Smart Chicken/Tecumseh Poultry (Tyson)
| Rating |  |
| Farm/Brand Headquarters | Waverly, NE |
| Products | Chicken, processed meat |
| Website | www.smartchicken.com/ |
| Market Area | Nationwide |
| Total Score | 0 |
Tecumseh Farms is both certified Organic and certified Humane by Humane Farm Animal Care.
Tyson Foods, the U.S.’s largest meatpacker, announced June 4, 2018 that it has bought Tecumseh Farms, the company that owns the Smart Chicken brand.
Cornucopia’s investigations show that Tecumseh Poultry and by extension the Smart Chicken brand, comes from industrial-scale operations. The birds may receive “token” outdoor access, but it appears to be of poor quality. This means that few, if any birds utilize outdoor areas. You can learn more about Smart Chicken’s industrial “organic” practices in Cornucopia’s fly over investigations.
Though this chicken is cheap, that price does not reflect the externalities of these production methods on the environment, animal welfare, and economic justice for small farmers. We recommend that consumers take a stand and vote with their forks by avoiding brands like this one that are associated with bad activity.
| Criteria | Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| TOTAL (possible score is 1800) | 0 | 1-Bird Rating | Poor |
Family Farms and cooperatives receive the most points. Corporations and companies with poor or negligible farm oversight receive the fewest points. Ownership structure | 0 | Corporate brand ultimately owned by Tyson, the largest domestic meatpacker |
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100% organic brands receive the most points. Split operations receive fewer with increased penalties for poor segregation at the processor and farm level. Dedication to Organic Production | 0 | Poor dedication to organic principles |
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Farms that participated in Cornucopia’s research providing full transparency receive the most points. Transparency and Disclosure | 0 | Did not participate in survey and external investigations found little information, indicating likely industrial-organic brand |
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Points determined by integrity of the brand’s organic certifier. Organic Certifier | 0 | Unknown |
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To receive full points, flocks must number 500 birds or fewer (200 for turkeys). Flock size | 0 | No response; large flock sizes indicate poorer welfare |
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No more than 1.5 lbs of bird per square foot is required for full points. Stocking Density | 0 | No response |
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Mobile housing receives the highest number of points. Housing Style | 0 | No response; raised in static barns |
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Heritage varieties receive the highest number of points. Strain and/or Breed and Slaughter Age | 0 | No response; |
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Birds must spend 3/4ths or more of their lives outdoors for full points. Timing for Outdoor Access | 0 | Likely poor dedication to legitimate outdoor access |
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Enrichments include but are not limited to shade structures, water, novel feedstuff (greens, mealworms, sprouted grains), and dust baths. Enrichments (outdoor and indoor) | 0 | No response |
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Points awarded for labels that go above and beyond organic. Other Labels/Standards | 0 | None |
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Maximum points given for high quality, rotated pasture. Non-rotated pasture adjacent to fixed housing with lower than 90% vegetative cover receives fewer points. Outdoor Management | 0 | No response |
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100 points for on-farm production and/or milling of feed. Fewest points given to feed that cannot be verified as domestic and/or birds get poor or no supplementation from outdoor foraging. Feed Sourcing | 0 | Trusted sources note that Perdue (the parent company of this brand) is implicated in buying fraudulent grain from overseas, calling into question their true organic status. |
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Methionine needs met by outdoor foraging receives 100 points. Synthetic supplementation receives 70 points. Synthetic Methionine | 0 | No response; likely uses maxium allowed in organic |
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Under 5% cull and death rate required for full points. Cull/death Rate | 0 | No response; likely to have high rates of culls and deaths comapred to family-scale farms |
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Chicks and poults that are certified organic since hatching, or are hatched on-farm receive 100 points. Off-farm or conventional chicks and poults receive 70 points. Chick and Poult Sourcing | 0 | No response; investigations shows likely sourced from conventional hatcheries with poor welfare |
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No physical alterations required for full points. Permitting beak tipping results in fewer points. Physical Alterations | 0 | No response |
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Measures farm oversight. Farmer owned brands, or daily visits by management required for maximum points. Farm Support | 0 | No response |
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Non-scoring, category provided for information only. Slaughter Method (non-scoring) | Likely slaughtered the same as conventional poultry | |
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Non-scoring, category provided for information only. Soy Free Ration? (non-scoring) | Soy most likely fed | |
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Maximum transparency, sharing of the organic systems plan, and/or novel practices that sets the brand apart from the rest of the industry can result in extra credit points. Extra Credit | 0 | None |
