Subway is suing Canadian news network CBC over a TV segment in which the show “Marketplace” claims that Subway’s chicken only contains 50 percent chicken. According to the report, which was broadcast in February, many of the Subway restaurants in southern Ontario use meat that is actually half soy protein. Subway issued a statement calling the report “false and misleading,” and said that its food is 100 percent what it claims to be.

Our chicken is made with 100% chicken + spices and marinade. The findings as reported on the show are wildly inaccurate.

— SUBWAY® Canada (@SUBWAYCanada) March 1, 2017

The restaurant chain let two independent labs in the U.S. and in Canada test its chicken products and posted the results on the company’s website. According to those tests, there is a small amount of soy in the seasoning to maintain moisture and texture, but that is far from the 50 percent CBC claimed.

CBC had researcher Matt Harnden at Trent University’s Wildlife Forensic DNA Laboratory test five chicken sandwiches from different fast food restaurants, and reached the conclusion that the one from Subway had only 53.6 percent chicken, and chicken strips from Subway only contained 42.8 percent of the white meat. Sandwiches tested from the other restaurants all clocked in at about 85-89 percent chicken.

But all of the sandwiches tested contained an average of 16 ingredients in their chicken. CBC’s test showed that the fast food chicken contained about a fourth less protein than a home-cooked bird would.

CBC will defend against Subway lawsuit after ‘Marketplace’ said chicken at many Ontario outlets was roughly half soy https://t.co/9yGIzf2LkN pic.twitter.com/MMRYpkFNGS

— Yahoo Canada Finance (@YahooFinanceCA) April 18, 2017

Subway initially asked CBC to retract its information, but the broadcaster didn’t respond. “We have issued a Notice of Action in Canada against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that asks for $210 million in damages over allegations made by its program, ‘Marketplace,’ that are defamatory and absolutely false,” Subway said.

So it’s word against word, and lab against lab, in the chicken feud. CBC has said it has no comment, except that it will defend itself.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Tyson Foods has found itself in a public relations nightmare after an animal rights group posted an undercover video Thursday showing live chicken handlers at three of the company’s Virginia facilities shamelessly abusing chickens.

In the video below, undercover activists with Compassion Over Killing captured workers choking, punching, and kicking chickens, among other startling abuses.

Warning: This Video Contains Graphic Content

At one point in the video, a worker warns another standing on a chicken’s head that they could be filmed by animal rights activists. “You can’t let nobody see you do that,” he says. “They’ll take you to court for that.”

In another part of the video, workers are seen throwing chickens to the ground after carelessly jamming them with needles. “Makes you don’t want to eat them,” one says. “I’m just saying with all this sh*t going in them.”

Christine Daugherty, Vice President of Sustainable Food Production for Tyson Foods, called the workers actions “disgusting.”

“The people shown in the video by Compassion Over Killing were all trained in proper animal handling, yet chose to ignore it and failed to alert management about the despicable treatment on these farms, said Daugherty. “Animals in our care deserve to be treated humanely.”

The company says it has fired ten of its employees and is making a pledge to retrain all of its workers who handle live birds.

Tyson Foods also tweeted out a formal response to the Virginia farm video echoing Daugherty’s sentiments.

We’re disgusted by a video showing improper treatment of birds.
Here’s what we’re doing about it: https://t.co/1vqQKMyUMV

— Tyson Foods (@TysonFoods) August 11, 2016

Tyson, which is the world’s largest chicken processor, made $10 billion last year selling poultry.

According to USA Today,

The latest video marks at least the fifth time in roughly 13 months that advocates for various animal rights groups have been able to infiltrate Tyson-connected facilities and secretly record footage of workers abusing chickens and cramped living conditions for chickens before they are slaughtered. The activists typically apply for work at the facilities and are able to surreptitiously record the footage.

After watching the video, some users on Twitter have publicly sworn off the brand.

After seeing this, I will never buy Tyson. Those fired employees are sick, and should be prosecuted. #TysonChicken https://t.co/BVQ55WnoY3

— Amanda Bolliger (@BollzyMouse) August 12, 2016

That video of the Tyson workers is literally why I don’t eat chicken or turkey or eggs, I’m so sad for the poor babies

— ️ (@luvgrim) August 12, 2016

@TysonFoods I WILL NEVER BUY FROM YOU! https://t.co/KQnGtCdM5K

— Monie (@shamone_moore) August 12, 2016

It’s good to see the company immediately taking action to address the clear violations in the video, however, there is still a possibility it could face further repercussions following an investigation into the footage.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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In the latest action taken by the U.S. government against what it deems as unfair trade practices by China, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman announced on Tuesday the U.S. intends to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against high poultry tariffs imposed by China.

Calling China’s heavy duties on poultry imports from the U.S. “unfair” and “unjustified,” Froman reiterated the Obama administration’s support of U.S. farmers against Chinese actions: “American farmers deserve a fair shot to compete and win in the global economy and this Administration will continue to hold China responsible when they attempt to disadvantage our farmers, businesses and workers,” he said.

Trade between the world’s two largest economies has long been a point of contention. This would be the 12th action the administration has brought to the WTO in regards to Chinese trade policy. The U.S. has won all previous cases.

The most recent WTO complaint brought by the U.S. came in 2013, when it won the international trade body’s support in enforcing a ruling that required China to halt its average of 64.5 percent duties on U.S. poultry producers, which forced the U.S. to cut its exports to the Asian power by 80 percent. 

In an email sent by Tyson Foods to Law Street Media, the processed poultry giant expressed support for the ongoing fight for freer markets in China:

“We believe in open trade and hope that our government’s latest action will result in a resolution of this issue soon,” a spokesperson from the company wrote.  

Following an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in December 2014, a handful of top importers of U.S. poultry–including mainland China, the country’s sixth most lucrative poultry market to which $153 million worth of chicken meat and eggs were sold in 2014–announced bans or restrictions on U.S. bred meat and eggs. Despite requests from the U.S. for China to lift the ban, and WTO-backed calls to lower poultry tariffs, China has yet to comply with either.

China’s import ban of U.S. bred chicken broiler parts–frozen thighs, breasts, and wings–would need to be lifted before any action taken by the WTO to force China to lower their anti-dumping and countervailing duties would have an effect. As Hong Kong interacts with international trading partners on its own, the trading decisions of Beijing only affect the mainland. 

Toby Moore, Vice President of Communications with the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, an advocacy body for U.S. poultry exports, expects the ban to be lifted in the near future.

“Its been a long term issue and I think once China gets its economic issues straightened out I think [U.S.-China trade relations] will be a little better,” he told Law Street Media during a phone interview on Tuesday. “China tends to be a country that links trade issues with unrelated issues.”

Calling the U.S. and China trade relationship “tenuous,” Moore claims that historically, China’s stricter trade stances reflected unrelated domestic troubles, or a response to an unrelated action taken by the U.S. He speculated that China might respond to a threatening U.S. action–meeting with the Dalai Lama, for instance, or acting on China’s island building in the South China Sea–with an aggressive new trade measure.

However as the newest wrinkle in the tit-for-tat world of U.S. and Chinese trade turns out, Tuesday’s announcement came with a flurry of bi-partisan support from Senate members:

“Today’s announcement sends a clear message that the United States will continue to hold China’s feet to the fire until it plays by the rules and opens up its market to our poultry,” said Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware and a co-chairman of the Senate Chicken Caucus.

“Trade works when the rules are followed, and it is imperative that China—the world’s second largest economy—lives up to the rules it agreed to when it joined the WTO in 2001,” said Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA).

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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I am a busy person, which means I don’t get to spend hours at a time following the latest Hollywood gossip. I can usually survive without keeping up with the Kardashians and the Bieber and so on. However, every once in a while, I stumble across a celebrity scandal so interesting that I question everything I thought I knew about myself and begin to wonder why I ever do anything other than watch E!.

I mean, if I kept up with my star news, I would have known two whole weeks ago that Mila Kunis stole a transgendered chicken from a talking baby in Ukraine. And really, the fact that I am just now learning this is a travesty.

Since it’s a few weeks old, there is a chance you have already heard something about this. But I think it will be just as weird and entertaining to take an in-depth look now as the whole messy legal battle continues to heat up.

The Story in a Nutshell

According to Kristina Karo–and as she told Mr. Immigration Man in what has to be my new all-time favorite music video, “that’s Kristina Karo with a K, a KK. You know, like Kim Kardashian, only with talent.”–she and Mila Kunis used to be best friends when they were younger and were both still living in Ukraine.

However, that friendship ended with a hen-ious crime when the girls were in first grade. Although, as Aston Kutcher points out, since Karo claims to be much younger than the 31-year-old Kunis, she must have been one month old, in first grade, and talking when this all happened, making her the smartest baby of all time. Of course, her publicist tried to downplay her intelligence by saying she is, in fact, the same age as Kunis but exaggerates her age for sarcastic purposes. But, I think the talking baby thing is just as likely as everything else that happened in this tale.

You see, Karo had a beloved pet chicken named, as many a chicken is, Doggie. Doggie was a smart chicken and a good representative of his/her namesake, a dog. You could play fetch with her, and she would bring you the ball. You could call him, and he would come. If you didn’t think chickens did these types of things, you are wrong.

Of course, as good reporters must fact check, they asked Karo to clarify her mixed use of genders. Was the chicken a rooster or a hen? I’m guessing it was transgender because when asked the seemingly simple question, Karo said it was “not something she could go into.” Whatever the gender, one day, Doggie went missing.

Karo did not have to wait long to find out where he/she had gone. Kunis, an honest thief, quickly confessed to the crime, telling Karo she could have any chicken she wanted as a pet since she had an entire chicken farm. Then, Kunis fled the country to live out the rest of her life in hiding in the U.S.

Where are they now?

Unfortunately for Kunis, her plans to live on the lam were fowled when she became a mega-success in Hollywood. I’m sure had she realized this would make finding her easier, she never would have begun acting in the first place. But hindsight is 20/20.

A few years ago, Karo came over to the states in the hopes of getting a green card and a music career–as she relays in her hit, “Give Me Green Card”–so they were bound to run into each other.

Karo had repressed the horrible memory of her stolen, beloved pet for years, but when she came to Hollywood and saw the starlet who had betrayed her when they were youths, all of the wretched memories came rushing back.

Where was Doggie? Was he alive? Had he gone to chicken heaven? Had he finally selected a gender? These are all questions to which she would never have the answers.

The Suit

Now that Doggie was once again in her mind, Karo needed to get at least a little bit of closure. That is why she filed a suit in small claims court demanding $5,000 for the emotional distress caused by this traumatic childhood event.

For her part, Kunis has not yet been served. She has apologized for the confusion but says that, as a chicken advocate, she would never steal someone’s chicken nor would she have done so at any time in the past, even as a child. She kind of ruined the good intentions, though, when she followed the apology up with possible slander by hinting that it was no coincidence that this suit came out just as Karo is trying to promote her music video.

This is likely to be a close case when it finally makes it to trial. On the one hand, unless we find the chicken, there may be no evidence. On the other hand, nobody would ever be able to make up such a crazy tale, right? Plus, Karo did get a confession from young Kunis, which could help her case. However, I think Kunis could block this on some statute of limitations argument. We’ll all just have to wait and see.

The Countersuit

Speaking of that music video, Kunis is threatening to countersue for the same $5,000 she could lose. She claims that after watching the video, “my body hurts. My eyes hurt. They’re burning. That requires money.”

I watched the video, and I didn’t think it could be any more perfect than it was; I would not change one second. So I do not know how this countersuit will fare in court. I am looking forward to finding out, though.

Karo is clearly doing this all for the attention (because for some reason I do actually doubt most of this is true.) However, do I feel bad about giving it to her? Absolutely not! If you want attention so badly you’d make up this beauty, then you deserve to get it. And really, how can we not talk about this ridiculous case?

I’m signing off now. I need to go play that catchy song some more. “Give me, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me green card.”

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Many people would recognize actress Mila Kunis who is probably best known for her role as Jackie on “That ’70s Show.” She’s now engaged to Ashton Kutcher, and has appeared in a number of movies including the critically acclaimed “Black Swan,” and she voices Meg Griffith on “Family Guy.” Kunis grew up in the Ukraine, and was friends with a girl named Khristina Karo, now a “singer.” When they were seven years old, Kunis allegedly stole a chicken from the Karo family chicken farm. Now Karo is suing Kunis under claims of emotional distress that arose out of the chicken theft.

Karo apparently had one favorite chicken misleadingly named “Doggie.” Kunis also loved to play with Doggie, and when the actress was over one time, Doggie mysteriously went missing. According to Karo, the nefarious 7-year-old Kunis owned up to the chicken theft, saying to her friend, “Kristina, you can have any other chicken as a pet, you have a whole chicken farm.”

Karo claims that sought therapyafter this betrayal. When she moved to Los Angeles, the memories of her supposed friend’s theft came back to her, and she entered therapy once again. She claims that this emotional distress is preventing her from pursuing her dream of being a successful singer in the United States. She’s now suing Kunis for $5,000, which seems to be a pretty low request given that Kunis has an estimated net worth of $30 million, and her fiancé has a net worth of over $140 million.

The lowball request would seem to indicate that either Karo is sincere–which is unlikely, but possible–or that she’s doing this for the attention. Given her hopes of becoming a singer, this news pretty much screams publicity stunt.

If you’re interested in Karo’s music, check out her newest song, “Give Me Green Card,” below.

It also contains the immortal line, “Mr. Immigration Officer it is Kristina Karo with a K. A K, K. You know, like Kim Kardashian, only with talent.”

Karo’s publicity stunt does seem to be working, at least to some extent. Her YouTube clip of “Give me Green Card” had almost half a million views when I watched it. I can almost guarantee you that it wouldn’t have nearly that many had news outlets not picked up the story of her lawsuit against Kunis.

It’s pretty doubtful that this lawsuit will actually go anywhere, but Karo certainly seems to have gotten what she is looking for–“Give me Green Card” is sure to get really annoyingly stuck in all of our heads.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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