‘I had to wear Pampers’: The cruel reality the people who bring you cheap chicken allegedly endure

While concerns about food safety and animal welfare dominate discussions about the perils of the modern food system, there's a downside that many might find just as troubling: the often inhumane conditions people who work in the industry face.

A new report by Oxfam America, an arm of the international anti- poverty and injustice group, alleges that poultry industry workers are "routinely denied breaks to use the bathroom" in order to optimize the speed of production. In some cases, according to the group, the reality is so oppressive that workers "urinate and defecate while standing on the line" and "wear diapers to work." In others, employees say they avoid drinking liquids for long periods and endure considerable pain in order to keep their jobs.