Rosie+the+Chicken

Andrew Wei and Sheldon Agbayani and Ashley and Elisabeth

"The organic broiler I picked up even had a name: Rosie, who turned out to be a "sustainably farmed" "free-ranged chicken" from Petaluma poultry, a company whose "farming methods strive to create harmonious relationships in nature, sustaining the health of all creatures and the natural world" (220) Elisabeth

"I also visited Rosie the organic chicken at her farm in Petaluma, which turns out to be more animal factory than farm. She lives in a shed with twenty thousand other Rosies, who, aside from their certified organic feed, live lives a little different from that of any other industrial chicken. Ah, but what about the 'free-range' lifestyle promised on the label? True, there's a little door in the shed leading out to a narrow grassy yard." (229 Pollan)

"Rosie the organic chicken's life is little different from that of her kosher and Asian cousins, all of whom are conventional Cornish Cross broilers processed according to state-of-the-art industrial practice. The Cornish Cross represents the pinnacle of industrial chicken breeding" (171). So just who is Rosie the Chicken? The story of Rosie the organic free-range chicken starts in an "organic" farm in Petaluma, California. Though the farm is classified as an organic one, it does not appear to be so. The idea of Rosie the organic free-range chicken makes us believe that Rosie was raised as a chicken that was able to go outside and freely walk around. According to Pollan, the chicken houses don't "resemble a farm so much as a military barracks: a dozen long, low-slung sheds with giant fans at either end"(Pollan, 271). The chicken sheds were cramped, and the chickens had barely any space to move. Organic food came in from elevated trays arranged in the shed. Water came from waterers suspended from the ceiling. There were doors located on either side of the shed for chickens to go outside, where a grassy lawn awaited them. Aside from the food being organic and the open doors, it does not seem quite different from an industrial chicken coop. Though Rosie is allowed to freely walk on the grassy lawns outside, Pollan found that none of the chickens bothered exercising the ability to leave the shed. Rosie the chicken actually does very little of her own range-free walking outside. The chickens stay indoors for most of their lives, and would continue to stay indoors for the rest of their lives; they lived lives that were not much different from industrial chickens. The farm fills specific conditions given by the USDA in order to maintain the label of an organic farm, though the actual philosophy of an organic farm doesn't seem to be fulfilled. At this point, it's a little far-fetched to call Rosie an "organic free-range chicken." Behind the "organic" label, Petaluma Farms is a different farm when you get to know them. You can't trust a company simply because it's labeled as organic. Don't judge a book by its cover. It's important to know whom you're buying your produce and meat from. You can do this by buying locally. When you buy locally, you can meet the farmers firsthand and learn how your food is being produced, as well as buying sustainably.

"I tried without success to find the picturesque farmstead, with its red barn, cornfield, and farmhouse, depicted on the package in which the organic roasting chicken I bought at the Whole Foods had been wrapped; nor could I find Rosie herself, at least not outdoors, ranging freely." (p.169)

"I finally had to conclude that Rosie the organic free-range chicken doesn't really grok the whole free-range conceit" (172)

"Since the food and water and flock remain inside the shed, and since the little doors remain shut until the birds are at least five weeks old and well settled in their habits, the chickens apparently see no reason to venture out into what must seem to them an unfamiliar and terrifying world. Since the birds are slaughtered at seven weeks, free range turns out to be not so much a lifestyle for these chickens as a two-week vacation option." (172)

The Censored Chicken By Elisabeth and Ashley Once upon a time there was a chicken named Rosie who lived with her sisters in sunny Petaluma, California. Rosie the free-range chicken's life was just a little different than her industrial cousins. She ate organically, had more square inches of living space and a door to the outside world. What more could an organic chicken want? Maybe, not living with her twenty thousand sisters also named Rosie, more than a couple more square inches of living space and a door open for more than two weeks before slaughter?

These are the kinds of things organic labels can evade. Looking past the perfect farmstead picture printed on the plastic wrap, Rosie is a free-range chicken only because she has a door to go outside and range freely. It is Rosie's choice whether to go through the door or not. The label of produce will have the necessary organic labeling; but of course only the positives will be advertised such as the label "free-range". It won't tell the consumer how much "free-range" actually is because maybe "free-range turns out to be not so much a lifestyle for these chickens as a two-week vacation option" (Pollan 172). Consumers trust the green and white label with the words "USDA organic" so much that they don't think further.

The consumer must take into consideration how much the label actually advertises. The picture of a perfect farm with green pastures should also be questioned because pictures are worth a thousand words, which a couple hundred words may be incorrect. Better yet, how about buying locally and visiting the local farm? This way you can see the whole picture and not just the scene the photographer wanted you to see because who knows? You might not find "the picturesque farmstead, with its red barn, cornfield, and farmhouse, depicted on the package" nor "Rosie herself, at least not outdoors, ranging freely" (Pollan 169). These labels that the chicken farms claims to be true, may not always be the pure truth, so it is up to the consumer to be wary of what is written and what is not.