In the 1940s the U.S. Department of Agriculture and A&P supermarkets teamed up to hold a contest to see who could breed the meatiest, most efficient, most visually appealing chicken.
Oct 2015
How Did the Chicken Cross the World?
As a race, we humans owe a fair amount to the chicken. Throughout time it has been a religious deity, a medicine source as well as being a food. It's travelled the world alongside explorers, inspired scientific revelations and of course been the nub of the world's most famous jok ... Show More
27m 39s
Jul 2016
Poultry Power: The Fried Chicken Chronicles
Juicy, crispy, crunchy…fried chicken is undoubtedly delicious. But it’s also complicated, in ways that go far deeper than the science behind that perfect crust. From slavery to entrepreneurship and from yard fowl to Gospel bird, the story of fried chicken is filled with challengi ... Show More
44m 33s
Jul 2024
Fed: The invention of chicken
Dr Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to find out what we’re eating, why, and who or what might be influencing our decisions. And he’s starting his quest to uncover food truths with the most eaten meat in the world, and one of the most numerous animals on our planet: chicken.He’s ... Show More
26m 28s
May 2023
Chicken Nuggets: A Bitesized History
The most famous chicken nugget of them all, the McDonald’s McNugget, turns 40 this year. So we’re asking, who invented the Chicken Nugget? Enter food-scientist Robert Baker who came up with them twenty years before the McNugget was even a glimmer in Ronald McDonald's eye. Baker w ... Show More
38m 5s
Aug 2022
The Problem With Superchickens
Scientists recently discovered a fascinating paradox: when they bred together superproductive, egg-laying hens, they found the chickens produced fewer eggs. We examine what went wrong with these so-called superchickens, and we look at human examples of this phenomenon—a high scho ... Show More
31m 33s