Over the past 160 years, consumers and poultry farmers have changed the way we care for and eat chickens. The 19th-century fancier valued the beauty of the various breeds. Most consumers now value low prices more. Kenny Googan traces the evolution of the chicken industry.
Source: Countryside Daily, March 27, 2018.
The evolution of the chicken industry over the past century has simply been an extraordinary demonstration of the power of science to transform our daily lives,” says Emelyn Rude, a food writer. “Regardless of how you personally view the industrialization of the chicken industry, there is no denying that the humble chicken today is the most technologically advanced thing that we eat.”
Also see: Unregulated Backyard Chickens Pose Health Risk, Study Says, American Veterinarian, March 12, 2018.
A University of California, Davis study, published in the Journal of Community Health, is calling for more laws to mandate how chickens in nonfarm settings are cared for. Catherine Brinkley, PhD, said current laws for urban farming do not keep pace with those for commercial growers.
INSIGHTS: The first article offers perspective as backyard chickens gain popularity once again. In the second article Dr. Catherine Brinkley says, “Ironically, as people seek to take control over the way their food is grown, most ordinances fail to ensure basic health and welfare for birds and humans.”