How a shipping error 100 years ago launched the $30 billion chicken industry || by :: Vox

Until the early 1900’s, chickens were primarily raised on farms for their ability to lay eggs, not for their meat. In 1923. a woman in Delaware named Cecilia Steele. ordered 50 chicks for her backyard flock. Due to an error, she received 500. She kept them, raised them and 16 weeks later sold them for 63 cents a pound. Her story spread rapidly helping create the poultry industry.
Now, the industry is controlled by a handful of large corporations. The larger ones own the birds and contract with local farmers to raise them. With the corporations providing the feed and medical care. More at Vox ➜