Factory farming is one of the most harmful practices for the environment, and meat consumption wreaks havoc on human health. However, an often underlooked but pervasive impact of factory farming is on the millions of workers employed to work in the industry globally. A report by Oxfam America released in 2015 called “Lives On The Line” documented the horrific working conditions of poultry workers in the United States, with a focus on the four largest chicken companies - Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s, Perdue, and Sanderson Farms. Some of the issues highlighted in the report include the poor compensation paid, with most workers earning wages which place them near and sometimes even below the poverty line; a lack of paid time off; harsh, unhealthy, and dangerous working environments, with the sector having “one of the highest rates of injury and illness of any industry”. Workers also were made to wait for long hours in order to get access and use the restroom and faced harassment and discrimination, including racial slurs.
Subsequent to the release of this report, the Government Accountability Office Report in 2016 backed up these claims, and even found that meat workers “sustained a higher estimated rate of injuries and illnesses than poultry workers” and both were higher than the manufacturing sector. In 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Tyson Foods $263,498 for “two repeated and 15 serious violations, including improper drainage, holes in the floor left without guards, a lack of guards on dangerous machinery, obstructed fire exits, and storing chemicals in a hazardous manner.” Thereafter, while Tyson pledged to improve working conditions for its poultry workers, in 2018 reports show Tyson workers still face high rates of injury.
Further, in September 2019, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report based on interviews with nearly 50 workers employed in the meat and poultry industries nationwide covering their experiences in 15 plants, in 12 different companies, and across 6 states. This report once again reiterated the pervasiveness of abuse and mistreatment in the meat and poultry industries. While HRW initially documented the mistreatment of workers in this industry almost 15 years ago in its report Blood, Sweat, and Fear, and there have been multiple reports along these lines (as mentioned above), it is evident that working conditions are not improving. HRW once again concluded in its 2019 report that workers “can be at risk of serious, potentially life-threatening, injury, and illness”, in particular “disabling musculoskeletal illnesses, fueled by rapid line speeds that compound the highly repetitive, forceful movements required by meat and poultry slaughtering and processing work”, and that especially in poultry plants, workers “were also exposed to irritating chemicals that can cause chronic respiratory and other health issues.”
Unsurprisingly, this is an issue that is not exclusive to either the United States or the meat and poultry industry only. HRW, in a letter to European Union officials in 2018, highlighted the “serious deficiencies in labour rights reform in Thailand’s fishing industry” and the “human rights violations suffered by migrant workers aboard Thai fishing vessels”. This human rights abuse also extends to the poultry industry in Thailand, as documented by the organisation Human Rights Now in its 74 page report titled “Labour Rights Violations in the Thai Poultry Industry Within the Supply Chains of Japanese Companies”.
On account of the circumstances listed above, Pivot Food Investment believes that investors should divest from factory farming which is an industry that has for decades been plagued with human rights and labour abuse scandals, with little sign of letting up.
The poultry sector in the US, according to Oxfam America, has some of the highest rates of injury and illness among workers of any industry.
Workers in the poultry industry in the US report extensive waiting periods to use the restroom.
Workers in the poultry industry in the US have been subject to racial slurs.
As per a 2016 report by the Government Accountability Office, workers in the meat industry have a higher estimated rate of injury and illness than poultry workers.
As per a 2016 report by the Government Accountability Office, workers in the meat and poultry sector both had higher rates of injury and illness than the manufacturing sector.
“Lives on the Line | Human Cost of Chicken | Oxfam America,” accessed October 17, 2019, https://www.oxfamamerica.org/livesontheline/.
Tyson Foods was fined $263,498 for “two repeated and 15 serious violations, including improper drainage, holes in the floor left without guards, a lack of guards on dangerous machinery, obstructed fire exits, and storing chemicals in a hazardous manner.”
“Tyson Foods Fined $263,000 Over Unsafe Working Conditions In Poultry Plant,” accessed October 17, 2019, https://thinkprogress.org/tyson-osha-fine-7779fedc763d/.
The livestock sector has for decades disregarded labour rights, and exploited its workers without any inclination to improve their working conditions. Investors should be mindful of a company’s track record on labour treatment and divest from companies with repeated worker rights violations.
“FAO - News Article: Key Facts and Findings,” accessed October 17, 2019, http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/.
“IARC Monographs Evaluate Consumption of Red Meat and Processed Meat,” n.d., 2. IARC Press Release, no. 240 (October 26, 2015), https://www.iarc.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/pr240_E.pdf
“Lives on the Line | Human Cost of Chicken | Oxfam America,” accessed October 17, 2019, https://www.oxfamamerica.org/livesontheline/.
GAO, Workplace Safety and Health: Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry
“One of the simplest requests a worker can make on the job is a break to use the restroom. On a poultry plant line, bathroom breaks pose challenges. When a worker needs a break, they ask the supervisor; the supervisor needs to find someone to fill that spot to keep the line running. Workers report that there usually are not enough of these replacement workers (line assistants or floaters); and they often have to wait a long time (an hour or more).”
“Hopes Revived for Workers Justice at Tysons Food,” Food Tank (blog), May 10, 2017, https://foodtank.com/news/2017/05/poultry-workers-promised-safe-transparent-just-work-environment/.