chicken

To cut antibiotics use in poultry production, large-scale producers are turning to slower-growing heritage chicken breeds, reports Maryn McKenna, in FERN's latest story with EatingWell magazine. It marks a reversal of the recent production model, which emphasized fast-growing birds.

Chicken is America'a favorite meat, with per capita consumption approaching 110 pounds per person this year, roughly twice as much as beef. Five CDC scientists who analyzed U.S. outbreaks of food-borne illness in recent years say chicken caused the largest number of illnesses when outbreaks were ranked by food category.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Koch Foods for multiple serious violations at one of its poultry processing plants. The fines total more than $208,000.

In separate lawsuits filed late Tuesday, food distributors Sysco and US Foods alleged that some of the biggest chicken processors in the country colluded to raise chicken prices. The lawsuits target Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Koch Meat Co., Sanderson Farms, Perdue Foods, and others.

The USDA forecasts Americans will eat a record amount of red meat and poultry this year — an average of 222.8 pounds per person. At the same time, “the mix of meats ... has shifted dramatically, with the share of beef declining” by one-third since peaking in the 1970s.

McDonald’s will now require chicken suppliers, including Tyson and Cargill, to treat animals more humanely at slaughter. “Birds sold to the chain ... no longer will be shocked, shackled by the feet to conveyors and have their throats slit ...,” says The Los Angeles Times. “Such methods can leave chickens fully conscious when they are slaughtered.”

Americans are going to eat a lot of meat in 2018 — 222.2 pounds per person, according to USDA projections that are based on the expectation of a comparatively strong economy that will give people more disposable income.

Federal researchers say multi-drug resistance has increased to 12 percent of salmonella bacteria found in the digestive systems of ill people, up from 9 percent in the previous year. Salmonella is a common type of food-borne illness estimated to affect 1 million Americans annually and to cause 380 deaths a year.

Less than two weeks ago, Tyson food executives, officials in Tonganoxie and Leavenworth counties in Kansas and Gov. Sam Brownback revealed a $320-million plan to develop "a chicken hatchery, feed mill, meatpacking plant and 300 to 400 poultry grow houses," reports the Topeka Capital-Journal. By Monday, 2,400 residents, including many ranchers, had gathered in the streets to protest the chicken plant, cheering a sign held by a 4-year-old: “No Tyson! No friggin’ chickens! No kidding!”

The market for plant-based foods grew an average of 8.1 percent last year, compared to a decline of 0.2 percent for all other foods, according to data compiled by the retail sales research group, Nielsen. According to the report, which was funded by the The Good Food Institute and Plant Based Foods Association, the market for plant-based meats specifically rose 6 percent from a year ago, while plant-based dairy alternatives saw 20 percent growth. Nielsen found a 5-percent decrease in cow-milk sales, but a 3.1-percent increase in sales of plant-based milk.

Livestock producers typically want to get their animals to market weight quickly so they can sell them and make money. But in poultry, there's rising interest in broiler chickens that take longer to mature and are more expensive to raise, with the trade-off of tastier meat, says the New York Times.

Per-capita consumption of meat will climb again this year, according to USDA estimates, up a bit more than 1 percent from 2016 to average out at 217.2 pounds. This time, Americans will proportionally eat more red meat — beef, pork and lamb — than poultry, such as chicken and turkey, but it will be close.