There are 23 billion of them at any given time.

一直維持在 230 億隻的數量。

That's 10 times more than any other bird.

比其他種類的鳥多出十倍。

It's an astonishing achievement for a bird that originated as a small, wild, jungle bird in South East Asia.

對於這種源自東南亞，且體型小的野生叢林鳥來說，這樣的成就是很驚人的。

It's by far the fastest growing meat product but pound for pound, the price of chicken has fallen sharply.

雞肉是目前成長最快速的肉品，但其單價下跌幅度很大。

How as this happened?

原因為何？

This farm is at the forefront of a technology revolution that has drastically changed chicken farming.

這家走在科技最前端的農場徹底改變了養雞業。

It's run by David Speller.

由 David Speller 經營。

He's pioneered the use of CCTV and CO2 monitors in chicken sheds.

他是第一個使用監視器與二氧化碳監測器來監控養雞棚的人。

Along with his own farm, he works as a consultant overseeing the raising of around three million chickens in the UK.

包括自己的養殖場，他做為顧問監控全英約三百萬隻雞的生長過程。

You can't get away from the scale.

一切要按部就班。

There are 45,000 birds in this barn managed by one computer.

一台電腦監控倉庫內四萬五千隻雞。

Two men will run 200,000 birds for me.

兩名員工負責管理二十萬隻雞。

Chickens were first domesticated over 8,000 years ago.

雞最早在八千年前被馴化。

But it wasn't until the 1940's that major efforts were made to create a super breed.

但直到 1940 年代，現代的食用雞才被開發出來。

The chicken-of-tomorrow competition in America would change chickens forever.

因為美國舉辦的「明日之雞」大賽，雞的命運從此改變。

The aim of that competition was to try and encourage the development of a fast growing chicken that could provide a larger amount of protein at an affordable cost.

大賽的目的是為了嘗試與鼓勵速成雞的發展，以更親民的價格提供更大量的蛋白質來源。

The success of the contest rose conclusively that it is possible to breed chickens with superior meat-type characteristics.

大賽的成功確實可能讓雞以優良肉品為前提來飼養。

Today, the life cycle of broilers, chickens that are bred purely for their meat, is entirely pre ordained.

現今，肉雞 (即為純當肉品而繁殖的雞) 的生命週期是早已注定的。

They grow faster and bigger than ever before.

比起以往，牠們生長得更快、更大。

And they can only live supported by human technology.

而且只能仰賴人類的科技存活。

Modern industrialized farming requires the use of artificial light, artificial temperature, the whole life of these birds is effectively controlled through technology.

現代工業化的養殖業需要使用人造光源與人工控溫，這些雞的一生完全被科技掌握著。

Chickens have changed so quickly they are now four times the size they were in the 1950's.

與 1950 年代相比，雞的體型大了四倍，其改變之快。

90,000 chicks at a time get delivered.

一次運送九萬隻雞。

It's our job to nurture them and farm them up to a bird that's then ready to go back to processing.

我們的工作是養育、養殖牠們直到可以進行加工為止。

That starts around day 34, the biggest birds for us off of this farm are around 39 days of age.

加工大約在第 34 天開始，而本養殖場的雞大概長到第 39 天時，體型最大。

Then we have a really frantic seven to ten days to clean everywhere, get it all nice and warm and fresh ready for the next batch of chicks.

接著的七到十天，我們要瘋狂地清理環境，讓一切就緒等待下一批的小雞。

We do that seven and a half, eight times a year.

一年要反覆進行 7.5 到 8 次。

This efficiency is passed on to the consumer.

這樣的效率會傳遞給消費者。

It's good value, I don't like referring to it as cheap.

一切很超值，我不喜歡稱之為「便宜」。

These are not cheap, these are animals.

牠們不廉價，牠們是動物。

They have a worth, but it is great value, it's uniform.

牠們是有價值的，只是一直很物超所值，品質維持良好。

It's healthy for you and consumers love it!

雞肉對你健康有益，而消費者也很愛！

The reality of farming any animal for meat is you take it to its optimal place and then you take it to turn it to human consumption.

肉品養殖業的真相就是：將動物養在最理想的地方，接著將其製成人類的食品。

These birds, 38, 39 days is as far as we want to take them for the product that we want to buy.

這些生長期 38 到 39 天的雞，要製成我們也想購買的產品。

A barn yard chicken can live up to 10 years, showing the huge evolution of change the broilers have undergone.

穀倉院裡飼養的雞可以活到十年之久，顯示出肉雞的改變進化之大。

But selective breeding on a global scale comes at a cost.

但全球的選擇性養殖方式需要付出代價。

If the chickens live beyond their planned life, they develop huge medical problems.

如果雞的壽命被延長，牠們會併發一些嚴重的健康問題。

These birds can't then sustain that rapid weight growth beyond the points of which they're normally slaughtered.

等到一般被宰殺的時候，雞已經無法承受劇烈的生長變化。

Because their bodies can't cope with it and also puts huge amounts of pressure on their internal organs as well.

因為其身體無法應付體重的劇變，對內臟也會造成壓力。

And there are concerns the chicken industry is relying on an increasingly small gene pool.

也有人擔心養雞業正仰賴著逐漸變小的基因庫。

-Pretty chicks? -Yes Sir.

-小雞美嗎？ -是的先生。

Alike as two peas in a pod.

宛如雙胞胎一樣 (同一豆莢中的豌豆)。

If all of these chickens have the same genetics, they're all fed the same food, they're actually very vulnerable to diseases that come in.

若這些雞的基因相同，又都吃一樣的飼料，那牠們對疾病的抵抗力其實非常弱。

Because they're all identical so if one bird is effected all the birds will be effected.

由於全部都一樣，所以只要一隻雞有狀況，其他隨之受影響。

Keeping chickens in battery cages was banned in the EU in 2012.

2012 年，歐盟禁止將雞飼養在格子籠裡。

But some people want to create better lives for broiler chickens.

但有些人想為肉雞創造更優質的環境。

Free range birds have more access to open air runs, while organic chickens are typically free from antibiotics, hormones, and other synthetic chemicals.

放山雞有更多在室外活動的空間；有機雞通常不施打抗生素、荷爾蒙，以及其他合成化學物。

Organic chickens get to live the longest.

有機雞的壽命最長。

81 days compared to intensively reared birds which live between 35 and 40 days.

其壽命達 81 天，而集中飼養的雞則是 35 到 40 天。

Free range chickens get the most access to open air runs.

放山雞可以在室外活動的空間最大。

But when it comes to living space, organic and free range fair far better than intensively reared birds where as many as 17 adult birds live in a single square meter.

但論生活條件，有機雞與放山雞好很多，平均每一平方公尺要容納 17 隻集中飼養的成雞。

Organic farming might offer animals a greater quality of life but consumers are largely driven by cost.

有機養殖可能提供更好的生活品質，但驅使消費者更多的是價格。

And in an average UK supermarket, an intensively reared chicken costs several times less than it's free range or organic cousins.

在一般英國的超市，集中飼養的雞比放養或有機養殖的雞便宜數倍。

You are talking significant cost difference and I think that's why we see the demand is not there.

消費者看到的是巨大的價格差異，我認為這就是癥結所在。

If the demand was there we'd all be doing it.

如果有市場需求，我們自然會因應市場。

Over 95% of broiler chickens are intensively reared in the UK.

在英國，超過 95% 的肉雞都是集中飼養的。

Organic and free range chickens make up the rest.

剩下的 5% 即有機雞與放山雞。

So what's key for me in being a farmer of chicken is to understand what consumer wants to buy.

因此，對身為雞農的我來說，最重要的是了解消費者的需求。

We are purely market driven.

我們完全依附著市場。

For as long as shoppers want cheap and plentiful chicken, they will continue to be bred evermore intensively.

只要消費者想要便宜又大碗的雞肉，雞就會永遠被集中飼養。