The company was founded in 1920 by Arthur Perdue with his wife, Pearl Perdue, who had been keeping a small flock of chickens. The company started out selling table eggs, then in 1925, Perdue built the company's first hatchery, and switched to selling layer chicks to farmers instead of eggs.

Perdue, who died in 2005, was responsible not only for killing billions of chickens but for developing many of the notoriously cruel techniques now used throughout the chicken industry. Over the years, PETA has marched with Perdue's striking workers and protested his company's abuse of billions of chickens.

The Perdue family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Perdue families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 32 Perdue families living in Virginia.

PERDUE® HARVESTLAND® chickens are raised cage free and fed an all-vegetarian diet. We never give our chickens antibiotics, hormones or steroids because we believe in a better chicken.

by God Perdue is a surname of English & Irish origin. It comes from Old French's par Dieu or 'by God', which was adopted into Middle English as an altered form. Notable people with the surname include: Arthur Perdue, founder of Perdue Farms. Bev Perdue (born 1948), Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina, 2009–2013.

Three generations: Jim, Frank and Arthur Perdue in the 1950s.

Perdue believes that when chicken is properly raised, there's nothing better. That's why we use all veggie feed, our farmers raise free-range chickens and more organic chickens than anyone else in the U.S. to make our chicken taste extraordinary.

We committed to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 30 percent, water usage intensity by 25 percent, and decrease our solid waste to landfills by 90 percent. While we did not surpass all our goals, we have made meaningful progress. We diverted 95.8 percent of solid waste from landfills and exceeded our goal.

Purdue Pharma family protected from lawsuits in exchange for addiction treatment funding. A court ruled the owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, will be protected from civil lawsuits linked to the opioid crisis in exchange for a $6 billion settlement.

How much is the Sackler family still worth? Even after Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy, the family still has billions. In December 2020, taking into account the fines that the Sacklers have already paid out as settlements, Forbes estimates that the family (around 40 members) is worth about $10.8 billion.

Our chickens are fed an all-vegetarian diet that includes grains – primarily corn and soybeans (in the form of soy meal), mixed with vitamins, minerals and amino acids to ensure a nutritionally balanced diet.

We raise our chickens certified organic. PERDUE® HARVESTLAND® Organic chickens are raised on certified organic farms. Their houses have windows to provide natural sunlight and doors for the chickens to move freely in and out, to do the natural things birds do.