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> We feed nine calories to chicken to get one calorie of meat. This is not a byproduct of the current farming landscape, but an artifact of the food chain: htt

> We feed nine calories to chicken to get one calorie of meat. This is not a byproduct of the current farming landscape, but an artifact of the food chain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophic_level#Biomass_transfer_efficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophic_level#Biomass_transfer... & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_efficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_efficiency. In general, from one level of the food chain to the next, only 10% of the energy is able to be converted.

_wldu 6y ago
My chickens eat bugs around the house. Edit: I'm not joking. Old-school local farm chickens really do eat bugs. They feed themselves a good part of the year. Bugs and vegetable scraps. I'm not sure what new-school corporate farm chickens eat. And foxes will eat the chickens (if they get a chance). The food chain.
- DennisP 6y ago
  A few years ago I got to know a commercial chicken farmer. He showed us his "chicken houses," which were large dirt-floor buildings packed so full of chickens you could barely see the ground. They ate whatever grain he threw in there. By contract he had to buy grain from Tyson and sell them the chickens.
  - foogazi 6y ago
    > By contract he had to buy grain from Tyson and sell them the chickens. I’m assuming a contract he signed Edit: similarly you could say by contract Tyson had to sell him the grain and buy chickens from him
    - DennisP 6y ago
      I wasn't making a moral judgement, just emphasizing that the chickens eat grain and will continue eating grain. I could also get into a discussion of market inequities and whatnot but it'd be a bit off-topic in this discussion of environmental impacts.
- fogihujy 6y ago
  Confirming this. Chickens are fierce predators when given the chance. One of the walls on our stables is usually covered with flies chilling in the warmth of the sun. The chickens (and the local magpie population) go there to prey on them whenever they get the chance. Chickens will also hunt mice, lizards and other critters small enough for them to catch and devour. However, the fact that our chicken use one of the walls of our stable as a hunting ground kinda puts things in perspective; for most people, a stable, or obtaining meat from farm chickens is simply not possible. Industrial farming is the big issue, and replacing industrial farming will require new methods. I'm not sure more over-processed products is the answer though.
  - solarengineer 6y ago
    "Chickens will also hunt mice, lizards and other critters small enough for them to catch and devour." Your comment reminded me that chickens (and indeed, birds) have descended from dinosaurs (many of who were carnivores).
    - fogihujy 6y ago
      The idea of a group of T-Rexes hunting and fighting over prey like a flock of chickens is outright scary. :D

_wldu 6y ago

My chickens eat bugs around the house. Edit: I'm not joking. Old-school local farm chickens really do eat bugs. They feed themselves a good part of the year. Bugs and vegetable scraps. I'm not sure what new-school corporate farm chickens eat. And foxes will eat the chickens (if they get a chance). The food chain.

DennisP 6y ago
A few years ago I got to know a commercial chicken farmer. He showed us his "chicken houses," which were large dirt-floor buildings packed so full of chickens you could barely see the ground. They ate whatever grain he threw in there. By contract he had to buy grain from Tyson and sell them the chickens.
- foogazi 6y ago
  > By contract he had to buy grain from Tyson and sell them the chickens. I’m assuming a contract he signed Edit: similarly you could say by contract Tyson had to sell him the grain and buy chickens from him
  - DennisP 6y ago
    I wasn't making a moral judgement, just emphasizing that the chickens eat grain and will continue eating grain. I could also get into a discussion of market inequities and whatnot but it'd be a bit off-topic in this discussion of environmental impacts.
fogihujy 6y ago
Confirming this. Chickens are fierce predators when given the chance. One of the walls on our stables is usually covered with flies chilling in the warmth of the sun. The chickens (and the local magpie population) go there to prey on them whenever they get the chance. Chickens will also hunt mice, lizards and other critters small enough for them to catch and devour. However, the fact that our chicken use one of the walls of our stable as a hunting ground kinda puts things in perspective; for most people, a stable, or obtaining meat from farm chickens is simply not possible. Industrial farming is the big issue, and replacing industrial farming will require new methods. I'm not sure more over-processed products is the answer though.
- solarengineer 6y ago
  "Chickens will also hunt mice, lizards and other critters small enough for them to catch and devour." Your comment reminded me that chickens (and indeed, birds) have descended from dinosaurs (many of who were carnivores).
  - fogihujy 6y ago
    The idea of a group of T-Rexes hunting and fighting over prey like a flock of chickens is outright scary. :D