ABSTRACT
Chickens are the most common farmed animal on solid earth. In 2010, around 45 billion chickens will be reared for meat. This means that in the year 2010, about the same number of chickens will be reared for meat as some people estimate the number of humans who have ever lived on the planet – ever. How has it come to be that chicken has taken such a global hold, consuming vast amounts of cereal and protein, and, in turn, being consumed in vast numbers? In this chapter I discuss chickens reared exclusively for meat. Chicken has become a barometer for least cost production and can be purchased in many supermarkets for less money by weight than some fruits and vegetables. With this quite astounding mass of animals in the ‘care’ of mankind, is it inevitable that the global chicken business will keep as its central philosophy – ‘cheap as chicken’?
