April 28, 2008 12:18 by
Gene
I spoke in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
on the Delmarva Peninsula, an area known for intensive
poultry production. A woman who attended the talk is an accountant and works for
a contract poultry grower (an individual who raises chickens on his/her own
land under contract for a large, integrated poultry company). The accountant agreed with my book’s description
of how contract growers often live like surfs on their own property. They provide most of the capital and labor to
raise chickens that are owned and controlled by corporations. Contract growers often go into debt to meet
their contractual obligations, and when they receive checks for their labor, it
often goes directly to pay off debt.