Dec 6th, 2007 · With the ongoing immigration crackdown, meat and poultry processors are desperate for legal workers. The average hourly wage is $11 to $12 an hour. To get legal workers, many plants must recruit heavily. A Cargill plant in Beardstown, Illinois recently began recruiting workers from Puerto Rico.
Nov 15th, 2007 · Immigration is a "very important" issue to Iowa voters, right up there with the economy and the war. That may be due in part to the large influx of immigrants in recent years, mostly from Mexico and Central America, who work in the state's pork and poultry plants.
Nov 4th, 2007 · Nationwide, people are raising chickens in urban environments from coops in Brooklyn backyards to flocks in abandoned lots in Oakland, CA. Websites and social groups are springing up on the Internet, and typically rural poultry magazines are beginning to cater to the urban folks as well.
Jan 23rd, 2007 · The regular U.S. flu season is late this year, with only five states reporting widespread cases. But several countries are seeing a surge of bird flu that has become an annual event. Vietnam successfully clamped down on bird flu throughout 2006, but it is seeing widespread poultry outbreaks.
Dec 12th, 2006 · The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a new definition of "natural foods," at least when it comes to meat and poultry. At a public meeting, the agency heard from critics who say that for meat labels, a "natural" claim should only be allowed when meats don't contain any additives or preservatives.
Dec 5th, 2006 · Many experts predicted the deadly bird flu would spread to North America this year. But some scientists now say it's not likely to happen the way many expected --- through wild migratory birds --- but instead through the global trade in live poultry.
Feb 16th, 2006 · Health officials say migratory waterfowl like ducks and geese are spreading the H5N1 bird flu virus from Asia to Europe and Africa. Bird experts aren't so sure; they point to an illegal trade in infected poultry.
Feb 9th, 2006 · Now that the deadly bird flu virus has spread to poultry in northern Nigeria, experts say it is almost certain to spread further in Africa. Nigeria's poultry population is estimated at 140 million birds, and the nation appears ill-equipped to stamp out the virus.