Chick-fil-A changing its chicken sparks backlash

return2ozma@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 263 points – Chick-fil-A changing its chicken sparks backlash
newsweek.com

Fast-food chain Chick-fil-A has sparked a social media backlash after announcing that it will soon allow certain antibiotics in the chickens it raises, citing supply issues.

Chick-fil-A restaurants in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico will transition "from chicken raised with No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) to chicken raised with No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM), starting in the spring of 2024," the company said in a statement posted on its website this week.

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"In a statement to Reuters, Chick-fil-A said the policy change was due to challenges it foresees finding chicken supplies that "meets our rigid standards.""

So, clearly, the solution is "lower your standards"? 🤔

If the other choice is make less money then it's obvious what corporations will do

taking care of their chickens is not lowering their standards, its raising them

I think that's the trick though, they aren't "their" chickens. They're buying them from 3rd party vendors.

If they wanted to be serious about quality, they'd set their own standards and raise their own chickens.

The in-n-out system. Most of their meat comes from their own farms and processing facilities.

This is also why they’ve expanded incredibly slowly compared to most fast food chains

That god they don’t actually have to do that to have chicken standards.

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Chick-fil-A budget

Food $200

Data $150

Rent $800

Homophobia $3,600

Utility $150

someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my company is dying

Stop spending so much on homophobia

If you could get them to ignore their "moral compass" you could save them $4,416

I don't get the popularity of Chick-fil-A. Bland sandwiches and little variety.

It has a conservative Christian cult following due to the founder’s political and religious views.

No it doesn't. It's just generally immensely popular.

No, it’s both.

Yep. It was popular before that information was spread far and wide. After the information spread a certain group of people are now die hard fans.

First off, remember it's fast food, standards are abysmal.

But it's an actual piece of chicken, that's actually prepared correctly.

If you got it in a sit down restaurant or even pub, you wouldn't comment on it.

But compare it to any other chicken sandwich you could get from a drive thru in the last 20 years and the hype makes sense.

No matter where you are, if you see a chicfila you know you'll get a decent chicken sandwich that isn't ridiculously expensive.

A burger place isn't going to do chicken as well as a dedicated chicken place, and KFC is a joke, so the only real competition for that niche is Popeyes on a national level.

I guess you can still call it good but they switched to Tyson on the East Coast like 10 years ago and yeah it's bland and generic.

KFC in North America could learn a thing or two from KFC in China. It's their McDonald's.

Fast food also varies so much across the US. I talked up Chick-fil-A so much after having it in Texas, and then when I brought my girlfriend to one in Florida it was garbage.

Twenty years ago? Probably?

Ten years ago? Doubtful

But the past few years have seen most of the fast food fried chicken places go hard on chicken sandwiches. And even mcdonald's has stepped up their game to being actually pretty decent.

Mostly chikfila just coasts on their recognition from 20 years ago and the zealots who refuse to try anything else.

Incidentally you can tell which universe a person is from by how they spell Chik-fil-a

You spell it the way it was spelled in my original universe

Popeye's is better. I've had Chick-fil-A once (bought for me) and it was exactly what it looked like: a chicken sandwich. It was a bit bland and watery.

Let me guess, someone bought it for you, let it sit in a bag for an hour, and then gave it to you...and you judge the entire franchise off this one experience

That's a fucking weird guess. No. It was a client on site and Chick-fil-A was about 5 minutes gotten the road. It would be weird for my client to have ordered mine an hour before the fifteen people I was training.

My question is...why the fuck are you so defensive of a mediocre fast food chain?

Because it's good chicken, and I think it's hilarious that the groupthink has extended to where people are pretending it's not, because that's better politics.

Sorry but no, I've had a good amount of chicken sandwiches and it is decidedly mediocre and honestly no better than Wendy's. You seem to think it's not group think on the part of people raving about a mediocre chicken sandwich. That is a bit silly, don't you think?

I recall asking why they thought it was so good and most of them said it was the sauces that you can get. I think one or two people mentioned the service. The sauces were okay but nothing special. I can't comment on the service but that is not something I generally care about for fast food outside of making sure my order is right.

One thing I do like is that they have (the option of) whole grain buns... I've been unable to find that elsewhere.

Seriously. It's like being in love with average quality.

In my city, the dive bar makes better chicken sandwiches. How depressing that people live like that.

In my city, the dive bars make phenomenal chicken sandwiches, which cost 4-5 times as much as Chick fil A, who makes a good chicken sandwich.

The peach milkshake slaps but the food sucks. Popeyes is better for God’s sake.

Of course I stopped going entirely after they said they stopped donating to LGBTQA+ groups and then got fucking caught doing it yet again so yeah fuck Hate Chicken

I prefer "Dave's Hot Chicken". Large boobs, and lots of spice.

Yeah, I mean, their stuff is okay but pretty unexciting IMHO. They might be inexpensive, kinda the Taco Bell route.

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I think you're just being contrarian.

Not here. Here that's the "normal" side, eating the homophobia jesus chicken is the minority.

Of course, all of the lgbt people I know eat also there, so I don't feel the need to be performative about it, my friends won't deride me for going they'll ask for de-ride there.

It’s because the jesus is fresh with every meal, christian’s really eat that shit up

It is pretty much the pinnacle of "white people fried chicken". American KFC (because Asian KFC is godlike) comes close but so many people never grew up beyond eating chicken tenders and bones scare them.

So you have inadequately seasoned chicken tenders soaked in pickle juice and people lose their minds.

And the strong focus on Christian Values, err, "Good service" means that nobody will ever be faced with the horror that is the realization that their satisfaction is not the only reason that someone is working in fast food.

Reliable/consistent, fast.

No one gives a shit about the politics of the company outside of the permanently online

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Just tell your customers you upped the Jesus in every sandwich and they'll overlook everything else.

Fuck chick fil a. Since I worked there back in 2015, they've cut portion sizes by almost a third and raised priced by almost 50%.

I call bullshit. You can source antibiotic free chicken if you'll pay for it, they're just trying to extract more profit again.

Insofar as I recall they're still one of the better fast food joints wrt worker treatment.

It's a very mixed bag, due to the fact that most of them are franchises.

I remember when I quit and went to amazon, my hourly went up by more than 50%. I worked 20 hours less every week and for health insurance.

But there's also some near me with signs up advertising $18/hour.

I find it almost impossible a religious business treats their workers well…..THEY FUCKING WORSHIP god FOR SUCKS SAKE

I'm not defending chick fil a here, but this is some busted ass logic. I don't see how worshipping god has any bearing on how they treat workers.

christians treating people like shit is my logic, like they have done for hundreds and hundreds of years. So it seems logical a christian business would treat people like shit.

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I bet god spoke to the CEO one night as a burning sack of cash and said this was a great idea.

Popeye's chicken sandwiches are better.

If the cooking oil is fresh, this is 100% true. That fucking sandwich is a banger.

The hard part for me is finding a Popeye's that has fresh cooking oil. : (

No they aren't and I feel bad for anyone who thinks so just because of this comment.

Is it still going to be soggy and disgusting?

I've only eaten there a few times, but I don't remember it being soggy.

Have you...ever eaten at chick fil a?

The chicken has always been moist-soggy. This was fine when everyone else had dry as fuck chicken. Now everyone else has figured out the moist-crispy sandwich and CFA just isn't that great.

Yes. The chicken is soggy and gross.

So, no.

Entirely depends on when you go. At peak hours they're frying chicken and packing sandwiches in advance, which means the unbreathable pouch they wrap and close off the sandwiches in cause the chicken to get VERY soggy if they aren't sold quickly.

That's fair. They always go fast here, but if they overestimated demand one day and some sandos sat in the pouch for a while I could see them getting soggy.

I said yes. I'm not sure what is so hard to understand. The food there is horrible. It OK if you think its not that bad.

I mean, I don't believe you. Their chicken is known to be good. Not just my opinion. Saying otherwise puts you in the small minority, and I think you're only saying it because you hate their politics.

I've heard they were good and tried it a couple of times. It was the worst fast food I've ever had. The worst was some little cafe in WInnepeg where they gave me fried eggs instead of scrambled. When I asked for scrambled, they took it in back and chopped up the fried egg, and cooked it a little more. That does not make scrambled eggs.

No evidence hits quite as hard as 'people are saying it' 🙄 totally disproves the soggy chicken comments people are also saying ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You can't debate someone into liking a shitty product

I'm not debating, I'm calling them a liar

I am also laughing at this weird gen Z trend of having to pretend that if a company's practices are horrible, their product must be horrible. "Starbucks coffee sucks" lol my dude, if you don't like caramel flavored ice cream with whipped cream on top with a shot of espresso blended in, that is a you problem.

Or like every time there's a vegan thread "yeah burgers are gross anyway" uh huh sure.

I think you're all lying in an attempt to fit in.

Fuck chikfila, and fuck you if you spend your money there. Fucking bigots

Hey now, the chicken don't taste homophobic.

are you regularly tasting homophobes to the point where you feel qualified to make that statement?

Ironically enough, they hire shit tons of LGTBQ+ people in my area and the LGBTQ+ crowd fucking stans them.

According to the Good Place if you eat their sandwich it means you hate gay people.

if you've bought anything there then you are contributing directly to people who fund and support the anti-lgbtq+ movement so yes, you cannot be a customer there and also support these social movements

While I agree with the stance that Chick-fil-a should be boycotted, I think declaring those who dont incapable of supporting lgbtq+ social movements only hurts said movements. Its not a zero sum game, and alienating potential allies is a losing strategy.

Plus, at least as an American, its damn near impossible to survive without spending money on products that caused harm somewhere along the line. Dont be so quick to throw stones, all our hands are soaked with blood, most of us are just too busy to notice.

Maybe they should try making it good.

Soggy salty chicken sandwich was fine in 2003 when everyone else was doing dry chicken sandwich. Now the meta is crunchy and juicy chicken sandwich so CFA is just mid.

I'm thinking that this homophobic fast food restaurant does not warrant the amount of comments in this thread. Yes I am aware of the irony of my commenting.

Go to a different chicken place if you don't like their changes. Or you know, make your own chicken at home.

OR GO VEGAN. Just for a moment THINK about this. They are using antibiotics that WE need, to make your bloody nuggets. Try tomorrow to eat less meat.

No...they're specifically using antibiotics we don't need for people. It's cool if you want to advocate for veganism, but make sure you're being factually accurate when you do so if you want to be taken seriously.

Mostly true, but also the excessive use of antibiotics in animals reduces the efficacy of antibiotics in humans over time via resistance. So, kind of a distinction without a difference. I'm not a vegan, by the way, or even a vegetarian, but I do try to limit my meat intake for a number of reasons - ethical, environmental, nutritional, and medical.

I mean, in this case they claim to be using antibiotics that wouldn't necessarily be useful to people which is probably true. However they would be useful for local bird populations to avoid getting the stronger strain of avian flu or whatever survives against the antibiotics.

Eat their lies

Vegan products claim to be free of all animal ingredients and animal by-products. The term “vegan” is not regulated by FDA but is understood to have certain meaning in the marketplace. It is possible that a trace amount of an animal product such as dairy could end up in a vegan product

Eat the lies, indeed.

Is that the best you can come up with? There maybe traces of animals in your food so ner? Mate, there maybe traces of vegetables in your food so your arteries might stand a chance!

The point wasn't that there might be animal parts in the food. The point was that it's ridiculous to say a term with a legal definition is a lie while advocating people replace it with a marketing term with no legal definition. But Har Har fat joke, I guess?

You don't have to be fat to get clogged arteries from eating too much sausage Jimmy.

I tried their food as they recently opened up in my city in Canada. Their chicken sandwich and waffle fries are a complete joke compared to local chains here and McDonald's/KFC of all places. Dry af chicken, sad spice and soggy waffle fries. At a local chain I get a good Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, beautiful steak cut fries and a good drink. They just expanded to a second location here. Chick-fil-A do better

I live much, much further south than you. Gulf coast state.

I hesitate to compliment them because they're a restaurant chain built on the back of an established religion that's slowly dismantling our country.

But I will say that my experience has been the exact opposite. Fresh, juicy chicken, best waffle fries around. Too bad I don't buy from them, because really the only comparable chicken sandwich around here is Popeyes and those tend to be greasy.

I'd rather they didn't and just went away instead.

Personally I've never had chic fil a but I am very critical of chicken sandwiches. Popeyes is what I look for from a fast food chicken sandwich but my local joint is the best. Nashville hot, spicy barbecue even nekid. Portions are big too . I just really like chicken sandwiches.

Oh yeah I've heard the Christian chicken described as it taste safe and I don't regret never trying it.

So strange that a fast food chain would are haters and popular

Making sure the chickens stay healthy is perfectly reasonable. Particularly if the antibiotics aren't necessary for human medicine.

The antibiotics are used so that the chickens don't contract infections and die from living in inhumane conditions.

This change allows them to increase their profit margin at the cost of animal welfare.

The article specifically said they're only going to administer antibiotics to sick chickens and those in close proximity to sick chickens, not generally as a preventative.

"A chicken in house 7, row 15, cage B2769G72 was seen with pus buildup around its clipped beak. Destroy and incinerate that one and administer antibiotics to the rest of the chickens in row 15"

That's zero sum, from the chicken-life perspective.

Die of infection or die by slaughter, their life isn't changed by the variable in context.

Edit I'm saying antibiotics are not for the animal's wellbeing. They are a tool to extract profit, and not let the chickens die at the wrong moment. That's it.

Lol suffering means nothing! Us humans are gonna die at age 80 anyways. Might as well suffer for my adult life instead of living a happy life, what's the difference, right?

My goodness, the lack of empathy for living creatures is just fucking wild. You can slaughter something AND not want it to lead a terrible life until its death, ya know.

Humans are clearly on a different territory from factory born animals for slaughter.

Again, antibiotics do not change their lived experience because they get no changes in conditions in return. Antibiotics are just for human profit

I’m afraid your sarcasm and irony were unclear despite the words used. But please correct that or me.

If you think antibiotics are to reduce animal suffering you're deluded. It's only to not let them die at inopportune times for the profit machine. The animals in factory farms are already experiencing suffering being belief and an early death is an escape.

I am not a proponent of routine antibiotic use in any animals (including us humans), unless it’s called for as in actually saving someone’s life.

I was caught at one of these moments where I wasn’t sure whether it was sincerely meant or humour, and tried to be mildly sarcastic about it.

Edit: Double checked. Thumbs up now.

Ah yes, nothing about your entire existence matters if the way you died wasn’t in an approved fashion.

Shit even if you just look at it in terms of the quality of the meat a stress free well fed animal will taste so much better than one that’s been stressed out its entire life fed literal garbage.

making sure the chickens stay healthy*

*profitable