March 27, 2023

Eat This Podcast: What Price Chicken Wings?

Hello

A chicken has two wings, two legs, two breasts; how does the market cope when all people want is wings?

Chickens were bred to deliver big breasts; wings were an afterthought until the advent of Buffalo wings in the 1960s. Now, and especially in the run-up to the Superbowl and March Madness, wings are in much greater demand than breasts, which is reflected in much higher prices for wings.

I wanted to understand how the market copes with changing demand for the different parts of the whole bird, so I turned to Professor Wally Thurman, an agricultural economist.

Take a listen