Oprah Gives Out Free KFC in Most Hypocritical Move Yet
Perhaps it was all just too much, too kind and too ahead of the curve, all that work she had done recently to expose what truly goes on for chickens and other animals in the factory farm setting. Because now Oprah has decided to bolster one of America's worst offenders when it comes to support for factory farming, KFC, by giving away two pieces of chicken to every human in America.
It may seem harmless: a mass market "they want it, so I'm giving it to them" kind of campaign. But because Oprah has marketed herself as one who cares about animals, even getting a "Person of the Year" award last year from PETA, this KFC campaign is a serious disappointment to say the least.
This is because KFC buys their meat from Tyson, which is the largest chicken processor in the United States and is known for supporting a conglomeration of chicken CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). Inside these daylight-free hellholes, chickens are crammed so tightly together they can barely move. Worse, if we were to grow as fast as these broilers are bred to grow, we'd be 350 pounds by the time we were 2 years old. This is largely because these chickens are bred to have more breast meat (because that's what the consumer wants), so many of them can't even stand up. On top of that they produce so much shit that many farm workers get asthma just doing their job -- and that is just the workers on the farm. Most of the Tyson factory workers spend their entire day on one part of the production line, slitting throats, de-feathering or removing intestines for hours on end. Yum. (video made by one worker, be warned, it is quite grotesque)
Just a recap: in order to have what we want to eat, we have created little monstrosities, which then get essentially tortured before routine killings performed by ill and disgruntled workers. And Oprah is encouraging this practice to continue!
If she would have taken the time to think about all this, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she would see that encouraging these practices is not in line with the Eckhardt Tolle, Live Your Best Life, "We will all be judged on how we treat the least among us" persona she sells on her popular television show. Individual choices do matter, especially the choices of those with enough money to buy every person in the United States two pieces of chicken.
If I were Oprah, I'd have struck a better deal with the fried chicken hawking establishment: She could have told KFC to change their buying practices, and only serve free-range chicken, and THEN given away free chicken. Had she done that, producers would start to see the value in letting their chickens outside to scratch the soil, eat grubs and peck grass.
Originally publish on Civil Eats
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I confess that I have been a lifelong fan of Oprah. But I'm worried about her. These days, she seems to be casting around for publicity whereever she can find it. What has happened to her in the last few years?
"It's the money, honey."
By the way, free range don't mean nothing.
You must be joking! Oprah is good but not that good and the last time she made a comment about the meat industry - they took her to court. So I will thank you to leave her alone - millions upon millions of people are getting a free meal.
When I was a child my mother fed us pancakes with syrup made from sugar boiled on the stove when it was the end of the month and that was all we had to eat. We would have loved to have someone give us a free chicken to eat. There are certain foods my sister will still not eat because she had to live on them for weeks on end . You don't know what you will eat until you have nothing else. I didn't get a coupon because I didn't need it, but thankful that it was there for me. I wish that I had thought of printing coupons and giving them to the homeless.
I agree. I'd much rather have a hamburger.
Thanks, Oprah & KFC.
Never mind the elitists who eat aregula and expensive "free range" meat (aka dead animals), while salt of the earth Americans are going hungry.
Yes, arugula is SO highbrow. So is proper spelling.
Salt of the earth people would be alot better off eating vegtables and grains which are more affordable than any meat kfc or free range. They would be alot healthier which would improve health care garbage like kfc is the disease of every person, good health saves everyone money.
"And the Lord gave us dominion over the earth and all its creatures."
Quitcher bellyachin', go out and get a bucket of chicken and plug in a good movie.
Look at your quote a little closer. The definition of dominion is the power or right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority. I do not think G-d meant for humans to treat G-d's other creatures so inhumanly. If you don't how big agribusiness works I suggest you go visit a modern chicken ranch.
Sure, quote the Bible. But remember, it also condemns you to a fiery end for taking advantage of the shrimp scampi. Boo, logic!
What do Oprah, KFC and PETA have in common, promotion and hypocrisy.
Did you know that chickens make delicate little noises to their chicks still in the eggs? No one more egocentric than human beings. All about us eh?
Did you know that tomatoes weep when they are taken off the vine? Very sad stuff indeed.
Ugh. I haven't had KFC in over 5 years. Ever since I read about their horrendous abuses toward innocent animals. Oprah better do some more research before making stupid decisions. Tyson is a horror.
The term "free-range chicken" never fails to make me laugh. When a chicken is marked as "free-range", all it means is that it's been given a door in the coop, and is allowed to go out if it wants. Problem is, it doesn't "want", because all it knows is inside. This isn't Old MacDonald's Farm. Give me a break. Yes, factory farming is terrible. But spare us the euphemisms, stop treating the American consumer like a child. My mom used to have to go to the slaughterhouse to pick up the meat in her little Quebec town, and still eats meat to this day. No harm, no fowl.(sorry about that).
But free-range chicken? I always laugh when I see that. Run free, little Polly!
We worked out the potential damage Oprah has done to the chicken population. If 80% of the 303 million Americans take advantage of the free two-piece chicken meal (assuming babies and vegetarians won’t take up the offer), and each hen provides 6 pieces of “grilled or fried chicken”, potentially more than 40 million chickens died because of Oprah’s KFC promotion. So in response to the question of whether Oprah's KFC promo was hypocritical - the answer is YES.
Valerie
GreenMuze
You're nuts if you think 80% will take advantage of it. Also, if people are eating KFC chicken, then it means they're not eating beef, or pork or cold cuts or chicken from some other restaurants, so for every chicken killed, another animal will be saved.
Oprah,
How can you promote Kentucky Fried Cruelty?
Shame on you!
maybe if we still had to kill our own meat we would not be so soft and treat animals like dogs better than humans where today treat me like a dog is not an insult but hey dogs in America live it up
i don't find her too bright, guess that's why she's so popular? what stupidity on her part.
Paula Crossfield's not popular. But I agree she's not bright.
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