safer than mass-produced, factory farmed meat is because we know that the producers live, work, and play in our community.

I trust my local farmers to produce high-quality, safe food because it’s the same food that they and their family eats. The reputation of their business and their livelihood also depends on them producing safe food. If they cut corners there can devastating consequences.

When it comes to mass-produced meat, the same meat you can find in supermarkets and restaurants all across Canada, there are almost no consequences if they produce harmful food.

Remember in 2008 when hundreds of people feel ill and 22 people died after eating tainted meat produced by Maple Leaf Foods? It’s easy to forget about events like these, but it highlights that these avoidable tragedies have happened and will keep happening if business continues as usual. In case you were wondering, Maple Leaf Foods generated 4.3 billion in sales revenue in 2020.

Local meat can be expensive, but that’s because you’re paying the true cost that it takes to produce sustainable, ethical food.

If we don’t support and appreciate our hard-working local farmers and farm workers, then all we’ll be left with is potentially dangerous food that comes from abused animals and degraded soil.