None of us like the idea of chickens and turkeys being killed for food, and you can bet the chickens and turkeys like it even less! But while animals are being killed for food, we owe it to them to at least try and make their deaths as gentle as possible.
Now, following months of working with PETA, supermarket giant ASDA is pushing its poultry suppliers toward a less-cruel slaughter method.
ASDA, the second largest supermarket chain in the UK, has announced that it will give purchasing preference to chicken and turkey suppliers using controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), the least-cruel form of slaughter ever developed.
In a letter sent to all ASDA poultry suppliers, David Mainon, ASDA’s senior technical manager for meat and poultry, recently wrote: “Following a review of slaughtering methods employed within the poultry industry, we have now decided to recommend that all our poultry suppliers switch to Controlled Atmosphere Killing… We expect those suppliers who do not currently have controlled atmosphere killing to instigate plans to convert their current system.”
When ASDA’s suppliers switch, it will mean a world of difference for birds. Currently, most birds killed for the UK poultry industry are dumped onto conveyor belts and hung upside-down by their legs in metal shackles, which often results in broken bones. Some may have their throats cut open while still conscious, and some may be scalded to death in tanks of hot water. But with CAK – which works by replacing the oxygen birds breathe with inert gasses (like argon and nitrogen) to gently put them “to sleep” – those abuses are eliminated. Sure, it still sucks that the birds die (and trust me we’re working on that too) but this is a much better way to go.
Bravo, ASDA! Now let’s see the other supermarkets follow your lead…
