Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization

by Andrew Lawler

Veteran journalist Andrew Lawler delivers a “fascinating and delightful…globetrotting tour” ( Wall Street Journal ) with the animal that has been most crucial to the spread of civilization—the chicken.

In a masterful combination of historical sleuthing and journalistic adventure, veteran reporter Andrew Lawler “opens a window on civilization, evolution, capitalism, and ethics” ( New York ) with a fascinating account of the most successful of all cross-species relationships—the partnership between human and chicken. This “splendid book full of obsessive travel and research in history” ( Kirkus Reviews ) explores how people through the ages embraced the chicken as a messenger of the gods, an all-purpose medicine, an emblem of resurrection, a powerful sex symbol, a gambling aid, a handy research tool, an inspiration for bravery, the epitome of evil, and, of course, the star of the world’s most famous joke.

Queen Victoria was obsessed with the chicken. Socrates’s last words embraced it. Charles Darwin and Louis Pasteur used it for scientific breakthroughs. Religious leaders of all stripes have praised it. Now neuroscientists are uncovering signs of a deep intelligence that offers insights into human behavior.

Trekking from the jungles of southeast Asia through the Middle East and beyond, Lawler discovers the secrets behind the fowl’s transformation from a shy, wild bird into an animal of astonishing versatility, capable of serving our species’ changing needs more than the horse, cow, or dog. The natural history of the chicken, and its role in entertainment, food history, and food politics, as well as the debate raging over animal welfare, comes to light in this “witty, conversational” ( Booklist ) volume.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Animals, Science, Food, Birds, Nature

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2014

About the author

Andrew Lawler is a contributing writer with Science and contributing editor for Archaeology with more than thirty years full-time experience as a journalist and author. His stories have also appeared in Smithsonian, National Geographic, Discover, Audubon, American Archaeology, Columbia Journalism Review, Slate, Orion, The Sun, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, as well as several foreign publications. He is the author of more than a thousand articles, and his work has appeared twice in The Best American Science and Nature Writing. He has twice won the Gene S. Stuart award for archaeology reporting, and was awarded the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship (nine months) and the Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Fellowship (two months research/two months writing). Simon & Schuster published Lawler’s book, Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization, in December 2014, and Random House will publish his second book, The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, in June 2018.

Reviews

[Heather&Lia Breslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of us who have given in fully to the affliction known as "Crazy Chicken Lady" disease, this is a wonderful book. Lawler has covered the history, science and current state of chicken rearing in a very comprehensive novel. I read and enjoyed his article and was happy to have even more info. The bibliography is longer than the actual book, something else I appreciate, because if it isn't documented I get suspicious that it may be fictional. I mostly read on a Kindle but if I were to buy a hardback copy of the book I would want photos. I'd love to see an update in ten years talking about how the industrial chicken has changed.

[Mark Hartzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a new found respect for this humble bird. I didn't realize that they have been around people as long as they have. What is new, is that people (at least here in the US) no longer think of them as animals, but rather just another form of food. The good news is that humane treatment of our farm animals is becoming more common. The bad news is that 'industrial chickens' as the French term them, are going international. In other words, millions more birds are destined to be raised in factory farms, never to see the sun or even the dark in the short 45 days they will live. They are much more intelligent than commonly known, and the term 'chicken' is not at all like their normal behavior.

Anyway, I can't give this book 5 stars because it neglects 2 important (in my opinion) things: 1.) how many varieties are out there? and 2.) what do they look like? Could it have killed the publisher to include a single photo? What's the difference between a leghorn and a foghorn? Beats me. Seriously though, just a couple of photos would have been of immense help.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*s Unfortunately it was not for me.
This took me forever and a day. I was really excited about this one and unfortunately it didn't quite pull itself off enough to work (or to even keep me awake most days).
The whole first third of the book seemed like a very dull, long winded explanation for 'we just can't track where and when it came from exactly'. There were tidbits and sections I enjoyed mostly in the second third, such at look as it's religious impact and how the eggs are used to study evolution. And at the same time portions I was really interested in were skimmed over. For example, the change of the chicken from a common religious icon to a 'demonic' one was perhaps a page, maybe two. But there was nearly an entire chapter looking at early cultures with touches of 'and this is why they had a chicken'. The last chapter moved back into tedium with looks at companies like Tyson and how chickens are basically just commercialized. There were a few more interesting bits here, such as the woman who worked to save chickens from meat farms. But by this time I was so ready to be finished I struggled connecting.

[W.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

看超久XD
本書爬梳了「雞」這種動物，以一種異常低調（以牠們的數量和在全世界分配的廣度而言，如此低調本身就是充滿異常感）的方式和人類「共存」。牠們曾經是太陽神的代表，是亞洲的五德之禽，到了現代卻成為一種極度工業化，幾乎是以「活體零件」的模式被「生產」、「製造」後銷售到世界各地的存在。讀來幾乎悚然。
作者將一生追求復育紅原雞的生物學家的心情放在書後做為結語，我想，「對雞說聲謝謝」可能到頭來的確是全人類都該更有所意識的事情。

[Vada Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the most thorough book I have EVER read. who knew there was that much to know about chickens. this man is doing god’s work

[Brendan Coster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had top notch writing, was extremely informative, and did everything I would expect or want from a commodity history. I've already recommended this and will continue to do so. Up till now, "Salt", by Kurlansky, was my favorite commodity history, but this gives it a run for it money.

Lawler runs the gambit of history, biology, pathology, chemistry, religion, social in regards to mainstream, taboo, and shades between, and just straight up history. Some of the figures and information he investigated were almost unbelievable, so I went and did some of my own fact checking just because some of the information seemed pretty arcane, but the history and the population numbers all came out looking about right.

Anyways, I should probably not pump it up too much. If I have any issue with this it's because it was too Journalistic, he didn't so much have a point of view to express as a really really big story he needed to report. That kind of thing always leaves me feeling a work is a little bland, or too careful, and wants to be available for the maximum audience. But, that's just personal, and really, in this case, wasn't enough to detract from the awesomeness.

[Dan McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawler traces the story of the chicken from it’s southeast asian jungle roots through the modern genetically modified industrial-scale processed meat on the supermarket shelf.

I was drawn to this book because of our experience with chickens. We have an egg flock of 19 hens and 2 roosters, as well as raise and process enough meat birds through the summer to supply our own meat year round. I really enjoy having backyard chickens and the connection with nature growing your own food provides.

I was surprised to find out we know very little about the early domestication of chickens. We know that it likely came from the wild red jungle fowl, but they are frightened easily and can die just by being handled. Chicken bones and carcasses tend to be devoured by scavengers before they have the time to settle into archeological sites, and they are so small they have a tendency to be easily moved between settled layers by burrowing creatures. Also since they are very common now, even wild jungle fowl populations are interbreeding and contain domestic chicken genes so scientists can’t really compare the DNA of the populations for a genetic history. This all combines to create a surprisingly big question mark in our history with the chicken.

After domestication, the chicken quickly spread through trade networks across the Middle East, Indian Ocean, and Asia. It also played a major role in the colonization of Polynesia as an easily transportable protein. Lawler also discusses the possibility of trade between Polynesians at Easter Island and Indigenous people in pre-columbian Chile that is currently being studied.

During the Victorian Era, much like many of the other natural items in my “criminally obsessed with nature” booklist, a chicken-breeding fever called “The Fancy” overtook Britain after Queen Victoria brought in exotic chicken breeds from Asia. Prices on designer chickens rose, and the fancy even spread to America.

During World War One and Two owning backyard chickens was seen as patriotic in the United States and led to an expansion in small flock ownership, but after the wars capitalistic pressures led to larger-scale farming and the genetic designing of “The Chicken of Tomorrow” - the modern-day quick growing broiler chickens that are used in factory farms.

Lawler also includes chapters on cockfighting and the religious sacrifice of chickens throughout history. Overall this book is an informative read that will teach you all we know about our favorite feathered friends!

[Iamreddave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each chapter deals with a different area of chicken history or biology. The one on how American slaves kept the bird as one of the few ways they had to earn money is particularly fascinating.

One of the best 'histories of one thing' I have read.

[Tami R Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Consider the chicken. No really. Lawler's fascinating book takes us through the history of the world through the feathery lens of one of humanities most important fellow creatures. From cock fights to breakfast tables to traditions of Southern cooking and a symbol of human virility, this bird has been with us through it all. The chicken has at once mystical and practical uses across the modern world and yet for all it has given us, Lawler reminds us of the sad fate of too many of the birds, bred in terrible factory farm conditions to bizarre proportions causing them maladies and deformities in the search for the perfect chicken breast to put on our dinner plates. It's this ability to fascinate and move us about something we may have given little thought to that makes Lawler's writing so enjoyable and this book a must read for every reader who is simply curious about the world around them.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The introduction was interesting. Occasionally other parts were interesting. However, the flow was very jumpy and contained way too much information to keep my interest. I scanned most of it.

The book was recommended by Bitsy and my mom, so I felt obligated to get through it.

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and well written book that looks at the origins of chicken and their journey around the world. I would have liked more details and some pictures/ photographs would have been nice.

[Sean Goh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise is interesting, though the writing is largely dry, with an excessive number of pages dedicated to the various (same same but different) ways different cultures venerated the chicken, and other dry descriptions of scientific sleuthing to track the chicken's path around the world.
The middle has a short history of how chickens became an industry, with the American Chicken of Tomorrow contest in the late 1940s, and the last quarter is a look into the modern status of the chicken, both in factory farms and small scale ranches. Skimmable.

___
The red jungle fowl is nature's Mr Potato Head. Its daily rhythms, diet, adaptability, and sedentary and social nature were the perfect match for humans.

In the long run, geese proved no match for a bird that could be bred to lay more eggs, grow much faster, and eat a wider variety of food, including the ticks and mosquitoes that flourish in the humid nile environment. Roosters were also reliable heralds of dawn in the era before alarm clocks, a welcome trait in a land of farmers.

Unlike cow, sheep or goat bones, chicken remains usually vanish in their entirety, since humans, dogs, or other scavengers typically make short work of a carcass.

The sacred and royal nature of the cock may even have inspired one of the oldest symbols of kingship, the crenelated crown.

Oceans mix very deep, old waters with surface water that might be very young. Radiocarbon date yourself after eating shrimp and you might appear to have added a few years as well as ounces after the meal. (Marine Reservoir effect)

If the ground is too acidic, bones degrade but seeds fossilize. If alkaline, bones turn to fossils while vegetation degrades. Only in the Goldilocks zone are both preserved.

Almost every Filipino village has three main structures - a church, a town hall, and a cockpit (for cock-fighting)

The central obstacle to mass chicken farming is reproduction. The embryo takes 3 weeks to come to term as the mother incubates the egg with body warmth, rolling them 3-5 times a day to ensure normal development. The narrow temperature and humidity range (99-105deg F, 55% RH) means that hens spend a lot of time caring for their eggs, and less time laying.
Enter the artificial incubator.

On the Chicken of Tomorrow committee there were no women or African Americans; after 3 centuries of black and female control, the American bird was firmly in the hands of white male professionals.

There has been nothing like the scaling up of the chicken in human history. There is no record of any other major food - meat, dairy, grains, fruits, or vegetables - expanding so quickly in volume and scale. Until the 1950s, most American flocks numbers up to 200 chickens. After the Chicken of Tomorrow contest (~1948) this number shot up to 10k-100k.

When a Western aid organisation introduced the Rhode Island Red to rural Mali, it was literally a flop. Villagers seeking a prophetic sign watch to see if a dying chicken falls to the right or left. The new birds proved useless for divination, since they fell forward on their massive breasts.

The genetics of American birds are all the same, no matter how you feed and care for them. The meat was still tasteless. Marinating was the only way to put flavour back on the bird.

After China, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, Vietnam is the world's largest importer of industrial chicken.

If humans continue to eat meat in the 21st century, then industrial chicken is a better option than pork or beef. Chickens require less water, land and energy inputs than pigs or cows. Less than 2 pounds of feed produce 1 pound of meat, a fraction of what other animals require. Only farmed salmon can beat that ratio.

[David Rudin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and extravagantly researched, I enjoyed parts of this book while other sections were tedious.
While Lawler creates a professionally researched and written work, he spends too much time belaboring certain areas while skipping over other important subjects. For example, I greatly enjoyed the section focusing on early 20th Century naturalist William Beebe’s description of the ancestor of the chicken, The Red Jungle Fowl, see by Beebe in 1911. Pieces on cockfighting, still popular in many countries in the modern world and the corporatization of the hapless bird were all interesting.
Unfortunately the author barely touches on the modern movement of raising backyard urban chickens and small farms’ efforts to raise pasture raised birds. He also leaves dangling the question of how a wild, skittish bird becomes domesticated, not even finding a scholar with a plausible hypothesis. I kept waiting for him to return to this, but alas no. Lastly, the sections on the history of the chicken and religious uses of the bird drone on endlessly, at times in excruciating and unnecessary detail and repetition. One chicken sacrifice ceremony is pretty much like all the others, differing only in the details.
With the time and money put into globetrotting research, a more detailed analysis of trends and possibilities among alternative ways to raise chickens vs. just a resigned acceptance of the corporate hegemony over our futures would have given this book a more balanced perspective.

[Infamous Sphere · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of splendid information in here about the history and cultural context of that delicious and loveable bird, the chicken. At times I felt the writing style was a bit lumpy and I felt my interest waning, but each chapter discusses a different aspect of chickens, and so if you aren't interested in the history of chicken sacrifice or various bits of chicken-related legislation or chickens in the bible, you might be interested in the rise of poultry keeping by poor women and enslaved people in America, or the story of the Poulet de Bresse or the search for the red jungle fowl. The stuff about industrialised chickens made me think again how four of my own five hens are Hy-Line Browns, from an industrial laying bird producer that gives most of its chicken hybrids model numbers and provides productivity stats, and how difficult it is to find non-industrial live chickens outside of the show poultry circuit, let alone how hard it is to find rarer breeds prepared for consumption. I've thought about raising fancier chickens - I have a faverolles bantam as well as the four hy-lines - but they're very hard to buy without driving 2 hrs to a rural farm, and I don't have an incubator, so I can't raise eggs.

[Graeme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great, if pretty rapid, look at the relationship between mankind and the chicken. Lawler covers a great deal from initial domestication of wild species for to the chicken's role in human society over thousands of years, from religion to politics and disease prevention. It's well researched and written in an easily comprehensible style, so rattles along at quite a pace. It is a pretty rapid survey, with some parts feeling a little choppy, and some sections could have done with some more development, but overall it's fascinating and well worth a read. Certainly I learnt a lot about chickens, anyway!

One one level there are all sorts of interesting facts about the birds themselves, and some odd characters he meets along the way. Beyond that I genuinely gained a lot from this, as I'm interested in how animals and humans interact, from domestication onward. I particularly didn't realise just how much of the more pejorative views of chickens are pretty recent and have much to do with their changing role in western society. It is also yet another book which, although not a main purpose of the book, challenges the reader about consuming meat and animal products from an industrial farming system.

Overall, definitely worth a read.

[Anders Rasmussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about chicken. One would think that it is hard to write a book entirely about chicken. And one would think it is impossible to write such a book that is also interesting. Wrong, and wrong again. This book takes you on an unexpected, occasionally thrilling journey.

The reader will learn about:
- The number of chicken in the world: More than twice as many chickens as humans
- The ancestry of chicken: They are related to dinosaurs and have been a part of our diet since at least 1500bc
- The use of chicken in medicine: Squeezing it and drinking the resulting fluids cures a fewer (or so people thought
- The morphology of chickens penises (or lack thereof)
- The role of chicken in ancient Greece: Socrates last words were about penises
- Cockfighting: Still a very big sport in some countries
- The intelligence of chicken (they are smarter than you think)
- And how much chicken we eat (crazy amounts).

If you are at all into chicken then this book is certain to be a smash hit. If you eat chicken occasionally and think chickens are ‘fine’, then this book will still be a hit. Even the reader who has never thought about this bird is likely to enjoy this book.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

So some parts were amazing and quite interesting while other parts were bad. The history is quite interesting. Although I had no interest in the cock fighting chapter. My own personal choice I suppose. I have chickens and I know lots of people with chickens. I felt some of what was written on chickens and how they are raised is off. I also feel that the author shouldn't say that chicks are thrown through wood chippers without an awful lot of evidence to back that up bc it has been proven it doesn't happen. At least in regards to hatcheries. That is some kind of Peta rumor. To be put in a book like this is not right. It causes me to question the validity of all the other stuff he writes.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

And now for something different! Chickens just make me smile. When I saw this book, I just had to see what it was about and it didn't disappoint. From the origins of the domestic chicken, the Asian Red Jungle Fowl, to the warehousing of domestic chickens engineered for bigger breasts, the book explains it all. It is a fascinating history of how chickens have played a huge role in the lives of humans for hundreds of years. Who knew how big cock fighting was throughout the world, not just in the Philippines? This well-researched book can be found in your library and it is just a great read before your chicken dinner! Appreciate the bird and what it has done for you!

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a lot about chickens themselves and mostly about cultures around chickens, such as the history of cock fighting and how important eating and raising chickens was to ancient man. Not about the animal really. I thought this would be more of how chickens are raised and have been raised in the past, can survive in an insanely wide variety of environments, and have biologically changed nearly as much as dogs due to breeding.
I got halfway through and put it down - not at all zoological. Read for anthropological interest only.

[Baglady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting research touching only slightly on today's industrial chicken business, sometimes long winded and repeated information in more than one chapter. Usually I can find themes in narratives based on research, but it was difficult in the middle of the book. On the other hand there were some parts that were riveting, perhaps different editing would have helped. Worth the read, though, and helps explain the phenomenon of tasty chicken being found elsewhere than the US

[SP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book and an interesting read about the bird that really we should all think a lot more about. Covering everything from domestication, the role of chicken in religion and trade, over chicken breeding and industrial chicken production to conservation efforts this is a fantastic tour de force through more than 5000 years of history. Well worth a read - you won't look at chicken the same way ever again.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I liked the concept of this book, the storytelling seemed erratic. There were chapters that were extremely interesting and they flew by. But then there were quite a few chapters that were very dry and dull. Some chapters were quite long, which had me wondering where the chapter was actually going to end.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was saving this review to get a quote, but... it's an audiobook, and it's been a month, so I don't think I'm ever going to get it.

Anyway! A fun blog-style book, I remember it dragging along the way with all the evolution and breed talk, and some very depressing bits toward the end about industrial farming, but... overall fun.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combine history & food science, and I'm there. For someone who enjoyed the secret lives of lobsters and is looking forward to reading a history of salt, this definitely fit my niche. Cool to read about origins and migration patterns. A tad hyperbolic in description and a bit schizophrenic in scene changes- I still enjoyed it.

[Yuuki Nakashima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected that this book is about chicken meat. Of course, it was one of the subjects, but it also talked about cock fight, chicken for religious rituals, etc. so I could learn way more than I expected.
The author says chickens are not creatures for many people. They tend to see the birds as meat. It’s true because I was one of them before reading it.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very deep dive into chickens, from SE Asian jungle fowl to industrial farming. Not always riveting, and the book stops short of any heavy philosophical lifting. But overall I enjoyed learning about this underappreciated bird!

[YHC · Rating 4 out of 5]

如果人类在21世纪继续食用肉类，那么工业化肉鸡无疑是一个比猪肉或牛肉更好的选择。毕竟鸡对土地、水与能源投入的要求比猪牛低得多。不到2磅的饲料就能产出1磅的鸡肉，比其他动物的产出比要高出不少，能达到这个水平的只有人工饲养的三文鱼。如今全球由农业生产产生的温室气体中超过80%都来自肉类生产，而每生产1磅鸡肉所排放的温室气体的量仅是汉堡中红肉的1/10。

what I learned with shock in this book is male chickens have no penis.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book is neutral. It was not particularly engaging or particularly bad, I think it was just 200 more pages that I need about the topic - I mean if Mary Roach had written on this topic, 300 pages would be great, but unfortunately I just stopped caring.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprising and fascinating book. While I think it could/should have been edited down to 2/3 the size (especially the early chapters--too deep in minutiae), there are wonderful nuggets here for everyone (sorry).

[Libby Beyreis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book, but the author was on firmer ground when talked about science or current events than he was when he talked about history. Several of his assertions were... questionable. That said, I did enjoy the book, even if I would recommend taking it with a grain of salt.