A Food Hazards in Animal Flesh and By-products Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

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United Poultry Concerns discusses some of the risks to human health posed by eggs and close contact with chickens who are exploited for food.

Chicken for Dinner? It’s Still Enough to Make You Sick
From United Poultry Concerns, UPC-Online.org
August 2026

Images from Canva

For decades, United Poultry Concerns has written about the health consequences of raising and killing chickens for food. In 2016, Karen Davis updated her 1998 article, Chicken for Dinner? It’s Enough to Make You Sick, and noted that the health hazards associated with eating chickens and eggs had barely changed. This information is still relevant and now even more urgent.

In July 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state public health officials investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to recalled shell eggs. According to the CDC, 98 people in 17 states became ill, and 26 were hospitalized. The outbreak was linked to eggs from a commercial producer. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2026)

Salmonella outbreaks have also been linked to direct contact with chickens and other birds. The CDC also investigated a multistate outbreak associated with backyard chickens and ducks. As of July 2026, the outbreak had sickened 513 people across 43 states and one U.S. territory, with 134 hospitalizations and one death reported. Children were among those affected. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2026)

Campylobacter is another major cause of foodborne illness worldwide. A new study, published on July 27, 2026 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that industrial chicken farming has accelerated the evolution and spread of Campylobacter. Researchers analyzed 2,747 Campylobacter genomes from farmed chickens and wild birds across 30 countries. They found “an estimated 100-fold increase in chicken-to-wild-bird host transitions since 1900…” The expansion of industrial chicken farming has created conditions that allow Campylobacter to spread, adapt, and develop traits associated with antimicrobial resistance that can make infections harder to treat. (Kyne et al., 2026)

What Can I Do?

Chickens are intelligent, curious, and socially complex individuals. Learn more about chickens and the lives they lead. Show kindness and respect to birds and other animals by not eating them or their eggs or drinking their milk. Instead, discover the variety of animal-free, vegan foods and cooking ideas.

For recipes and cookbooks, go to www.upc-online.org/recipes. For animal-free and healthy food options worldwide, visit HappyCow Compassionate Eating Guide.

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Posted on All-Creatures: August 3, 2026
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All-Creatures.org Health Position and Disclaimer

We began this archive as a means of assisting our visitors in answering many of their health and diet questions, and in encouraging them to take a proactive part in their own health. We believe the articles and information contained herein are true, but are not presenting them as advice. We, personally, have found that a whole food vegan diet has helped our own health, and simply wish to share with others the things we have found. Each of us must make our own decisions, for it's our own body. If you have a health problem, see your own physician.