Chris Wright's Page

Last week, I mentioned that U.S. consumers have some misconceptions about the chicken they eat, believing it to be full of additives of one form or another. Among those people who have raised those questions to me, there also seems to be the impression that family farms are good and “factory farms” are bad.

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In the last couple of weeks I have been asked many times about why processed chickens in the U.S. are so large. They specifically ask about chicken breasts, which seem huge. The questioners really believe that it must be due to some “un-natural” process, such as hormones or antibiotics or something.

The truth is really very simple: genetics. Over the last 50 years, there has been a very strong genetic selection of broilers, which has greatly reduced the amount of time that it t

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I am a bit surprised, actually very surprised, at the lack of reaction at the recent decision by the USDA to no longer try to establish a national animal identification system. After unsuccessfully trying to set up a program for six years, the decision was made to try another approach.

For now, the US will continue to rely on existing state programs to track animal disease oubreaks. Voluntary efforts by food producing companies will also be encouraged.

The prior

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The Super Bowl was played last night, Sunday, February 7, in what has now become a major tradition in the United States, with a large portion of the country watching the championship football game. This is always a night in which restaurants, particularly sports bars and pizza places, get huge business.

Part of that tradition is not just the football game itself, which was quite good this year, but also watching the Super Bowl commercials. If the Super Bowl crowns the best team

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It does sound strange, but one of the recurring subjects of discussion at the just past International Poultry and Feed Expo in Atlanta was aquaculture. There is a great deal of interest in this sector: the next "hot" agribusiness area.

Although aquaculture is certainly not new, there is a great deal of interest in it, mainly because of its growth potential.

I heard comments about it talking to participants at a conference the day before the show, and at the show itself, the subject kept coming… Continue