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Trump, Chicken Welfare, MAHA, And The Battle for Chickens’ Souls
Chickens are stuck in the middle of a cultural and political war they never deserved to be a part of
Poor little chicken. All it wants is to live its life the way God intended, scratching about and trying not to get eaten by foxes.
They certainly didn’t mean to become part of cultural and political warfare.
Yet, they are.
Trump is using them as a political bargaining chip.
“Make America Healthy Again” types have co-opted chickens as the poster animal for the ultimate homesteading lifestyle. At the same time, chickens — especially factory farmed birds reared in appalling, torturous conditions — embody exactly what is wrong with our food systems.
Yet chicken is the most popular meat in the world. We slaughter 74 billion of them a year. Health enthusiasts love them for their protein content. Anyone who grew up with Sunday roasts loves them for their nostalgia. And 87% of Americans eat eggs at least once a week.
They are the symbol of everything from the darkest side of modern food systems to tradwifery, to capitalism, to health.
