re: This is the largest chicken breast I've ever seen

quote:

---

Dude you have no idea what goes in to the feed

---

Yes I do. My major professor and I did multiple studies about feed and the effects on bone density/strength, feed convesion rate, etc in undergrad and graduate school. We raised thousands and thousands of chickens testing multiple different kinds of feeds and additives.

We made our own feed at the farm at the mill and I know what was going in it.

quote:

---

Tell me how a yard chicken can grow to eating size in 3 months?

---

Selective breeding especially over the last 50-60 years has definitely helped among other things

quote:

---

Chicken is a big business. From the hatchery, to the live haul, to the growers, to the live haul to the processing, it is unreal. I sell products to all ends of the process. I know the business.

---

I gotcha. I got my masters in poultry management and spent plenty of time in processing plants and whatnot. Im not saying the big business poultry people are doing the right thing but anyone that knows what really goes on knows the publics perception of the industry is way worse than it actually is.


fwiw i hate the business.



i did like raising my chickens though. theyre awesome animals

quote:

---

I was basing my statements on little bits of information from growers/haulers/feed mill workers(not supervisors)

---

yea i guess it really depends who you are talking to. some of(well most of) the people working at these plants work for minimum wage or slightly above type of pay and they really dont care about the industry and what theyre actually dealing with. i mean really get to know whats going into the animals.


the steroid theory/idea is a popular one it seems like. giving steroids to chickens would be costly and wouldnt yield any positive results. the chicken breast is mostly muscles used to operate the wings and chickens havent been able to fly for thousands of years. no flying=no muscle mass building

hormones arent needed either. so much concentration has gone into genetics, feed/nutrition, management practices, and mortality control that the bird is almost perfect in regards to optimum growth. the welfare of the chickens is another story but thats for another day

quote:

---

bragging about turnaround.

---

oh its definitely a pump out the chickens as fast as you can type of business

That's bc it's an ostrich.

quote:

---

yes the organic stuff you buy is better but the other stuff isnt like eating some cyborg chicken

---

This couldn't be more wrong.

quote:

---

The term “supermarket hybrid chicken” is sometimes thrown around and I’d like to devote some time to bringing clarity to actually what is 99% of the chicken you purchase in the store and restaurant.

The majority of modern meat chicken is what the industry calls the “Cornish Cross”. The name originates from a breed of chicken called “Cornish” (more to come on that), and has been cross bred since the 1940/50's.

This bird has been genetically engineered for one purpose, fast growth! What do I mean when I say genetically engineered? The genetics of the breed have been “tampered” with by cross breeding and (I would argue) a lack of ethical standards have been applied to the creation of the crossed bird.

For instance here are some characteristics found in the modern meat chicken. - The chicken goes to processing in 37 days.

To give you an idea, the normal growth rate of a chicken should result in a processing growth rate of 126+ days. Let that sink in a minute. More than likely the chicken on your dinner table hatched and in 37 days was 5 to 6 pounds in meat (or dressed weight).

- They have incredibly weak legs that are unable to support their rapid growth. So it’s not uncommon that these birds have joint problems and broken legs. More often than not, they sit! The short legs and large breasts are a result of the genetic engineering.

- Most are vaccinated for immune deficiency decease. This comes from a variety of reasons, but in large part due to an under-active thyroid that causes much of the weight gain.

- They are nutritionally void and rubbery in taste. For the fast growth you’re basically eating veil. The bird itself is not nutritionally sound because of a poor diet and poor health…of course it’s going to result in less than nutritious poultry.

---

Source for above text

I've raised heritage breed broilers and worked with people who raised Cornish Cross. The statements in the quoted article above are consistent with what I observed.

More:

LINK

LINK

The second link here describes a small farmer's experience raising them alongside heritage breeds.

Growing your own food or sourcing from producers you know on a first name basis is a good thing IMO.


YMMV

quote:

---

This couldn't be more wrong.

---

so the chickens from big companies are pumped full of steroids and hormones? ill that answer that and say no. first off its illegal and secondly its useless.

when i said cyborg, i meant steroids and growth hormones, nothing to do with genetics.

quote:

---

The genetics of the breed have been “tampered” with by cross breeding

---

do these people not realize that when you select an animal to breed for production, you select your best animals? you arent selecting the runts of the flock.

now the welfare of chickens is another story like i said before. i did a presentation years ago to the lsu school of animal sciences on this exact subject. it focused on comparing the welfare of chickens in the US industry and the European Union. The EU is more strict on their husbandry regulations but in the long run it always comes down to money and the big US companies have a ton of it.

quote:

---

For instance here are some characteristics found in the modern meat chicken. - The chicken goes to processing in 37 days.

---

Not true. Sounds like they just went around to try and find who has put out a chicken the fastest and just slapped that on as the national average. Even the people that are gung ho against the big companies will say that this number is low

quote:

---

So it’s not uncommon that these birds have joint problems

---

this goes back to the welfare. "joint" problems isnt something you can really just point out while looking at a chicken though. think about humans with joint problems. if they didnt tell you they were hurting, you probably wouldnt have any idea about the problem.

quote:

---

and broken legs. More often than not, they sit!

---

meh. this might happen to a few birds and ill bet when it does these birds are culled more often than not. a bird that cant move is a bird that cant eat. this costs the grower money

quote:

---

The short legs and large breasts are a result of the genetic engineering.

---

once agin this is basically selecting strong words for their argument. not one person in the industry is denying the birds were bred to grow fast and big. using the term engineering is basically trying to put fear into peoples minds.

quote:

---

- They are nutritionally void and rubbery in taste

---

their opinion. for something so nutritionally void and rubbery in taste, people seem to like them.

quote:

---

The bird itself is not nutritionally sound because of a poor diet

---

for its purpose, the diet and nutrition is top notch

quote:

---

Source for above text

---

LINK

First thing I looked at in your post. Before I even clicked I asked myself,"Hmmm what website is this stuff coming from? Would they likely have a reason to skew information to further their point?"


As you can tell, I addressed most of the stuff that you linked already. My major professor and buddy that runs a semi-local chicken facility would probably have a field day with this.

quote:

---

LINK

---

im not even bothering with wiki. dont link wiki when discussing a topic like this

quote:

---

2nd LINK

---

some things i noticed in here

quote:

---

But I would be happy to put one of my “barnyard chickens” (slaughtered at about 12 weeks) up against any pastured Cornish broiler in the land in a taste test: They unquestionably have more flavor.

---

who is denying this in the industry? this is like someone from ruths chris saying ill put my steak up against that steak from outback. yea we know your bird is better, thats why it costs more.

quote:

---

In the long run, of course, the solution is to breed a better bird. And since no corporate or governmental agency is doing any breeding research relevant to pastured poultry needs, we are going to have to do that job ourselves

---

well do it. stop relying on the govt to do shite for you. i bet this same person bitches at the welfare system

quote:

---

We should all start learning about the genetics of breeding. Some of us can contribute by making experimental crosses of our own; or working with one of the standard breeds that were the foundation of the broiler industry before the Cornish Cross, selecting for traits that will maximize both vitality and production on pasture

---

this guy and the first article should meetup. the first article blasts genetic "engineering" all to hell but this farmer wants to do it as a way to fix the industry. hmmmmmmmmm







EAT: i am in now way trying to say that the industry is perfect or whatever. Im just trying to say that its not anywhere near what some people make it out to be

Poultry science major would be my guess.

Either that or he is doctor that gives PED's to chickens and has a good alabi.

there used to be a place in Alexandria called Gary's fried chicken that served them that size...always was just unreal to me to get that shite handed to me...