Green Options

I met several lovely chickens yesterday when I was in Oakland, and I am now quite smitten. They are truly engrossing creatures to observe; the animal’s social behavior is very complex, their vocalizations are both soothing and fascinating, to say nothing of the delicious fresh eggs they provide. More and more urban chickens are being raised in cities, as increasing numbers of people are growing their own food and trying to create a more locally-based, sustainable and self-sufficient food supply.

Tyson Injects and Feeds Antibiotics into “Raised without Antibiotics” Labeled Chicken

The second largest chicken producer in the United States has been lying to consumers.  Tyson Foods has been claiming chicken as “Raised without Antibiotics” that has been injected with drugs before hatching.

Tyson has been tricking Americans and bending USDA rules about truthful labeling regarding antibiotics in poultry.    The company has spent tens of millions of dollars in advertising its chicken as “raised without antibiotics” this year.  Tyson has admitted to injecting eggs with antibiotics, and the USDA has responded by asking the company to stop using the antibiotic-free label. Tyson’s has filed a lawsuit to keep using the label, claiming the USDA’s rules do not apply before the second day of life.

Across the country, cities are passing new laws to allow backyard chickens.

Cities across the country have shown new leniency in the urban chicken arena.  Ann Arbor, Michigan, South Portland, Maine and Fort Collins Colorado, have all voted in the past year to allow backyard chickens.  They join the growing number of U.S. cities to make legal the raising of poultry in the backyard.

Illegal or not, city chicken flocks are more popular than ever.

“It’s no longer something kinky or interesting,” said Jac Smit, president of the Urban Agriculture Network. “The ‘chicken underground’ has really spread so widely and has so much support.”

Though some worry that backyard chickens might carry and transmit avian flu, advocates of urban chicken farming claim that farming poultry on a small scale presents less of a risk of disease than large-scale production.

Urban Agriculturalist is a series on the ways city and suburb dwellers use their land as a food resource.

Behold Gallus Domesticus, the backyard chicken and latest slow food phenomenon. Traumatized by images of chicken warehouses, disgusted by food recalls and perhaps even longing for animal companionship, urban dwellers are becoming enthusiastic chicken owners. Urban Chickens is their gathering place, Backyard Poultry their manifesto and Mad City Chicken their rallying cry. But just where does one procure a baby chicken? How many eggs can a person expect? And what level of companionship are we talking here? All this and more after the jump.