Disciplines
Geographic Information Sciences
Abstract (300 words maximum)
This project analyzed the last few decades of production and consumption of chicken eggs and broilers. The first documented chicken from 8000 years ago was the Red Junglefowl. Throughout history chickens were not consumed but used for fighting and religious symbology. It wasn’t until the 1990s when consuming chicken surpassed beef (80 pounds per capitia), thanks to favorable climate in the south for raising chickens and the fortification of chicken feed that allowed factory farms to raise chickens indoor. I consider raising chickens in your backyard as sustainable since they provide year-round fresh eggs, are low maintenance, provide free garden fertilizer, and allows you more control where your chicken egg and meat come from. More counties are starting to loosen their ordinance restrictions for homeowners raising chickens in their backyard, which proves to be more beneficial to the environment than the trip to the grocery store. I hope this will shed a different light about chickens outside factory farming and that you consider getting a couple of chickens to raise in a small corner of your backyard.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Geography & Anthropology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Uli Ingram
Included in
A Story about Chickens
This project analyzed the last few decades of production and consumption of chicken eggs and broilers. The first documented chicken from 8000 years ago was the Red Junglefowl. Throughout history chickens were not consumed but used for fighting and religious symbology. It wasn’t until the 1990s when consuming chicken surpassed beef (80 pounds per capitia), thanks to favorable climate in the south for raising chickens and the fortification of chicken feed that allowed factory farms to raise chickens indoor. I consider raising chickens in your backyard as sustainable since they provide year-round fresh eggs, are low maintenance, provide free garden fertilizer, and allows you more control where your chicken egg and meat come from. More counties are starting to loosen their ordinance restrictions for homeowners raising chickens in their backyard, which proves to be more beneficial to the environment than the trip to the grocery store. I hope this will shed a different light about chickens outside factory farming and that you consider getting a couple of chickens to raise in a small corner of your backyard.