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Chicken: The Dangerous Transformation of America's Favorite FoodPublisher:New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
Copyright:2005
Pages:x + 195
Review:
Steve Striffler argues that there is a “peculiarly modern food crisis” (p. 1) in the United States that deserves increased attention. To help focus attention on this crisis, he employs the case of the transformation of chicken from a healthy to an unhealthy food that contributes to obesity and heart disease in consumers, the marginalization of farmers, and the exploitation of immigrant workers. “The problem is that we now have a food system that not only is dependent on cheap labor, but also requires an easily exploitable workforce to produce and process unhealthy foods” (p. 5). Striffler’s goal is to show how society got into this situation and thereby provide a point of departure to enable people to make improvements in the food they buy (Friendly Chicken) and to provide them with a better understanding of the labor dynamics and community change related to immigration.
Although people today are increasingly aware of food-system problems and are taking steps to improve their diet, they are largely unaware of where food comes from and how it is grown and processed. Striffler notes that food choices are not “entirely innocent” (p. 2). These choices are shaped by advertising that encourages people to buy the highly processed foods that are the least healthy but the most profitable. Such advertising strategically targeted at young people has helped create “a profound cultural shift” whereby “junk food has become what children expect to eat” (p. 3). To add to the crisis, government subsidies to agriculture contribute to the problem “without considering how this support affects the health of the American public” (p. 3). To help readers see the connection between unhealthy food and immigration, Striffler begins with an overview of the transformation of the chicken industry as it moved from an independent system of small businesses through vertical integration leading to domination by large corporations. The industrialization of chicken production allowed the costs of production to be rapidly reduced. The cost-cutting strategies met with increased consumer demand as chicken was marketed as a healthy alternative to red meats. Technological innovations and increased consumer demand fueled the growth of the industry and the emergence of large vertically integrated companies such as Tyson and Perdue. Through mergers and acquisitions, a few firms came to dominate the industry. As the chicken industry matured, competition for market share became fierce and firms embraced further processing as a market-expansion survival strategy. It was this further processing strategy that began the transformation of chicken from a healthy food (whole or cut up chicken) to an unhealthy fast food (nuggets or breaded sandwiches). To complement the unhealthy-food side of the story, Striffler also traces the changes in the work relationship between the workers (chicken growers and processing-plant employees) and the chicken company. He shows how independent chicken growers in the DelMarVa region (Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) were replaced with contract growers in the South. Striffler presents compelling stories of the asymmetrical power relationship between these contract growers and the integrating firms. Similarly, he documents the changes in labor relationships as the regional firms lost their community connections and became subsidiaries of national companies. When the South experienced labor shortages because of the economic boom of the 1980s and early 1990s, the chicken companies turned to immigrants as their workforce for their processing plants. This new pattern of labor recruitment has had important implications for the composition of southern towns. Striffler does a good job of weaving a tale of food and immigration that illustrates the linkages of what might appear to be separate topics. His participant-observation research method of working in the chicken processing plants next to the predominantly “Hispano” (p. 142) workers (Asians and Micronesians also) allowed him to capture the essence of the immigrant-worker perspective. Striffler’s work on the issues facing the immigrant workers, both legal and illegal, is the major contribution of the book. I found his call for more government involvement to rein in the power of the food corporations somewhat impractical in this era of powerful transnational corporations and weakened nation-states. His suggestion to buy more worker-friendly and healthy chickens from local and regional outlets is a good idea. Striffler’s book complements the ongoing discussions regarding the downside of the fast-food culture dominated by large corporations. As a supplementary reader, this book would be a valuable addition to sociology, anthropology, and food studies courses. [photographs, references, index.]
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