Where Does Chicken Curry Come From? (Tracing the Geography and Environmental Impact)


Chicken is mainly raised on farms in the U.S., especially in states like Arkansas, Georgia, and Alabama. These farms use a lot of water and feed, mostly corn and soy, to raise chickens quickly. This farming uses fossil fuels for growing feed and running the farms, which adds to carbon emissions. Sometimes, chicken farms can pollute nearby water sources with waste.

Rice mostly comes from countries like the U.S. (Arkansas, California, India, and Thailand. Growing rice needs a lot of water because it is usually grown in flooded fields called paddies. This can cause water depletion in some areas nearby and rice fields also release methane gas, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

The spices in chicken curry, like turmeric and chili, mostly come from places like India and Southeast Asia where farming can affect soil and water depending on how it is done.

I bought my chicken curry and rice from a grocery store, so the ingredients traveled different distances to reach me. The rice and spices likely traveled the farthest, probably by ship or plane, while the chicken was probably transported by truck/train.

This meal creates waste like plastic packaging and food scraps, which usually end up in landfills or compost. The environmental impacts happen both locally (farms and fields) and globally (transportation and carbon emissions).

States with the most poultry production (Photo from Farm Aid)

Sources:

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