Chick-fil-A’s stance on gay marriage may have been the talk of the town recently, but there’s another issue the fast food chain is facing that’s getting less attention: its treatment of chickens.
The company has come under fire from animal rights groups for its alleged involvement in chicken abortions. Chick-fil-A has denied these claims, but the issue has nonetheless raised questions about how farmers get eggs if they don’t involve chicken abortions.
The process of chicken egg production is called “forced molting.” Farmers induce a molt, or a period of feather loss, in chickens by withholding food and water for up to two weeks. This process shocks the birds’ system and forces them to start producing new feathers. molting also causes the chickens to stop laying eggs for a period of time.
After the molting period, the chickens are typically kept in smaller cages where they can’t move around much. This helps to prevent them from damaging their newly grown feathers. The chickens are also given a higher-protein diet to help them produce more eggs.
While this process may seem inhumane, it’s actually quite common in the poultry industry. In many cases, it’s the only way farmers can get eggs without involving chicken abortions.