Bird Flu Uncovered: The Silent Threat Lurking in Our Backyards and How You Can Outsmart It Today
The way we kept animals when we first domesticated them ten thousand years ago is a far cry from how they are reared today. Chickens used to run around the barnyard on small farms. Now, “broiler” chickens—those raised for meat—are typically warehoused in long sheds confining an average of 20,000 to 25,000 birds. A single corporation, Tyson, can churn out more than 20 million pounds of chicken meat a day. Worldwide, an estimated 70 to 80 percent of egg-laying chickens are intensively confined in battery cages, small barren wire enclosures stacked several tiers high and extending down long rows in windowless sheds. The cages are stocked at such densities that each hen is typically allotted less floor space than a standard letter-sized piece of paper. It is not uncommon for egg producers to keep hundreds of thousands—or even a million—hens confined on a single farm. Half the world’s pig population—now approaching one billion—is also crowded into industrial confinement operations. This represents the most profound alteration of the animal-human relationship in ten thousand years.
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