The National Chicken Council (NCC) will make its return to the world’s largest meeting of food and nutrition experts, the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) in Philadelphia, October 26-29, 2019. At its Expo Booth (#1227), NCC will be joined by nutrition experts to share information with attendees about the important nutritional role chicken can play throughout life.
Chicken Powers the Mind & Body
Throughout every life stage, chicken offers nutritional benefits in many ways, including:
- Chicken is an efficient dietary source of protein and provides all 9 essential amino acids;
- Delivers vital, under-consumed nutrients, including Magnesium, Potassium, Vitamins A/D/E, Iron, Calcium (all provided at various amounts by one 3.5 oz. serving of boneless, skinless chicken breast);
- Helps meet daily recommendations of choline, particularly important during pregnancy;
- Is a good first solid food for babies (finely chopped/pureed);
- Provides vitamins and minerals as kids grow;
- Maximizes healthy muscles and bones in adults – young and aging; and
- Has high chewability and versatility for those with difficulties chewing or swallowing.
“There’s no denying the nutritional benefits and versatility of chicken for everyone throughout the lifespan, from babies and toddlers to elderly people,” said Jessica Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN. “On top of that, consumer surveys show that chicken checks more boxes than other protein sources for taste, health, versatility, value for price, convenience, and family appeal. Chicken is a crowd-pleasing, ‘feel good’ protein choice everyone can enjoy.”
Online Resources Bring the Chicken Farm to Consumers & Influencers
Chicken is the number one protein in the United States, with Americans consuming more than 93.5 pounds per capita in 2018. As chicken’s popularity continues to trend upward, NCC created the resource ChickenCheck.In, where consumers can find nutrition and wellness insight, as well as answers and information about how chickens are raised.
To help consumers better understand what a day in the life of a broiler chicken is like, in 2018 NCC also launched a first-of-its-kind, fully immersive 360° Virtual Reality (VR) Video Series that transports viewers straight to the hatchery, farm, and processing plant. The series of three VR videos show the various stages of chickens’ lives during modern, commercial production:
- The Hatchery: Chicks begin their life in hatcheries, where fertilized eggs (not table eggs) are incubated and hatched into chicks that are raised for meat.
- The Broiler Chicken Farm: Once the chicks are hatched, they are transported that day to local farms where chickens are raised by farmers with oversight from licensed veterinarians.
- The Processing Plant: When chickens reach the proper market weight, they leave the farm and are transported to the processing plant where they are humanely slaughtered and processed under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The chicken ultimately goes to grocery stores, restaurants, cafeterias and other locations.
The virtual reality videos of the chickens’ life stages can be viewed on a mobile phone, tablet, or desktop, with or without a headset. Viewers are able to watch the video in a traditional manner from a two-dimensional perspective, but unlike passively watching, the video can now rotate to see up, down, front, back, and side- to-side from the original starting point.
For FNCE attendees, please visit NCC’s booth #1227 to learn more about chicken’s role in nutrition.
