Do we take chickens for granted? (Image: lan Truong)
IF THE world’s cats and dogs disappeared overnight, millions of people would mourn their furry friends. If beef cattle suddenly ceased to exist, it would create economic crises in America, Argentina and Australia. But what if all of Earth’s 22 billion chickens succumbed to a scourge like bird flu? How would humanity cope?
“More than 22 billion chickens live on the planet – three for every human”
It’s a thought experiment whose answers show just how much human civilisation has come to rely on a single species. Without chickens, we would face “a starving world”, says Olivier Hanotte, a molecular biologist at the University of Nottingham, UK, who has studied the spread of the chicken around the globe. Close to one-third of the world’s meat supply and nearly all of its eggs would vanish. Pandemics and riots could ensue, unleashing a crisis of enormous proportions. This might seem far-fetched given how unremarkable the bird appears. But as a ubiquitous food source and more, it has pecked and scratched its way into almost every corner of human existence.
The story of the chicken-human bond is an ancient one. Some 3000 years ago, Polynesians took chickens with them on their expeditions to settle Pacific islands, using their bones to make sewing needles, tattooing implements and even musical instruments. Ancient Greeks considered the bird sacred to their god of healing, and believed its parts could cure illnesses ranging from burns to bed-wetting. Roman generals kept a flock of chickens on hand before battles for military advice. If …
