From chicken tenders to chicken sandwiches–Blogger Elizabeth comes through with the most recent chicken news.
By Elizabeth Shay
This past week has been cluck full of news involving the common poultry that we know and love: chicken. Here are three recent chick-entertaining stories!
Chicken Nugget Shenanigans
For many Americans, McDonald’s chicken nuggets are a nostalgic piece of childhood. But, the chain is popular internationally as well. And, sometimes, you really, really, really, need to satisfy your craving and will do anything to secure the goods. Take Rudi Batten from England, for example. The 22-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in jail according to authorities, for engaging in an armed robbery of a McDonald’s in Yate. Batten allegedly “took 50 pounds from a cash register before holding an imitation firearm to a store manager’s head and leading him to a safe” (Bristol Post). Then, he asked for the aforementioned chicken nuggets but had to settle for a double sausage McMuffin because at 7 a.m. the restaurant was only serving the breakfast menu. The day before the McDonald’s fiasco, Batten had also robbed a Miss Millie’s in the city, taking cash and fried chicken (WHDH in Boston). People do wild things for chicken!
Costco Chicken Sandwich
A Costco in Vancouver made waves with their entrance into the Chicken Sandwich War. The “Crispy Chicken Sandwich” made its debut on the food court menu at a Canadian Costco. The sandwich includes chicken and spicy mayo on a soft cheese bun, but is notably missing pickles. Costco fans have praised the new option, but some people are definitely missing the pickles. One thing to note is that Costco’s “Crispy Chicken Sandwich” is a whopping 810 calories, surpassing Popeye’s which has 699 and Chick-fil-A which stands at 460. Costco has not yet commented on whether the sandwich will make an appearance in the United States, so hopeful American shoppers just have to wait and keep an eye out!
Chicken Shortage
As demonstrated by the stories above, chicken is widely loved. However, according to CNN Business, the beloved bird is in short supply, and it turns out that Tyson’s roosters are partly to blame. Chicken volumes have been low because the roosters that the meat processor has been using for breeding are not meeting expectations. Donnie King, Tyson’s Chief Operating Officer and Group President of Poultry–yes, that’s a real position–said during an analyst call that “[They’re] changing out a male that, quite frankly, [they] made a bad decision on.” This male is the reason for the “unexpected decline” in hatchings in this past year. Tyson made the decision to choose this type of chicken because of specific traits that improved the quality of offspring’s meat, but are switching back to the original roosters which lead to more eggs and higher hatch rates. Another reason for the decreased availability of chicken is actually the growing popularity of chicken sandwiches, causing restaurants to add chicken-based items to their menus. Finally, the Texas winter storm and Covid-19 outbreak negatively impacted production at plants. Maybe consider easing up on the chicken sandwiches for the time being.
That’s a wrap. I hope you have been thoroughly hen-tertained by the recent chicken news!
Editor-in-Chief: Hannah Hall
Sources:
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/armed-mcdonalds-robber-demanded-chicken-5355997
https://www.eatthis.com/news-costco-food-court-crispy-chicken-sandwich/
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/11/business/chicken-shortage-tyson-roosters/index.html