[(Title)] How chicken became the rich world’s most popular meat.

鸡肉是如何成为世界上最受欢迎的肉类的。

The chicken industry is a dirty business, but it is also a profitable one. In the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, pork and beef consumption has remained unchanged since 1990. Chicken consumption has grown by 70% (see chart).

养鸡业是一个肮脏的行业，但它也是一个有利可图的行业。 经合组织是一个由大多数富裕国家组成的俱乐部，自1990年以来，猪肉和牛肉消费量保持不变。鸡肉消费量增长了70％（见下图）。

Humans gobble so many chickens that the birds now count for 23bn of the 30bn land animals living on farms.

人类需要食用如此多的鸡，现在生活在农场的300亿只陆地动物中，有230亿只鸡。

According to a recent paper by Carys Bennett at the University of Leicester and colleagues, the total mass of farmed chickens exceeds that of all other birds on the planet combined.

根据莱斯特大学的Carys Bennett和同事的一份最新报告，养殖鸡的总量超过了地球上所有其他鸟类的总量。

In London, some 50 miles west of Colchester, fried-chicken shops are ubiquitous. Many are named after American states (including Kansas and Montana, not to mention Kentucky).

在伦敦，位于科尔切斯特以西约50英里处，炸鸡店无处不在。许多商店都以美国各州命名（包括堪萨斯州和蒙大拿州，更不用说肯塔基州）。

But schoolchildren and late-night partiers are unfazed by the strange names. Nor do they worry much about where their meal came from.

但是学生们和深夜的派对者并没有被这些陌生的名字所困扰。 他们也不担心他们的用餐来自哪里。

And why should they? Chicken is cheap and delicious. A pound of poultry in America now costs $1.92, a fall of $1.71 since 1960 (after adjusting for inflation). Meanwhile the price of beef has fallen by $1.17 a pound to $5.80.

他们为什么要这样？ 鸡肉便宜又美味。 现在美国一磅鸡肉的价格为1.92美元，自1960年以来下降了1.71美元（经过通货膨胀调整后）。 与此同时，牛肉价格每磅下跌1.17美元至5.80美元。

Fans of cheap chicken have selective breeding to thank. In the 1940s America launched a series of  "Chicken of Tomorrow"  competitions for farmers.

上世纪40年代，美国为农民举办了一系列的“明日之鸡”竞赛。

Since then chickens have continued to get bigger. A study by Martin Zuidhof of the University of Alberta and colleagues documented this shift by comparing chickens that were selectively bred in 1957, 1978 and 2005.

从那时起养殖鸡的体型继续变大。 阿尔伯塔大学的Martin Zuidhof及其同事的一项研究通过比较1957年，1978年和2005年选择性繁殖的鸡来记录这种转变。

The authors found that at 56 days old the three birds had average weights of 0.9kg, 1.8kg and 4.2kg (see chart). As raising a single big bird is more efficient than raising two smaller ones,

作者发现，在56天大时，三只鸡的平均重量分别为0.9kg，1.8kg和4.2kg（见图表）。

it now takes farmers just 1.3kg of grain to produce 1kg of chicken, down from 2.5kg of grain in 1985.

现在农民只需1.3公斤的谷物就能生产1公斤鸡肉，低于1985年的2.5公斤的谷物。

The intense use of antibiotics means that farmers no longer need to spend much time worrying about their chickens' welfare. Before the second world war, most birds were raised on small plots.

大量使用抗生素意味着农民不再需要花很多时间去担心鸡的健康。在第二次世界大战前，大部分养殖鸡是在小块土地上饲养的。

Birds raised in denser quarters do not move around much, and so require less to eat.

生长在密度较大的地方，养殖鸡的活动不多，因此需要的食物也很少。

Farmers have also benefited from the healthy reputation of chicken. In the 1980s doctors worried that by eating too much beef and pork people were ingesting lots of saturated fat, which was then thought to increase the risk of heart disease.

当时鸡肉和健康的关系也让养殖人受益。上世纪80年代，医生们担心，吃过多的牛肉和猪肉的人会摄入大量的饱和脂肪，而人们认为饱和脂肪会加剧心脏病的风险。

It is not just fussy Western eaters who increasingly favour chicken. Rising incomes mean that demand for the meat is growing even faster in poorer countries. As a result, chickens are now the world's most widely traded meat.

不仅挑剔的西方人越来越喜欢鸡肉了。 收入增加意味着在较贫穷的国家，对肉类的需求增长更快。 因此，鸡肉现在是世界上交易最广泛的肉类。

Though Westerners prefer lean, white meat; many in Asia and Africa prefer dark meat, which includes legs and thighs.

虽然西方人喜欢瘦肉、白肉，如鸡胸肉；许多亚洲和非洲人喜欢黑肉，如腿肉。

These preferences are reflected in local prices: in America breasts are 88% more expensive than legs; in Indonesia they are 12% cheaper. Differences in the price of chicken feet are even starker.

这些偏好反映在地方价格上：美国鸡胸肉比鸡腿肉贵88%；印尼的鸡胸肉比鸡腿肉便宜12%。

The thought of eating talons is abhorrent to many Westerners, but they often feature in Cantonese recipes. China now imports 300,000 tonnes of  "phoenix claws"  every year.

对许多西方人来说，吃鸡爪的想法是令人憎恶的，但他们经常出现在广东菜谱中。如今，中国每年进口30万吨“凤爪”。、

The fact that different countries specialise in different kinds of production also boosts trade.

不同国家专门从事不同种类的生产这一事实也促进了贸易。

America and Brazil, the world's two biggest chicken exporters, are agricultural powerhouses that grow huge amounts of feed, the main cost in poultry production.

美国和巴西是世界上两个最大的鸡肉出口国，它们是种植大量饲料的农业发电厂，是家禽生产的主要成本。

Thailand and China, in contrast, dominate the processed-meat market which requires cheap, skilled labour. Russia and Ukraine, once net importers of chicken, have become net exporters as their grain industries have grown.

相比之下，泰国和中国主导着加工肉类市场，这需要廉价，熟练的劳动力。 曾经是鸡肉净进口国的俄罗斯和乌克兰随着粮食产业的发展而成为净出口国。

Producers that sell their meat abroad expose themselves to risks. Chicken has been a flashpoint in trade negotiations. China imposed tariffs on American birds in 2010 and then banned all imports in 2015, shortly after an outbreak of avian flu.

在国外出售肉类的生产者面临风险。鸡肉一直是贸易谈判的热点。2010年，中国对美国鸡肉征收关税，2015年，禽流感爆发后不久，中国禁止进口所有肉类。

Industry observers are pessimistic the ban will be lifted, much to the dismay of American farmers who would love to be paid more for the 20bn chicken feet they produce every year, which currently become animal feed.

行业观察人士对禁令将取消感到悲观，这让美国农民感到非常失望，他们更希望能够为每年生产的200亿只鸡脚得到更多的报酬，它们目前成为了动物饲料。

Similarly, the European Union banned the import of chlorinated American chicken in 1997, owing to concern that a chlorine wash allows lower hygiene standards in farms.

同样，欧洲联盟于1997年禁止进口氯化美国鸡肉，因为担心洗氯会使农场降低卫生标准。

Arguments over chlorinated chickens also proved a big stumbling block in negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a now-failed trade deal between America and the EU.

关于氯化鸡的论点也被证明是跨大西洋贸易和投资伙伴关系谈判的一大障碍。跨大西洋贸易和投资伙伴关系是美国与欧盟之间现已失败的贸易协议。

Some Britons fear that if they leave the EU any trade deal signed with America would require them to accept imports of such chickens.

一些英国人担心，如果他们离开欧盟，那么与美国签订的贸易协议将要求他们接受进口这类鸡。

Although the chicken boom has been good for consumers, animal-welfare advocates worry that the meat industry's cost-cutting measures have come at the expense of the birds.

虽然鸡肉养殖业的快速增长对消费者有好处，但动物福利倡导者担心肉类行业的成本削减措施是以牺牲动物福利为代价的。

Vicky Bond of the Humane League, an animal-welfare campaign group, says the size of modern chickens is the cause of the worst problems. Broilers have breast muscles which are too big for their bones to support, leading to lameness.

动物福利运动组织人类联盟的维克基·邦德表示，现代鸡的体型是造成最严重问题的原因。鸡胸肉过大导致骨骼无法支撑。

Indeed, modern chickens have become so big that their muscles prevent them from getting on top of each other to mate (meaning they have to be starved before they are able to consider romance).

事实上，现代鸡变得如此巨大，以至于它们的肌肉阻止它们相互交配。

Partly because of advocacy by animal-welfare charities, and partly because meat has become so affordable, more consumers are now willing to pay for meat raised in better conditions.

部分由于动物福利慈善机构的倡导，部分由于肉类变得负担得起，现在更多的消费者愿意为更好饲养的肉类付费。

Sales of free-range and organic chickens, which—unlike most broilers—have access to the outdoors, are surging.

自由放养的销售和有机鸡肉销量正在上升。

In the Netherlands, a recent public outcry over enormous plofkip (which translates as  "exploded chicken" ) was so intense that retailers switched in droves to breeds that grow more slowly.

在荷兰，最近公众对巨大的plofkip（翻译为“爆炸鸡”）的强烈抗议非常激烈，以至于零售商大部分转向成长缓慢的品种。

Plofkip's share of the Dutch market plummeted from around 60% in 2015 to 5% in 2017. In Britain sales of free-range eggs have overtaken those of caged ones.

Plofkip在荷兰鸡肉市场中的份额从2015年的60%下降到2017年的5%。

Concerns about the health of livestock have also led the EU to pass some of the world's strictest animal-welfare laws. Battery cages for egg-laying hens were banned in 2012, for instance.

对牲畜健康的担忧也导致欧盟通过了一些世界上最严格的动物福利法。 例如，2012年禁止用于产蛋母鸡的电池笼。

Legislative reforms have been harder to come by in America, especially at the federal level. Animal-welfare advocates lament the country's congressional system, which gives disproportionate clout to rural states.

美国立法改革更难实现，特别是在联邦层面。动物福利倡导者哀叹着国会制度，因为国会制度给农村州带来了不相称的影响。

Nevertheless, a rare but significant state-level change came last November when Californians voted to pass Proposition 12, which will ban the production and sale of pork, veal and eggs from animals kept in cages,

然而，去年11月，加州人投票通过第12号提案，禁止从笼子里饲养的动物生产和销售猪肉、牛肉和鸡蛋。

bringing the state's laws roughly in line with those in the EU. The change affects all meat producers who want to sell in America's biggest state, putting pressure on them to change their farming practices.

这使得美国的法律与欧盟的法律大体一致。这一变化影响到所有想要在美国最大州出售的肉类生产商，给他们带来压力，迫使他们改变自己的养殖方式。

Public companies have been more responsive than lawmakers to animal-welfare concerns. Activists have achieved remarkable success in recent years by threatening companies with the release of unflattering images and videos of how their food is produced.

公共企业比立法者更关注动物福利问题。近年来，积极分子要求企业发布有关如何养殖动物的录像，从而取得了显著的成功。

Research by the Open Philanthropy Project, a group which funds animal-welfare activists, finds that such campaigns have prompted more than 200 American companies—including Mc Donald's,

开放慈善项目资助动物福利活动人士。

Burger King and Walmart—to stop buying eggs from chicken raised in battery cages since 2015.

汉堡王和沃尔玛自2015年起停止购买电池笼养鸡的鸡蛋。

Farmers are therefore increasingly interested in improving the lives of their birds. Richard Swartzentruber owns two chicken sheds in Greenwood, a small town in Delaware. The company he supplies, Perdue Farms, has stopped using antibiotics altogether.

因此，农民对改善鸡类生活越来越感兴趣。理查德在格林伍德拥有两座鸡棚，格林伍德是特拉华州的一个小镇子。他的农场已完全停止使用抗生素。

Mr Swartzentruber's chicken sheds have plenty of windows and doors that open onto a fenced grassy field whenever the weather permits. This comes with trade-offs: chickens might like perching on trees, but so do hawks.

理查德的鸡棚有很多窗户和门，只要天气允许的话，这些窗户和门都会打开栅栏的草场。这伴随着风险：鸡可能会喜欢栖息在树上，但是鹰也会喜欢。

Inside the sheds, bales of hay, wooden boxes and plastic platforms are scattered around to entertain his chickens. Such measures have helped him gain a good-farming certificate from the Global Animal Partnership, a charity.

在棚子里，干草包、木箱和塑料平台分散在各处，为他的鸡提供娱乐。这些措施帮助他从一家慈善机构全球动物伙伴关系那里获得良好的农耕证书。

Bruce Stewart-Brown, a food-safety scientist at Perdue Farms, says that his company would love to raise more organic chickens.

佩尔本农场食品安全科学家布鲁斯·斯图尔特-布朗说，他的公司喜欢养更多的有机鸡。

His ability to provide higher-welfare organic meat is ultimately constrained by market forces, since the feed legally required is pricey.

他提供高福利有机肉类的能力最终受到市场力量的制约，因为法律规定的饲料价格高昂。

Although larger numbers of people might be willing to pay more for organic or free-range products, most still prefer whatever is cheapest.

虽然更多人愿意为有机产品或免费产品支付更多费用，但大部分人仍然偏爱最便宜的产品。

And, despite growing interest in vegetarianism and veganism, surveys find little evidence that many people in the rich world are turning into herbivores. People may like flirting with plant-based diets. But what they really love is chicken.

而且，尽管对素食主义和素食主义的兴趣日益浓厚，但调查发现很少有证据表明富裕国家的许多人正在变成素食主义者。 人们可能偶尔青睐素食。 但他们真正喜欢的还是鸡肉。