"In Europe there is definitely a disgust about chlorinated chicken," says Schimpf, a food activist with Friends of the Earth Europe, an environmental group.
The chlorine vs. no chlorine debate has come up a lot recently in the context of a massive trans-Atlantic trade agreement. This week, negotiators from Europe and the U.S. are meeting in Washington for a seventh round of talks aimed at creating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP.
'Over 120 countries accept the U.S. processing method, says James Sumner, the president of the U.S.A. Poultry and Egg Export Council. It's cheaper, he says, and Europe doesn't want U.S. competition. "If the truth were to be known, that's the real reason they don't want is there, and chlorine is a convenient excuse," he says.'
Sounds about right. The same goes for the majority of stories like this I hear. Media spreading FUD, the population eating it up because they're uninformed and it helps them feel superior to those other, stupid countries without regard to human health, government's along for the ride because it helps their bottom line and helps keep the public on their side.
There's a disgust about chlorinated chicken in Europe? What a coincidence, I'm also feeling some disgust. Not for the chicken, but for this anti-scientific political side-show.