I am a big supporter of choices, especially food choices. I enjoy having choices when I go to the grocery store: Do I want whole chicken breast, or Milanese style, or bacon wrapped chicken breast? I love having the freedom to choose what I am in the mood for, whether I want to be creative or simple in my cooking, or whether I want to cook at all (usually my choice!).

I also love to choose based on cost when I need to buy less expensive items (conventional versus cage-free eggs). If you want to see an angry Christine, take away my choices, especially my food choices. Unfortunately, I feel like we are headed in this direction and my feathers are getting ruffled.

The fight from several consumer and animal right groups is real. They do not want us eating meat. I am not talking about having the choices of alt-meat, as I believe there is enough space on the grocery shelves and in restaurants to allow choices from chicken, turkey or alt-meats. After all, many of the major players in poultry are also in the alt-meat business. What I am talking about is having no choice other than alt-meat.

The prospect is similar, although not exactly, to the cage-free movement. Look where that has led us as consumers and an industry: By 2025 and beyond, we will no longer have flexibility in egg products and will no longer have as many choices as we once had at the grocery store. Prices will increase. The industry will change and is changing. The animal rights and consumer advocacy groups will remove choice in products and remove choices based on cost from my shopping abilities and I am not happy about this process – hence my ruffled feathers.

The fight from these groups is real. Turning their mission into a political agenda is creating confusion and chaos among consumers. During the cage-free movement, loud voices proclaimed that cages were awful and that all chickens should be raised in an outside environment with sunshine and bugs to eat. That is until they are eaten by hawks, one of the many negatives which rarely is discussed. At the time of the launch of this political agenda, no one could even identify the term “cage-free”. The scientists had to come up with a definition. And to top off my ruffled feathers, the science has always indicated that cages were better for the laying hens. I even have an egg carton from the '50s that promotes eggs from chickens in cages in order to keep them free from disease and free from predators (hawks, coyotes, etc). Wow! The science has not changed over the years, but the opinion regarding the science has changed and become the political platform.

The fight from these groups is real. The fight against modern animal agriculture is real. The goal of these groups is to stop animal production. There is something to be said about that goal as we will eventually break the hand that feeds us safely and cheaply. My feathers are ruffled because we have the ability to have strong vital vertical integration while maintaining animal health/welfare, EPA standards, USDA FSIS and FDA regulations and continue to produce the safest and cheapest food supply in the world. Let’s not mess with the hand that feed us and allows us to have choices.

My fight for keeping consumer choices is real. So, what do we do now? We know that reality without drama does not sell. We do not have a “sexy” story to sell. We don’t have an emotional story that pulls at the heartstrings to sell. However, what we do have is the safest food supply. What we do have is the ability to provide consumers with safe food, readily available food, and inexpensive food. In the poultry industry, what we do have is convenience, versatility and variety. What we do have is choice!

We must take lessons learned from the egg industry and really look at science-based policies. We must focus on policy and make ourselves heard in our communities, our states, and in Washington, D.C. As more and more of these topics become political, remember to be an informed voter and help educate those that are not familiar with our industry. Remind voters to follow the science and not the fear tactics. Educate, inspire and empower people in your communities, friends and families to understand the truth and the implications of the direction we are headed. We all want choices. We have the ability to meet consumer demands, but only by maintaining choice. Help me unruffle my feathers and let’s keep choices in our hands.

Ruffled feathers

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