Frankenchickens. Bred to Suffer.

BIRDS JUST WEEKS OLD SHOULDN’T SUFFER ORGAN FAILURE AND HEART ATTACKS.

WHOLE FOODS PROMISED TO STOP SOURCING FRANKENCHICKENS. IT’S TIME THEY FOLLOWED THROUGH.

DEMAND THAT WHOLE FOODS STOP SOURCING FRANKENCHICKENS.

Frankenchickens are chickens who have been selectively bred by the meat industry to grow unnaturally large and abnormally fast to produce as much meat as possible in the least time. Besides monstrous growth, the results are immense animal suffering and often visibly diseased chicken meat.

Despite pledging to stop sourcing Frankenchickens by 2024, Whole Foods seems more committed to selling meat from birds bred to suffer than to fulfilling their pledge. Demand that Whole Foods keep their promise and publish a plan for banning Frankenchickens from their supply chain.

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THE TRUTH FROM HATCHING TO SLAUGHTER

UNNATURAL GROWTH, UNBEARABLE SUFFERING

The chicken industry intentionally breeds these birds to grow so unnaturally fast that, on average, they now reach 6.54 pounds in 47 days—six times faster than they did in 1925. Frankenchickens’ immature bones struggle to support them, so the birds often collapse.

APPALLING ENVIRONMENTS, HORRIFIC LIVES

Frankenchickens often suffer lameness, heart disease, and organ failure. They spend their short lives in overcrowded barns lying on waste-soaked litter, making them vulnerable to Salmonella and other intestinal infections.

SHACKLED, SHOCKED, SLASHED, SCALDED

Frankenchickens typically die by brutal live-shackle slaughter. The terrified young birds are shackled upside down, painfully shocked, and slashed at the throat before they are submerged in scalding water—many while still conscious.

MONSTROUS GROWTH, DISEASED MEAT

Meat products from Frankenchickens often bear visible scars from the appalling cruelty these animals endure from hatching to slaughter. The birds’ circulatory systems can’t keep up with the abnormal weight gain, causing the birds to suffer a high rate of muscle disease. One disorder, white striping, occurs when muscle fibers starved of oxygen die and are replaced with fat. Visible to the naked eye as white lines of fat across the breast, white striping raises the fat content and lowers the protein content.

IT GETS WORSE: SPAGHETTI MEAT, WOODY BREAST, GREEN MUSCLE DISEASE

Other muscle abnormalities are also common in Frankenchickens:

Spaghetti meat: mushy, soft, and stringy meat created when weak muscles unravel
Green muscle disease: strangulated, dead muscle that turns meat green
Woody breast: hard, rubbery meat associated with walking impairment in the bird and the inability to stand up after falling

There is nothing natural about breeding animals to suffer and produce diseased meat.*

*The muscle diseases and their impacts on meat discussed here are associated with the practices of (not necessarily the products of) the companies featured on this website.

THERE IS NOTHING NATURAL ABOUT MODERN CHICKEN PRODUCTION.

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PROMISES MADE. TIME TO DELIVER.

Companies across the food industry promised to implement Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) standards years ago, which include improving conditions for chickens, ending live-shackle slaughter, and replacing Frankenchickens with higher-welfare breeds.

WHOLE FOODS CONTINUES TO SELL FRANKENCHICKENS

While Whole Foods pledged to eliminate Frankenchickens by 2024, the company has failed to publish a plan for keeping its promise.

WHOLE FOODS MARKET

This retailer has shared progress and a plan for fulfilling most BCC standards, but the company’s roadmap does not include a clear timeline for fully eliminating Frankenchickens.

DEMAND THAT WHOLE FOODS PUBLISH A TIME-BOUND PLAN FOR ENDING THE SALE OF FRANKENCHICKENS.

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AMERICANS WANT COMPANIES TO DO BETTER

OF AMERICANS SURVEYED, 75%

believe standard chicken industry practices are unacceptable.

OVER 80% OF AMERICANS SURVEYED

agree that companies should be transparent about the conditions for chickens in their operations and provide regular updates on their progress in meeting BCC standards.