Fried Chicken

by Micky Hohl

Warning Sensitive Content: The following article vividly describes carnist food consumption. The human consumption of animal products is frequently associated with the infliction of pain or suffering on animals as well as the increase in greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate breakdown. The contents of this article may be offensive or disturbing to some audiences

An obvious NO! when avoiding high cholesterol is fried chicken. These days I sometimes enjoy new plant based fried chicken options, which by the numbers are just barely healthier than the real thing, still actual fried chicken is a food I’ve mostly avoided since embarking on my vegan diet over 17 years ago. Yes, there have been a few slip ups, but in general chicken is the one animal I miss the least on my plate. The horrific stories of chicken factories and even of the supposedly more humane free range farms definitely had an effect, but also, in some perverse logic, the otherness of these birds make them less appetizing to me than say a cute pig or a sweet cow. Clearly my tummy has its own “I love you so much, I could eat you up” logic. But many many moons ago, before too much thought and education influenced my views of what I ate, and more importantly seemed to have no negative effect on my diet, fried chicken was just a food, and like for many, it ranked among my favorites. OK fine, I knew it wasn’t health…