lines running back to the Asian birds that
were first introduced to the West during
the 19th century Hen Fever. Second place
in 1948 went to Arbor Acres Farms of
Glastonbury, Connecticut and to Nichols
Poultry Farm of Kingston, New Hampshire
in 1951. Winning the Chicken of Tomorrow Contest catapulted these breeders into
the national spotlight, with Arbor Acres
capturing a quarter of the female breeding market and Vantress commanding a
third of the market. These two companies
dominate the market today, and as author
Andrew Lawler notes, “The grilled chicken
in your sandwich or wrap comes from a
descendant of the Vantress bird.”
Vantress is now part of Tyson Foods,
a company that is largely responsible for
making chicken the most popular meat
in the United States. After the Chicken of
Tomorrow Contest, companies like Tyson
worked tirelessly to convert chicken production into a factory process. Chickens
became a factory input, and the results were
astonishing. Author William Bo Y ܛ