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Oh, That’s a Heritage Chicken

Posted on Fri, May 08, 2009 by Jerusha Klemperer
6 Comments | Categories: Biodiversity, Farms and Farming, Labeling, Meat,

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On April 17, our RAFT partner, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, publicly unveiled a Heritage Chicken Definition.

Generally, we think of heritage as meaning foods that are naturally produced in traditional ways, often tied to a particular geographic region. But ALBC is taking it a step further—like they did for heritage turkeys—by defining the term in order to create a standard understanding among breeders, producers and consumers of what heritage means for a particular species.

So, what’s a heritage chicken? In short, it’s a standard breed of chicken (as defined by the American Poultry Association)—like the Buckeye, the Java or the Jersey Giant — that can reproduce naturally, grow slowly, and thrive outdoors. These birds were once raised by small-scale family farmers around the country and bred for hardiness, survivability and flavor. They are now in danger of extinction because of mass-market industrialization.

At the beginning of the twentieth century almost 90% of farms had chickens. By 1992, only 6% of farms had any poultry at all. Today, 90% of the chickens we consume are industrial hybrid varieties (mainly a single variety) that are bred to grow fast on minimal food in a confined environment. These are birds with no disease resistance, having been bred to such extremes that they could never survive outdoors on a farm.

People are starting to wake up to the horrors of industrial meat and poultry production and beginning to demand that the meat they buy is not only better for their own health, but better for the animals’ health and the health of our environment.

But how do we, as consumers, know what we’re buying?  If I want to eat humanely raised chickens and don’t keep chickens myself or buy them directly from a farm or farmers’ market, I have to rely on the packaging. For now, no one is policing the term “heritage chicken” but ALBC is working with the Standard Bred Poultry Institute and Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch to educate and advocate for the honest use of the term.

This is a great first step but until there are “heritage” labeling standards, it will be challenging for us as consumers to be assured of the authenticity of a label. As the market for sustainably raised meat and poultry grows, the food industry has been very quick to co-opt terms like “cage-free” and “natural”. Even USDA certified terms like “organic” and grass-fed” don’t necessarily mean what you think. American Grassfed Association has their own grass-fed certification and label, in collaboration with the Animal Welfare Institute, because some cattle raised in confinement and fed antibiotics are allowed to be labeled USDA grassfed.

But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. The first step (and ALBC’s forte) is recovering the numbers and productivity of these endangered breeds—selecting desirable production characteristics within each breed, and growing a solid group of committed breeders and products to increase breed populations. They have developed a suite of online heritage chicken resources for folks interested in raising these breeds, and they lead breed workshops around the country to train the next generation of breeders and producers.

When it comes time to promote these birds in the marketplace, our goal will be to not only educate chefs and consumers about “heritage” chickens but get consumers acquainted with the unique characteristics of each individual breed. As Marjorie Bender of ALBC says, we want the meat case in the grocery store to look like the cheese case. It shouldn’t just say pork chop or chicken breast, but Red Wattle pork chop and Buckeye chicken breast.

To read some recent press about ALBC’s work to save heritage chicken breeds, click here and here.


Member Comments

From Tina on Fri, May 08, 2009

Just want to note a minor error in your post. While chickens bred for industrial farming are not the best choice for homesteads, particularly those who want their chickens to reproduce naturally, they can and do survive on farms. They can free-range, peck around, grow and (sort of) thrive on a homestead. They even lay eggs.

From Heidi on Mon, May 11, 2009

Agreed, my friend Nancy is raising a flock of different breeds including Americaunas, Welsumers, Buff Orpingtons, New Hampshires, etc and she logs every egg laid since they were pullets (raised on grass since chicks). Her white leghorn is the layingest bird in her flock—well over 2+ the eggs.

She is not breeding the birds though.

From Mike Muprhy on Thu, May 21, 2009

Should a grandmother who has a couple of backyard chickens have to put microchips in them and notify the government when her sittting hen has chicks? Should the taxpayers have to pay over $100 million dollars to force her to comply?

The more people learn about NAIS, which is a regulation, not a law, the more they are standing up against it. In Michigan, the Amish are suing over NAIS. They don’t get involved in legal action because they feel it is a use of force. If the Amish, who don’t fight, can stand up and fight this, we can put a stop to it. Even though it is not a law, it is expensive, so Congress needs to fund it. They have said they will not continue to fund it if they don’t see movement on it. Now is the time to add your voice to those speaking out against NAIS. The petition below will automtically notify your reps based on your zip code. Pleae forward it to as many people as possible.

http://www.petition2congress.com/2/1903/veterans-against-nais

From Norma C. Roberts-Hakizimana on Mon, August 31, 2009

Having raised chickens and NOT realizing how terribly hard it was for the ‘broilers’ I raised, I can only encourage the use of breeding non-genetically altered foods. My late husband received his PhD in plant genetics and was very distressed at how it was not being used in a manner that would benefit people, only the greedy corporations.

From Robb D on Tue, September 22, 2009

As the saying goes “I’m only a visitor in these parts…” however I couldn’t help chiming in so please excuse me if my questions are overly naive…
My first question would be: Why chickens?
Not as in why the breed?, but rather: Why eat chickens at all?
And yes my bleeding heart vegetarianism is showing here, but from my perspective it would seem that if Americans could reduce their consumption of livestock then issues such as genetic diversity (and disease, etc.) would not only decrease but it would also allow a chance for nature to regain it’s balance.

And I am not saying that I endorse the abolition of meat, any more than I suggest such industries should be abandoned, however I would suggest the idea that if production of poultry and livestock were limited to such a point as to drive the market price up and force these items into a new “high end” market, then not only would it make both the producers & consumers more aware of the subtleties of the varieties they offer (not unlike the market for fine wines), but also what would be lost in “quantity” could be regained in “quality”.

From Norma C. Roberts-Hakizimana on Wed, September 23, 2009

To cease the encouragement and use of breeding non-genetically altered foods and change the way the corporate farming industry has ruined ‘all’ food in this country, has to begin somewhere. Chickens maybe the easiest way to begin after that battle perhaps the manner in which our non-meat industry treats our food can begin. It is a real shame when farm animals are fed each other including the feces of other animals;plus that waste is uses to fertilize non-meat crops.It puts the consumers at risk no matter if they are vegetarians or not.We’re all in this boat together



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