“A chicken in every pot!” pledged a famous campaign slogan. Poultry has long been one of the world’s most popular proteins. Livers, necks, feet—people eat nearly every part of a hen. Now one designer-inventor wants to add feathers to the pot as well.
Sorowut Kittibanthorn is an inventor and design student from Thailand. He studies at Central Saint Martins Art School in London. He hopes to change what people view as trash.
He’s taking aim at a “fowl” form of waste: chicken feathers. He says more than two million tons of feathers are thrown away in Europe alone. He believes up to 30% more get tossed in Asia.
High in protein and bursting with nutritious amino acids, feathers could be the next big food fad. But no one’s noshing them . . . yet. That’s because the human body can’t process the prickly plumes. Yet chicken feathers are made of keratin, the same protein God placed in human hair and nails.
Kittibanthorn extracts protein from discarded chicken feathers. He then uses a process called “acid hydrolysis” to turn the keratin into a powdered edible food additive. With liquid, the powder can be shaped into patties or nuggets.
“I’m transforming chicken feathers into [a] lean protein source and edible food for human[s] that is low fat too,” the Thai inventor says.
His current project is called “A Lighter Delicacy.” It involves turning feathers into fake meats that mimic chicken (really!) and steak. Taste testers call Kittibanthorn’s fine dining “meats” delicious.
Food blogger Cholrapee Asvichit tasted the “steak” meat made from feathers. “I feel like the texture, the fatty, the juicy, and everything is really giving me [the] feeling that I’m really eating the real meat,” he says. “Like, the real red meat.”
Asvichit can even imagine the reconstituted feather food being served in fine restaurants.
But Kittibanthorn isn’t counting his chicken feathers before they’re plucked. He says the feathers-to-food project is still in the early stages. There will be more research and development ahead. But he has worthy goals: helping to feed the hungry and reducing excess waste at the same time.
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. — Ezekiel 16:49
That. Is. Disgusting. (imo
That. Is. Disgusting. (imo lol)
2nd comment
This is either really gross or really cool. The picture looks disgusting.
Third Comment
Looks gross
ok....
um...fine? but i'll stick with seal oil and dry fish, thanks.
That's...um..
That sounds very peculiar.
Ummm.....
Good to know in case we ever have to rely on chickens for food.... But I think I'll stick with regular meat. XD
@Desarose- Do you really eat seal oil and dry fish? I've never had either. Do you live in a tundra environment or the Arctic or something? XD
???
??? I mean, if it tastes good and people like it.....
@Addie L
I eat breaded squid legs and fish eggs... (masago.)
This is pretty neat but also
This is pretty neat but also sorta gross, if I didn't have a choice I would happily eat this but I think I'm going to stick to the real thing for now lol.
@Addie L
Yes...so good. So AMAZING! if any of you ever get the chance to try it do by all means! its ohhh...soo good.... i do live in a tundra artic enviroment...fresh blueberries off the tundra, fresh fish off the river, but the blueberries dont taste dull like storebought ones. no no. Sharp, fresh, good. Blackberries are raindrops in firm, tight skin that when popped explode into wonderful juice. Cranberries-sour, but if made correctly one can make them into wonderful syrup, juice, you name it. Nothing better than a cup of hot cranberry juice in the cold winter mornings.We pick them in falltime and freeze them for winter. Sorry for going on and on i love this stuff!
@ Desare Rose (Sorry if I spelled it wrong.)
Thats neat! Here in California, it's, like, always summertime. I would love to live in the Tundra area:)
@Scarlett R
Yeah..it is a blessing :) but NOT IN SUMMERTIME!! If a badguy wanted to torture a goodguy they should send them to AK in summertime! Mosquitoes ALL OVER. Its like...superbad. They give you no relief. At night, about to go to sleep..buzzzzzzzzzzzz. And you know you can't go to sleep until you hunt down that little rascal and destroy it! All day they bite, you scratch, they bite. COVERED in ugly red welts all day. The only relief is the river in which we swim...what is melted ice. Its so cold, but then, who cares when it helps against the bugs!
eww sounds gross
eww sounds gross
@Desarose
We have really bad mosquitos too! My brother is allergic to them and he swells up really badly when he gets bitten. It's not severe though. I'm allergic to fire ants. I swell up really bad and then the bite fills with fluid and bursts when I try to scratch it. It's pretty sweet. XD (I'm kidding, it's really annoying.)
ewwww
I will never eat feathers!!!
P.S. This is Caro
If it tastes the same and is just as good for me as chicken, I would eat it. I wouldn't eat this though if it was bad for me in some way. @Desarose, that sounds amazing!!!! Maybe I should just visit there in the winter? I don't know if I could stand summer. Something helpful that I've found for mosquito bites is... Toothpaste!!!! It sounds weird (and you might already know about it ) but if you rub it on the bite then once it dries it really helps! P.S. Can I use your descriptions in my story?
Wow
Thats cool. But can it really be better then a good ol steak?
@Caro
Yeah you can! If you want to that is...And I will try about the toothpaste!
@Addie
Ow.................
@Above
Ok that sounds disgusting. Use the feathers for pillows or something not food.
@Dessie: Have you ever eaten raw whale blubber or something like that? I heard that Eskimos would do that, and I know you are not eskimo but just wondering. And yeah I know what fresh blueberries and raspberries taste like we get to pick them in the summer at our cabin. They are so small, but so delicious and filled with flavor! And the mosquitos....... none where I live but at our cabin they are terrible. And I react pretty bad to them and they really like me, so i can totally sympathize. They are absolutely horrible!!!!
That is disgusting
That is disgusting. I don’t ever want to eat that