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The highly concentrated poultry sector is dominated by large corporations that control poultry farmers through contracts that give them abusive levels of power over farmers’ income and operations. This model is called “contract growing,” and it is how almost all poultry is produced in the U.S.
As the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers reforms to this system, join our discussion to hear from current and former contract poultry growers:
- Jonathan Buttram is President of the Alabama Contract Poultry Growers Association and a former contract poultry grower for Koch Foods. He suffered retaliation tactics after catching the company manipulating scales to cheat him out of the full value of the chickens he raised. He has been featured in several documentaries, including “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!”
- Trina McClendon is the co-founder and owner of Trinity Poultry Farm and a contract poultry grower for Cargill/Continental Grain. After years of contracting with Sanderson Farms, Trina spoke out after the company attempted to cut her pay following its acquisition by Cargill/Continental Grain. Trina testified about abuses within the contract poultry growing system before Congress in 2022.
- Carlton Sanders was a poultry grower for 28 years. In 2001, Koch Foods bought the small company he sold his chickens to, and he lost his farm after Koch Foods drove him out of business with discriminatory practices. His story has been widely documented, including in a ProPublica investigation.
- Craig Watts raised poultry for Perdue Farms until he spoke out against misleading labels and food safety concerns. He has testified on Capitol Hill and his story has been featured in The New York Times and on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He is the Contract Grower Transition Program Director for the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project.
This roundtable discussion will be moderated by Christopher Leonard, a business reporter and author of The Meat Racket, The Lords of Easy Money, and Kochland.
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