By World War II, the United States was producing 90 million birds annually. By the 1950s, entrepreneurs set up backyard operations that helped lay the foundation for today's poultry industry. In Kentucky, production has grown from 1.5 million birds in 1990 to 178 million in 1998, Stull said. But growers have little control over their operations. Large poultry companies, such as Perdue and Tyson, control conditions of sales, Stull said.
Growers are merely contractors who are paid by the pound.
People who live near chickens houses are getting a raw deal as well, Stull said. They must put up with the smell and waste and with trucks tearing up roadways. Several people who live near chicken operations in neighboring counties spoke during Thursday's forum about the effects the houses have had on their health and property. John Porter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth said residents who live near a chicken farm with 30,000 chickens are overrun by thousands of mice who roam the community once the chickens have been shipped off to market. Some families can catch 30 or 40 mice each day if they man their traps round the clock, he said.