# non-chicken @ KFC??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2000, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736 "2000-07-16T13:03:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![food\_yum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/34f0e0/32.png) [@food\_yum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/food_yum)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/1 "2000-07-16T13:03:45Z")
Ok, what’s the deal with this? I found an article in a major daily (Vancouver Sun or Vancouver Province, I forget which, dated sometime around Feb of this year) which cast doubt upon the notion that the priciple fodder in the KFC fryers could technically be called chicken. The article, posted on the wall of a health-oriented coffee-shop (Irony, anyone?) stated that the US gov told KFC to stop referring to their product as Chicken, as they supposedly get their meat from bizarre evil-overlord style factories which now raise creatures without beaks, feathers, or (some other chicken-type feature). Sounded like an urban myth gone wild, but I’m intregued. Has anyone else seen/heard such stuff? Does anyone have the Dope on it? hmmm?? * * * Decisions are made by those that show up. Is politics failing you or are you failing politics? ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/2 "2000-07-16T13:10:06Z")
Urban Legand Check here [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.htm](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.htm) for the facts ---
**Author:** ![DVous\_Means](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/3 "2000-07-16T13:12:58Z")
Hasn’t this myth been exploded on SDMB in recent times? Ithink there was also a link to Snopes to debunk the whole idea. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/4 "2000-07-16T14:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DVous Means \* > Hasn’t this myth been exploded on SDMB in recent times? Ithink there was also a link to Snopes to debunk the whole idea. Yep .[Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=16213) is the thread . The snopes link was originally given by **douglips** and can be found [here](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/food/kfc.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/5 "2000-07-16T14:53:21Z")
It’s because “Kentucky Fried bioengineered poultry-like organism that tastes like chicken” wouldn’t fit on the sign. Seriously a tiny bit of common sense will let you debunk this yourself. Raising a conventionl chicken is remarkably cheap and easy. You feed them, they eat and shit. Can you imagine the cost of raising creatures that are fed through tubes? There are lots of would be overlords but as _Austin Powers_ taught us, it has to turn a profit. I can see the film version now though, Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburn star in a Nick Parks film by Aardman animation: _The Chicken Matrix_ ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/6 "2000-07-16T15:32:37Z")
Roseanne had a guest on her talk show last year who said that that would indeed be the way that chicken “pharms” would be in the future. I wish I could remember this woman’s name. All that I remember was her occupation: “radical feminist.” Didn’t say whether or not she was a Licensed Radical Feminist or not. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/7 "2000-07-16T16:30:04Z")
My mother-in-law, (whose middle name is Gullible) firmly believes this one. I have even presented her with the truth, but she refuses to believe me. That’s why they “had” to change their name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC, she says. She also believes she will be stuck with an AIDS-tainted needle if she uses a pay phone or pumps her own gas, and that deodorant will give her breast cancer, Procter and Gamble is owned by Satanists, and won’t let my kids play in ball pits because of course they are all full of snakes, but that’s another thread. She believes all this crap so strongly, it drives me nuts. Just sharing… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/8 "2000-07-16T19:06:55Z")
**Kinsey** , that’s why snopes gives copious references and plenty of facts. But if your mom won’t be persuaded, it’s her brain. Sad, but there’s not much you can do. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Cyclops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@Commander\_Cyclops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Cyclops)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/9 "2000-07-16T19:07:41Z")
I don’t know about the chickens, but I heard that the rats that people find in their KFC aren’t really rats but some kind of mutation with eight legs, four tails and two heads. Can anyone confirm? ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2000, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/10 "2000-07-16T19:21:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Commander Cyclops \* > \*\*I don’t know about the chickens, but I heard that the rats that people find in their KFC aren’t really rats but some kind of mutation with eight legs, four tails and two heads. Can anyone confirm? \*\* Oh, those aren’t rats. That’s probably just my ex-fiance and her family being seen there. They like KFC a lot. [sub]I am not bitter about how that bitch treated me - I swear! I don’t need no stinkin’ closure![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/11 "2000-07-17T06:29:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinsey \* > \*\*My mother-in-law, (whose middle name is Gullible) firmly believes this one. > I have even presented her with the truth, but she refuses to believe me. That’s why they “had” to change their name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC, she says. > She also believes she will be stuck with an AIDS-tainted needle if she uses a pay phone or pumps her own gas, and that deodorant will give her breast cancer, Procter and Gamble is owned by Satanists, and won’t let my kids play in ball pits because of course they are all full of snakes, but that’s another thread. > She believes all this crap so strongly, it drives me nuts. > Just sharing… 🙂 \*\* [hijack] **Kinsey** , it drives you nuts because you’re taking the wrong approach. You have to play with this…feed her every single urban legend you can find. Pretty soon, she’ll be so terrified she won’t step out of the house. That’s what _I_’d do, at any rate…but I just happen to enjoy tormenting the in-laws…[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/12 "2000-07-17T06:41:02Z")
What’s a ball pit? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/13 "2000-07-17T06:43:23Z")
Oh, never mind. I just figured it out. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![food\_yum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/34f0e0/32.png) [@food\_yum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/food_yum)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/14 "2000-07-17T15:08:31Z")
ok, ok, ok. I’m getting the idea that yous aint knee-jerk true-believers in everything you read/hear. Doesnt that get tedious? How in the world do you ever get a good panic goin’ if you gotta sit about and think things through, first? Yer gonna miss a lot of bandwagons with that attitude! Thanks for confirming my suspicions, gang. I was sure this story was a crock, but thought this would be the acid test if there ever was one. Now I can go back to that coffee shop and haughtily denounce their pin-up info. And if they challenge me, I can just tell them “a bunch of dopers told me it wasn’t so!” cheers ---
**Author:** ![TampaFlyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/71e660/32.png) [@TampaFlyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TampaFlyer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2000, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/15 "2000-07-17T22:13:16Z")
\> change their name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC That was done mainly to get rid of the word “Fried”, & also perhaps to make the name fit easier on signs. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2000, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/16 "2000-07-18T05:26:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TampaFlyer \* > \*\*\> change their name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC > > That was done mainly to get rid of the word “Fried”, & also perhaps to make the name fit easier on signs. \*\* Oh, lordy…don’t tell me it ain’t _fried_ no more! Where am I gonna get my minimum RDA of GREASE?? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2000, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/17 "2000-07-18T13:40:04Z")
> [@](#): > > RicePad said: > Kinsey, it drives you nuts because you’re taking the wrong approach. You have to play with this…feed her every single urban legend you can find. Pretty soon, she’ll be so terrified she won’t step out of the house. That’s what I’d do, at any rate…but I just happen to enjoy tormenting the in-laws… LOL at RicePad! I like the way you think!! That sounds good, I’ll have to try it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2000, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/18 "2000-07-18T15:46:44Z")
**food\_yum** > [@](#): > > The article, posted on the wall of a health-oriented coffee-shop (Irony, anyone?) Okay, you’ve got me there. Is this a special definition of “irony” or is there something I’m missing? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2000, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/19 "2000-07-18T16:06:14Z")
The idea of some sort of vague chicken-like amorphous blob isn’t new. Poul Anderson wrote about such a situation in THE SPACE MERCHANTS, back in the 50s (before there was a KFC). There was huge blob of chickenish stuff, called Chicken Little, and pieces were hacked or sliced off to be fed to people. The blob itself regenerated, of course, a growing, palpitating mass. We sure they didn’t switch to KFC because the chickens don’t come from Kentucky? ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2000, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736/20 "2000-07-18T17:18:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Can you imagine the cost of raising creatures that are fed through tubes? Actually, a great many poultry growers debeak their birds, causing them to be unable to eat properly. They are, in fact, often fed through tubes. [http://www.upc-online.org/merchandise/debeak\_factsheet.html](http://www.upc-online.org/merchandise/debeak_factsheet.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-chicken-kfc/25736.md?page=2)