Afarmer doesn’t raise chicken breasts or chicken legs, she or he raiseswhole chickens. So when demand for one part is much higher than theothers, this creates a supply problem. This is why so many smallfarmers prefer to sell whole chickens (or half a hog or a side ofbeef). Processing is also cheaper for whole chickens, and this savingsis usually passed on to the customer. I’m sure you’ve noticed that wholechicken is cheaper per pound than just breasts or thighs. So, if youcan find a use for all the parts, it's a more affordable way to purchaseyour meat.
But what to do with a whole chicken? For anyone trying to cook moreat home and learn more about whole foods eating, an entire chicken is awelcome problem. Cook the whole bird, and you end up with plenty ofleftovers to go into other meals. Plus, a great bonus is the chance tomake stock from the carcass. It’s not just an old wives tale thatchicken broth is a cure-all. Broth supplies minerals including calcium,magnesium and potassium as easily-assimilable electrolytes, and gelatinwhich aids in digestion, besides being helpful for a number of otherailments.
When buying a whole, pasture-raised chicken, there is sometimes a bitof sticker shock. But we suggest you consider a shift in thinking.Think how many meals you can get out of your purchase. And consider howour planet would be better off if we considered meat more of a luxuryitem. Perhaps you don’t need to eat as much, and can accept quality overquantity. The cheap chicken we’re used to is also “one of the greatmyths of our modern industrialized food system” according to ShannonHayes, farmer and author of several cookbooks on pastured meat. InLong Way on a Little,she writes: “Chicken is very expensive to produce. In fact, it is themost expensive meat we raise on the farm. Grocery store chicken onlylooks cheap because you’ve already paid for it in your tax bill.Through the farm bill, U.S. taxpayers pay approximately $20 billion peryear in direct payments to farmers, over one-third of which goes for theproduction of feed grain. Much of this subsidy is paid out tovertically-integrated industrialized meat production companies who, as aresult, are able to feed their livestock grain for less than the priceof growing it. Small-scale farmers are generally not in a position tovertically integrate, and therefore cannot gain the same advantage fromthese grain subsidies.”
She explains how chicken is more expensive to raise than cattle orsheep because they are more labor-intensive to care for and to process.Cheap chicken is a relatively new phenomenon. Yet, farmers arecompelled to sell it cheaply to hang on to their customers: “We winceevery time a customer bristles at paying $20-$25 for a single chicken,knowing the cost to us in terms of time and labor was even greater thanthat final price.”
To further distort the public’s perception of cheap chicken, the vastmajority of chickens raised today are Cornish Cross, which are bred forefficient meat production and not much else. These birds areprogrammed to be ready for slaughter at 6-8 weeks of age. This compareswith traditional breeds that aren’t mature until 12-16 weeks. Growersare forced into growing this breed, then, if they want to compete in themarketplace, since any other breed would cost up to twice as much toraise in terms of labor and feed costs.
So think out of the boneless, skinless chicken breast box, try awhole or half chicken, help a small farmer, and get a few deliciousmeals in the process!
Sources:
Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon
Long Way on a Little, Shannon Hayes
