The text is a transcript of a segment from the show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he talks about the problems faced by chicken farmers in the US. He criticizes the contract farming system, the tournament payment system, and the lack of regulations and protections for farmers. He also mocks the chicken industry's promotional videos, a congressman who opposes reforms, and the Sex and the City movie. He urges viewers to pressure their representatives to support an amendment that would prevent retaliation against farmers who speak out. He uses humor, sarcasm, and jangly guitar music to make his points.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The chicken industry in the US has doubled its production and headcount from 80 million to 160 million chickens a week in the last 25 years .
2. The poultry industry is dominated by four gigantic companies: Pilgrims, Tyson, Purdue and Sanderson Farms .
3. Chicken farmers are paid according to a tournament or gladiator system, where they are ranked against each other based on how efficiently they produce fatter chickens with less feed .
4. Chicken farmers often go into a great deal of debt to build chicken houses and make expensive upgrades demanded by the companies .
5. Chicken farmers face retaliation from the companies if they complain or speak out about their conditions .
6. The USDA has not been able to enforce protective rules for poultry farmers because of a rider inserted into the agricultural appropriations bill every year since the rules were written .
7. Representative Steve Womack has championed the effort to block the enforcement of the rules, possibly influenced by his ties to the chicken industry .
8. Representative Marcy Kaptur has tried to pass an amendment to protect farmers from retaliation, but has faced opposition from the committee members .
: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9wHzt6gBgI