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What's That Chicken Made Of?

Feb. 3, 2000

Folks have been clucking and the feathers have been flying lately over an email that's making its way around the Internet, claiming that "Kentucky Fried Chicken" morphed into "KFC" because it no longer uses real chickens.

Instead, this anonymous email claims, KFC uses genetically-engineered chicken-like critters devoid of beaks, feathers, feet and other parts deemed inedible by Western palates.

The email doesn't say where all this is happening, so we assume it must be in those secret passageways under the Pentagon. Say, wait a minute, they used to grow a lot of chickens in Arkansas and the Clintons are from Arkansas … and, oh never mind.

Excerpt of KFC Conspiracy Theory Email

"The reason why they call it KFC is because they can not use the word chicken anymore. Why? KFC does not use real chickens. They actually use genetically manipulated organisms. These so called "chickens" are kept alive by tubes inserted into their bodies to pump blood and nutrients throughout their structure. They have no beaks, no feathers, and no feet. Their bone structure is dramatically shrunk to get more meat out of them. This is great for KFC because they do not have to pay so much for their production costs. There is no more plucking of the feathers or the removal of the beaks and feet. The government has told them to change all of their menus so they do not say chicken anywhere.

Right. Well, KFC reports that it serves up 736 million chickens annually worldwide -- and it specifically states that these are chickens, not chickoids. In fact, KFC proudly states that in 1998 it served 10 pieces of chicken for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Want to know how far all those chickens would stretch if laid end-to-end? We don't either but if you really have time on your hands, you'll find the answer at the KFC Web site.

The Name Change
Companies tend to change their names every 20 or 30 years to accommodate changes in their product line-up, mergers and acquisitions, public perceptions and so forth. Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone (good old C&P) became BellAtlantic. MasterCharge became MasterCard. Federal Express is now FedEx.

And Kentucky Fried Chicken? Why, it became KFC Corp. which is now part of Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., the "world's largest restaurant system with nearly 30,000 KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants in more than 100 countries and territories," according to the company's p.r. mavens.

KFC also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and in some cases all three culinary delights are housed under a single roof. Hey, wonder what they're making those tacos out of.

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