“ Our birds can go outside in the summer and be more comfortable,” Wadiak says. Their heirloom chicken, the Pioneer, is the result of three-way cross breeding of a “ Naked Neck Buff” heirloom chicken, a Delaware breed, and a chicken variety raised by the grandfather of Wadiak’s business partner, Blake Evans.īecause of the cross with the Naked Neck Buff, the Pioneer chickens have no feathers on their necks, allowing them to tolerate heat more. ![]() They’ve bred a chicken to be raised on pasture and fed a diverse, more nutritious diet that delivers better taste, which Wadiak values as a chef. The genetics team at Cooks Venture has worked for more than a decade to bring a better chicken to market as an alternative to the industrial chicken monopoly. “More tender, succulent, and flavorful eating experience” “ No matter what the chicken is, you’re buying poultry from one of those two businesses,” Wadiak says. There may be many food brands that sell broiler chickens, but behind the label there’s a 90% chance that consumers will get either a Ross 308 or a Cobb 500. According to Wadiak, most of the chickens people eat in the U.S.-even organic-come from those two breeds, making them the “iPhone and Android” of the poultry industry, as one article described them. A vertically integrated poultry producer, they breed, raise, process, and then ship their chickens to consumers nationwide.Īviagen and Cobb produce the two main chicken breeds sold to consumers today: Aviagen’s Ross 308 and Cobb’s Cobb 500. ![]() Most chickens come from two breedsĬooks Venture operates facilities in Oklahoma and Arkansas, which is also the location of their 800-acre farm where they pasture raise their heirloom chickens. “ We are the alternative to the industrial-bred and factory-farmed chickens that dominate the broiler chicken industry today,” he says. He launched a company, Cooks Venture, to provide regeneratively pasture-raised heirloom broiler chickens that are better for people and the planet. ![]() So Wadiak decided to create another option. “Nobody’s heard of these guys, and every company in America is purchasing their chicken genetics from one of those two companies.” “ Most of the birds from every company in America come from two large consolidated businesses: Aviagen and Cobb,” he says. Beyond that he learned that the poultry industry is highly consolidated, even more than the beef and pork industries. As founder and COO of popular meal-kit delivery service Blue Apron, Matthew Wadiak saw problems in the chicken industry with its factory farmed chickens raised in inhumane, unhealthy conditions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |