From
KFC to chicken tikka masala, people everywhere eat chicken. It’s
versatile, relatively inexpensive compared to other meats, and has no
major religious restrictions. But chicken for dinner wasn’t always this
popular.
How did the chicken achieve such cultural and culinary
dominance? It is all the more surprising in light of the belief by many
archaeologists that chickens were first domesticated not for eating but
for cockfighting. Until the advent of large-scale industrial production
in the 20th century, the economic and nutritional contribution of
chickens was modest. In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond listed
chickens among the “small domestic mammals and domestic birds and
insects” that have been useful to humanity but unlike the horse or the
ox did little—outside of legends—to change the course of history.
Nonetheless, the chicken has inspired contributions to culture, art,
cuisine, science and religion over the millennia.
Smithsonian has more than you ever thought you needed to know about
chickens: their origins, history, cultural significance, and rise as a
popular food item.
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