We often take for granted the ubiquity of chicken in the American diet. Acclaimed journalist Maryn McKenna bypasses our familiarity with a fascinating history of chicken in her book Big Chicken: The Incredible Story of How Antibiotics Changed Modern Agriculture and Changed the Way the World Eats. She takes the stage to share her chronicle of how economic, political, and cultural forces converged to make America’s favorite meat a hidden danger.

McKenna brings us on an extraordinary journey from the vast poultry farms of the United States to laboratories, kitchens, and sidewalk markets around the world. She highlights how routine use of antibiotics transformed agriculture, changed the world’s eating habits, and contributed to the deadly rise of drug-resistant infections around the globe. Join us for a conversation on how this common backyard bird became an industrial commodity impacting human health around the world—and learn about companies, activists, farmers and chefs who are carving a path back to better, safer food.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle as part of the Science series.

This event is supported by PCC Community Markets.