The Headless Chicken Project

A design student’s bizarre idea of chicken farming has ruffled the feathers of animal rights activists.

A design student’s bizarre idea of space management for chicken farming has ruffled the feathers of animal rights activists around the globe. André Ford, a 26- year-old architecture student at the Royal College of Art in London, proposed surgically removing the cerebral cortex of chicken to inhibit their sensory perceptions. This way, they could be produced in more densely packed conditions without the distress. In an e-mail interview with Open, Ford responds to critics of his design project:

Q What would you say to animal rights activists who think your project is ‘demented’?

A The idea of something being ‘offensive’ is an individual reaction and not a universal benchmark of whether an idea is useful or not. What people deem ‘offensive’ isn’t of any importance to the debate.

Q How did this idea materialise?

A ‘Farming the Unconscious’ is my thesis this year. Two issues have influenced the project. First, the livestock industry is responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. I am proposing consolidation of the industry, bringing production closer to consumption. Second, the welfare provided in the existing systems is wholly inadequate. This led me to the seemingly paradoxical question: how might we achieve this necessary increase in density of production whilst also addressing the issue of improving welfare? Desensitisation is my answer.

About The Author

Arindam Mukherjee