Chickens are more than four
times bigger than they were 50 years ago, thanks to commercial breeders like
Perdue.
But today’s Gallus gallus
domesticus is not four times healthier.
Researchers at the University
of Alberta, Canada, started a chicken project in 1957, raising standard breeds on a
controlled diet in controlled conditions. In 1978, they did the same thing with
a common breed in that year, using exactly the same diet and growing
conditions. In 2005, ditto.
The 2005 birds averaged 9 ¼
pounds, more than 4.5 times heavier than the 1957 breed that weighed in at 2
pounds, thanks to selective breeding by the commercial farms.
Here’s the other bad news, from Vox.com:
The big modern chickens have
more bone, heart and immune system health issues than the birds of the 1950s,
in part because they’re carrying around all that extra weight.
The big commercial breeders don’t
see that as a big problem—use of antibiotics is widespread, to keep the
chickens alive while they grow huge and lay eggs.
100 years ago Americans ate
about 10 pounds of chicken per capita each year. Now, the average American eats
83 pounds of chicken annually—that’s more than 1 ½ pounds a week.
You might be happier eating a
lot more chicken, but the chickens aren’t singing any songs….
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