The Story Behind the Change Your Chicken Challenge

Anyone who knows Nebo knows we believe that business is more than dollars and cents. It’s being part of the community. It’s making the world a better place. It’s doing great work, but also using our powers for good. We’ve been incredibly lucky to be this successful, and we think it’s an honor and privilege to give back.

Among our various philanthropic passions, we’re particularly passionate about giving a voice to the voiceless. Empowering the powerless. And one of the core causes we focus on is animal welfare.

Our passion for animal welfare is one of the things that makes Nebo, well, Nebo. It led us to partner with P.L.A.Y. to create the Rescue Pledge — an initiative to put more shelter dogs in loving homes and shed light on the atrocities of puppy mills.

It’s what keeps us stocking the office with sustainable goods, from the snacks in our kitchen to the soap in our bathrooms.

It’s also what led us to take a stand against factory farming.

The plight of factory farmed animals is one that’s near and dear to Nebo’s heart. These animals are the epitome of the voiceless. But sadly, our industry has only added to their misery.

Agencies farm wash. Nebo is guilty of it too. We’ve branded products with pictures of happy animals when the reality starts with a factory farm. Despite our commitment to being a force for good, we’re still guilty. Even if it was based on our own naiveté or willful ignorance.

It was time for us to take a stand. So, when a few of Nebo’s team members crossed paths with the ASPCA at a conference, we jumped at the opportunity to work with them on their factory farming initiative.

The Truth

Ninety-nine percent of farm animals are raised in hell-on-earth conditions in factory farms. For chickens, imagine something like this:

Imagine 20,000 chickens crammed into one shed. Imagine chickens that are kept awake with artificial light so they’re constantly eating. Imagine chickens whose wings break due to their enormous size… chickens who sleep in their own feces because they have no room to move.

It’s atrocious. It’s inhumane. It has to stop.

So, we teamed up with ASPCA’s farm team to take a stand against factory farms and encourage people to know more about their chicken.

The Solution

We knew what our ultimate goal would be. We wanted to create a nationwide movement to reduce the consumption of factory farmed chicken.

The challenge was bringing it to life. How do you tackle something as big and grotesque as factory farming, especially when 99 percent of our poultry comes from factory farms?

Interestingly enough, we found that many Americans are actually willing to make more humane chicken purchasing decisions but lack guidance and education about how to do so. There was also a social validation aspect that went into building new, more-humane habits, which required peer pressure and encouragement.

With this knowledge, the Change Your Chicken Challenge was born.

The premise of the challenge is simple: participants pledge to not purchase chicken from the worst factory farming conditions for 30 days. Ultimately, our goal is to get 50,000 people to take a stand against factory farming.

We designed a microsite where people can take the pledge, read information on the plight of chickens in factory farms, and even access label guides to help them find chicken that is raised in more humane conditions.

It’s our hope that, with this challenge, we can encourage people to make a lifestyle change that will ultimately help end this atrocity.

No animal deserves to live in factory farm conditions. No animal deserves to be put through utter hell. It’s time we use our voices for the voiceless. It’s time we take a stand against factory farming.

So please join us. Take a stand. Change Your Chicken.