Bird’s-Eye View: Chicken Council Launches VR Experience

People eat lots of chicken, so it makes sense that they’re curious about the process that eventually gets it on their plates.

Recently, the National Chicken Council decided to use technology to clear up the confusion about chickens. NCC—which runs an educational program called Chicken Check In  (opens in a new tab) to explain to the public the process of producing chickens raised for meat— released a series of 360-degree virtual reality videos that highlight how chickens are raised and processed, including the hatcheries  (opens in a new tab) where chickens are born, the local farms  (opens in a new tab) where they’re raised, and the processing plants  (opens in a new tab) where they’re slaughtered and processed.

According to NCC, part of the reason it was driven to make the video series was a recent survey that suggested 89 percent of consumers wanted to learn more about the chicken they eat. Roughly 40 percent said it was a top concern of theirs.

The survey, which finds that chicken consumption is increasing in 2018 after a slight dip in the prior year, also breaks into specific consumption habits, highlights the confusion some have with the labels used on chicken packaging, and notes that if certain concerns were addressed, many consumers would be more comfortable eating more.

NCC Spokesman Tom Super said the organization was making the videos available to view online, as well as at tradeshows, schools, and other events.

“We know that people want more information about chicken production and that most have not visited a chicken farm, so we are bringing the farm to them,” Super explained in a news release  (opens in a new tab), adding that the videos provided a “fully immersive experience.”