OSHA Fines Pilgrim’s Pride for Putting Workers at Risk

Pilgrim’s Pride can’t be feeling very proud.

In 2014, Compassion Over Killing (COK) released a gut-wrenching undercover video revealing shocking cruelty to chickens inside a North Carolina factory farm supplier of Pilgrim’s Pride. Featured in a CNN exclusive report, the footage sparked outrage over chickens buried alive in outdoor pits, and birds suffering from ammonia burns, leg deformities, and more.

This year, a staggering 5 million pounds of Pilgrim’s chicken products, some headed for schools, were recalled due to possible contamination with plastic, metal, rubber or wood. The USDA labeled this health risk as “high.”

Now comes more shame for Pilgrim’s Pride, the world’s second largest producer of chicken, from another federal agency. Chickens and consumers aren’t the only ones who’ve been put at risk, but Pilgrim’s employees too.

The company was hit with a citation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which proposed more than $78K in fines for serious health and safety violations at a Florida slaughterhouse. The Dept. of Labor agency reports risks of laceration and amputation, fire hazard, major slips and falls, being struck by heavy objects, exposure to stagnant water and more.

The company was also cited for failure to refer employees seeking medical care and treatment for injuries.

As Buzzfeed reports, “Pilgrim’s Pride employs 35,000 workers in 12 states and Mexico. The company says it produces one in every five chickens in the U.S.” But worker safety and treatment is a major concern that goes beyond Pilgrim’s, rampant throughout the poultry industry; featured in The Washington Post, a recent Oxfam America report showed workers at Pilgrim’s, Tyson, Perdue and other chicken companies are being denied bathroom breaks, forced to wear diapers while working on processing lines.

Time and again, COK has documented cruelty to chickens at companies including Perdue, Mountaire Farms, and Cal-Cruz Hatcheries (since shut down).

The best way we can protect birds, workers and consumers from this industry’s cruelty and carelessness is by leaving chicken off our plates. Get started today at TryVeg.com.