Poultry Workers Wear Diapers To Deal With Inhumane Conditions

We all know that the treatment of animals in factory farming is despicable. But surely the conditions of the humans working in the meat industry must be better, right? Well, apparently not. A report by Oxfam entitled No Relief details the horrid conditions under which poultry workers are expected to perform their duties. The report, summarized and expanded upon by this Quartz article by National Employment Law Project Senior Fellow Debbie Berkowitz, centers on a human need: The denial of bathroom breaks. Plant employees in Delaware, North Carolina, Arkansas, and other states, say that their duties do not include the ability to use the bathroom. Many of the employees surveyed took the practical solution of using diapers. It's something many would call humiliating and inhumane. One man reported seeing his mother urinate in her pants. She began wearing diapers following the incident. "Poultry workers are humiliated, degraded, and put at risk of serious, painful health issues including urinary tract infections, because supervisors are under pressure to keep up production," Berkowitz writes. That production pressure includes 180,000 birds per plant per day. Workers will handle around 40 birds each minute. But hey, those $5 fill-ups from KFC are delicious right?