Breakingviews - It’s safe to count chickens even before they hatch

Robert Cyran - Reuters - 30/10
Americans are cock-a-hoop for chicken. McDonald’s just introduced the Chicken Big Mac, shares of Wingstop are up 1,100% over the past decade, the Chick-fil-A chain is rolling out an entertainment app, and producer profitability has soared. All the clucking makes it harder to convey a warning about the $50 billion U.S. market for birds bred to eat, but the sky will fall.
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Americans are cock-a-hoop for chicken. McDonald’s (MCD.N), opens new tab just introduced, opens new tab the Chicken Big Mac, shares of Wingstop (WING.O), opens new tab are up 1,100% over the past decade, the Chick-fil-A chain is rolling out an entertainment app, and producer profitability has soared. All the clucking makes it harder to convey a warning about the $50 billion U.S. market for birds bred to eat, but the sky will fall.
Capitalism and science have combined to cultivate fowl so cheap and prevalent that chicken bones have become a notable part of archeological records, opens new tab. The credit, or blame, belongs with factory farming. Industrialization may increase the risk of pandemics, intensify pollution and raise poultry whose tasteless meat is prone to conditions like “woody breast,” but it also means chickens that grow to maturity twice as fast, are double the weight, and about three times as efficient at processing feed as a century ago.
The result is lower pric...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]