Ford’s proposal involves surgically removing the animal’s cerebral cortex but maintaining the lower brain functions so the body can continue to grow. Without the capacity to sense the environment the bird is arguably not in a state of suffering, which is a far cry from current farming practices.
The other effect is that the birds can be packed into a much more horizontal space in just about any type of building upping the productivity from 1 chicken per 10 cubic feet to nearly 4 chickens in the same area. Ford’s plan calls for removing the birds’ feet as well to make space. The design seems to make it easier to raise meat in urban environments, localising chicken farming.
The animal is fed water and nutrients though a tube to its esophagus and another tube removes the waste. The body is then strapped into a frame which can stack the bodies vertically. The design is vastly different from what we have ever seen outside of the movie The Matrix, a fact that Ford alludes too- ”The similarities are patent, although in The Matrix the dominant species were kind enough to provide the sub-species with a alternate reality, which was far better than the their ‘real’ post-apocalyptic world. This was a lovely gesture by ‘The Machines’, but the chickens in this system will not be privy to such a luxurious appendage to an already elaborate system, especially in this age of austerity.”
We have to say that while we appreciate Ford’s out-of-the-box approach to trying to make raising poultry-birds a bit more humane, it can be argued that lobotomizing them in itself is a cruel and inhumane act. Ford’s ultimate goal behind this project may be for us to reconsider the way we approach the industrialization of animals for food and by taking it to its logical conclusion have us think before we take a bite.
+ Royal Collage of Art
Via We Make Money Not Art
Inhumane indeed. How are they lobotomised?
My girlfriend and I eat meat, 2 to 3 times a week. Eggs too (more often).
We always go out of our way to buy meat and eggs from ‘free range’ animals. Even if the ‘normal’ meat is half the price. If I eat an animal, I want to be sure it has had a good life…
Am I falling for a joke? Is it April Fools’ too early?
Let’s see: We’ll hatch chickens (a real animal, despite how this ‘design’ and our culture would like to completely objectify them), lobotomize them, mutilate their subsequent physical shells by way of docking their feet, use a bevy of manufactured synthetic materials to nourish them / sluice away their waste, stack them as if they were dry goods, and let them develop. Then we ingest this creation that exists because of a design student’s idea of good intent.
Or – we don’t eat chicken.
Am I so far removed from the brutishness of society to think that this is a long, dare I say, demented process for us to eat some chicken?
Which is actually better for the environment and our collective health?
This project is shortsighted, warped, and disgusting. It revolts me as a human, a designer, one who is concerned about what they eat, and one who is concerned about the earth. The student and the Royal College of Art should be ashamed of themselves. Let the student, while in school, do what he wants / needs to in order to learn. But spare pretense of an innovative, altruistic, good idea.
With all due respect @ad.pck your visceral response should be aimed at the farming industry which subjects animal to much worse. To me this is a powerful piece of art/design which cut to a core question of how we want to feed billions of people and the dilemma of providing cheap protein while grappling with our conscience and the conscience of other life forms. I for one do and will continue to eat meat but will be more aware of it as a result of this project.
I’m not sure if we humans end up eating something not naturally grown chickens. We might become mutants in the near future.
Thanks for bringing this to Inhabit’s readers. I have had some discussion about it since I saw this, and we think things are progressing in the ‘other’ direction. This also resembles the blood farm for vampires in “Blade 2″ with the abducted humans kept comatose and fed nutrients and slowly milked. According to many who commented on an earlier article on the concept, these ideas do not present a problem. Becoming aware of the spiritual and moral zombification of a hefty chuck of society is certainly an eye opener.