First they came for the wings and I thought how could it get any worse?  Well, the chicken wings are first attached to chickens before I buy them in a restaurant.  So, you can only have twice as many wings as chickens.  Which means there’s now a chicken shortage.

It’s a major enterprise in several states but also a delicate one.

A story I read this morning explains it’s not simply Americans insatiable appetite for wings but a tremendous taste for anything chicken.  This was driven by a lot of take-out meals during the pandemic.  Chicken is quick and easy to eat.

Long promoted as a healthy meat (your doctor would say only if you eat it baked) the demand has been growing for decades.  Chicken has a long marketing history.  There was a time when it was considered a delicacy and eaten mainly by the wealthy.  Then some entrepreneurial Americans saw an opportunity.  They ramped up chicken production and prices dropped.

I used to live east of the Chesapeake Bay and there are processing plants every few miles along the highways.  As well as massive, long barns where contractors raise the animals before sending them off for slaughter.  It’s a major enterprise in several states but also a delicate one.

A deep dive from a polar vortex or disease can often wipe out tens of thousands of chicks.  Fires in barns can also be devastating.

COVID was mild as far as previous plagues and pandemics have been throughout history.  Imagine, if we ever faced something on the level of 1918-19 again!  Keep the pantry stocked.

 

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