Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


The genetic engineering of farm animals raises all manner of vexing questions. And as gene tinkering applies to poultry, it even offers a reprise of the classic chicken-and-egg conundrum. To wit: Which came first, the chimera or the clone? 

The answer lies with two biotech firms, California-based Origen Therapeutics and Embrex of North Carolina, that are fine-tuning a process to mass-produce genetically uniform chickens—an effort boosted last July by a $4.7-million federal research grant from the National Institute of Science and Technology. “This is not cloning, per se,” says Joan Kureczka, spokeswoman for Origen, “but it is a way to produce, on a large scale, the ideal bird.” By injecting embryonic stem cells cultivated from a grade-A chicken into dozens, thousands, or even millions of newly laid eggs, Origen and Embrex hope to suppress the eggs’ natural genetic makeup and create “chimeras”—chicks that are near carbon copies, genetically speaking. (The companies may have also produced a few identical matches, or true clones.) Such uniformity is a tantalizing prospect for a poultry industry eager to streamline production: The engineered fowl would mature at the same rate, require the same amount of feed, and taste exactly the same. The technology is still a few years, and a number of regulatory hoops, away from market. But don’t be surprised if KFC one day becomes an acronym for Kentucky Fried Chimera.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate