Chicken Confidential: How This Bird Came To Rule The Cultural Roost
If you looked at Earth from far off in the solar system, would it look like it's run by humans — or chickens? There are about three times as many chickens as people on this planet. And while horses and dogs are often celebrated as humankind's partner in spreading civilization, a new book argues it's really the chicken.
Andrew Lawler, author of Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?, tells NPR's Scott Simon about the chicken's malleability, its religious symbolism and the most disturbing thing he learned while researching his book.
Interview Highlights
On why he calls the chicken nature's Mr. Potato Head
You can turn the chicken into almost anything. You can have a tiny little bantam, or you can have a giant Rhode Island red. The chicken is incredibly malleable, which is probably a good reason why we decided to domesticate it and use it for so many purposes. ... Some archaeologists believe that the chicken was domesticated for ... cockfighting and for religious purposes. And it's only later — really, in the past century — that the chicken has been used to eat on a regular basis.
On the chicken as a religious symbol
I can't think of a creature that has more religious significance than the chicken. ... If you look at most Christian churches, they have a chicken on top — that is, a rooster — as a weather vane. Actually, there's a pope, about 1,500 years ago, who declared that the chicken should be placed on top of every steeple in Christendom. And even on the top of Old St. Peter's [Basilica], there was a rooster that crowed people into church to awake them spiritually. But this is actually an old idea that goes back to the Zoroastrians in ancient Persia.
On how African-Americans became so central in the poultry industry
This is one thing that I think surprised me more than anything else I discovered about the chicken industry. And that is that, in the Colonial South, chickens were just about the only thing that American slaves were allowed to raise, because livestock like cows or sheep or pigs were considered too important, and those were reserved for the masters, or slaves took care of them. And so, over time, over a century and a half, African-Americans became kind of the general chicken merchants in the South. And in part [that was] because they knew the chicken well: They came largely from West Africa, where the chicken was an essential part of daily life ... for food as well as for religious ritual.
On the Chicken of Tomorrow project
It's sort of like the Manhattan Project for poultry. So, after World War II, the people who [raised] chickens got together. And they were really afraid that at the end of the war, people were going to go back to eating beef and pork, which had been largely reserved for the troops during the war. So they decided that they needed to draw on the latest science and engineering in order to make the chicken more profitable. And they had a vast national contest, and at the end of this contest, in 1951, they chose one chicken that seemed to fit the bill. And that was a chicken that could grow really fast with a minimal amount of feed, and would have a large breast that Americans like to eat. And ultimately it proved incredibly successful.
On the most unsettling thing he learned about the poultry industry
It was particularly disturbing to discover that under U.S. law, chickens are not even considered animals if they're grown for food. So, in other words, there are no regulations that say how chickens should be treated. Now, this is very different, say, from pigs or from cattle, where there are some very strict guidelines that people have to follow. But the chicken is almost considered not even alive, which, after spending time talking to people about chickens around the world — I discovered that's crazy.
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Transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
If you look at the Earth from far off in the solar system, would it look like it's run by humans or chickens? There are over 20 billion chickens on this planet. That's three times as many chickens as people. And while horses and dogs can be celebrated in song and hearts as humankind's partner in spreading civilization, a new book by Andrew Lawler argues it really is the chicken. Andrew Lawler is a contributing writer for Science Magazine. He's written widely about archaeology, politics, science, history and now this new book - "Why Did The Chicken Cross The World?" Andrew Lawler joins us from member station KPBS in San Diego. Thanks so much for being with us.
ANDREW LAWLER: Hi Scott. It's a pleasure.
SIMON: Why do you call the chicken nature's Mr. Potato Head?
LAWLER: Well, the chicken is probably the most unusual domesticated animal that we have. You can turn the chicken into almost anything. You can have a tiny little bantam or you can have a giant Rhode Island Red. The chicken is incredibly malleable, which is probably a good reason why we decided to domesticate it and use it for so many purposes.
SIMON: But as I understand it in your book, it was not at first domesticated because anybody thought gee, that looks good.
LAWLER: Yeah. In fact, for most of history the chicken was not a cheap meal. Actually, some archaeologists believe that the chicken was domesticated for other purposes, namely cockfighting and for religious purposes. And it's only later really in the last century that the chicken has been used to eat on a regular basis.
SIMON: It has been a religious icon of sorts, hasn't it?
LAWLER: Oh absolutely. I can't think of a creature that has more religious significance than the chicken.
SIMON: Run that down for us a little bit if you could. Just on the offhand chance that people are listening who might be members of religious assemblies where the chicken is more likely to wind up on the church buffet.
LAWLER: Well, it's more like the chicken winds up on the church steeple. In fact, if you look at most Christian churches, they have a chicken on top -that is a rooster as a weathervane. Actually there's a pope about 1,500 years ago who declared that the chicken should be placed on top of every steeple in Christendom. And even on the top old Saint Peters there was a rooster that crowed people into church to awake them spiritually. But this is actually an old idea...
SIMON: Yeah.
LAWLER: ...And it goes back the Zoroastrians in ancient Persia.
SIMON: How was it that African-American families became so central in the poultry industry?
LAWLER: Oh, this is one thing that I think surprised me more than anything else I discovered about the chicken industry. And that is that in the colonial South, chickens were just about the only thing that American slaves were allowed to raise because livestock like cows or sheep or pigs were considered too important. And those were reserved for the masters or slaves took care of them. And so over time, over a century and a half, African-Americans became kind of the general chicken merchants in the South, and in part because they knew the chicken well. They came largely from West Africa, where the chicken was an essential part of daily life, both for food as well as for religious ritual.
SIMON: Tell us about the chicken of tomorrow.
LAWLER: It's sort of like the Manhattan Project for poultry. So after World War II the people who grew chickens got together. And they were really afraid that at the end of the war people were going to go back to eating beef and pork, which had been largely reserved for the troops during the war. So they decided that they needed to draw on the latest in science and engineering in order to make the chicken more profitable. And they had a vast national contest. And at the end of this contest in 1951 they chose one chicken that seemed to fit the bill. And that was a chicken that could grow really fast with a minimal amount of feed and would have a large breast that Americans like to eat. And ultimately it proved incredibly successful.
SIMON: Yeah. I have to get as your book does in the last section on questions about how chickens are cared for - or not, I think it's fair to say in this country. And I'm struck by a phrase from J.M. Coetzee, the great South African writer, who compares the chicken industry to the Third Reich. How do you feel about that?
LAWLER: Well, I went into this not really knowing much about the chicken industry or business. And as I dug into it, it became increasingly disturbing. In part because of what I was finding out about its history. Discovering that the chicken actually has this important religious aspect to it for so many cultures over so many millennia, it was particularly disturbing to discover that under U.S. law chickens are not even considered animals if they're grown for food. So in other words, there are no regulations that say how chickens should be treated. Now, this is very different, say, from pigs or cattle where there are some very strict guidelines that people have to follow. But the chicken is almost considered not even alive, which after spending time talking to people about chickens around the world I discovered that's crazy.
SIMON: Yeah. Andrew Lawler, his new book "Why Did The Chicken Cross The World?" Thanks so much for being with us.
LAWLER: It was a pleasure, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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