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Costco is opening a new slaughterhouse to house factory farm chickens to keep the price of its’ $4.99 rotisserie chicken. According to Food & Water Watch, the company beloved for workers rights has started exploiting animals.

Costco has a new poultry slaughterhouse in Nebraska. The new factory will have the capacity to slaughter 1.7 million chickens each week. This slaughterhouse will receive chickens from across the midwest, including Iowa.

To meet its current demand, Costco will require 500 more barns in Nebraska and western Iowa. These additional barns will create 125 more factory farms throughout the state, and the pollution and animal welfare issues that come with them.

The Pollution from factory farms across the midwest is incredible. Iowa’s rivers and streams are heavily polluted. One thousand miles of rivers and 59,000 acres of lakes, ponds, and wetlands have extensive damage from factory farms. Toxins from industrial agriculture pollutants have created “Swimming Not Recommended” advisories at state park beaches.

Nitrate pollution from factory farming has been linked to cancers, birth defects and numerous diseases, exceeds federal limits at 11 state public water supplies. This Pollution is created from chicken manure used as fertilizer. Air Pollution is also a problem when factory farms vent their operations. Ammonia is released into the air causing respiratory issues for nearby residents.

Chickens are also helpless victims in factory farming. Particulate matter from feces, feed debris and feathers increase bacteria and harm chicken’s lungs and skin. Chicken fighting and wounded chickens were common at a cage free operation that fed Costco’s egg sales.

A plant-based diet free from meat or eggs is a way to protest factory farming. Read more One Green Planet news about chickens and factory farming. To learn more about the realities of slaughterhouse and factory farming, check out the following articles:

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