The Ethics of Cat Food: The U.S. Turkey Industry Serves Up a Fancy Feast

Abstract

With inflation raising the price of food and other necessities, it is now more important than ever to be conscious of how the food we eat comes to be on our plates. While we may have access to information on the lives and manufacturers of the food we consume, some of the other members of our household may not get the same treatment. Much of our pets’ food comes out of a bag or a can labeled “chicken,” “beef,” or “turkey,” but the origins of this source of sustenance often remain a mystery. This paper looks at the sociological implications of a turkey variety of wet cat food: the dangers faced by U.S. poultry workers, the function of each canned ingredient, and human rights abuses in the food system.