Yesterday I purchased a package of chicken breast halves (among other things) to do some dishes that Steve needed to photograph for a client. I have been complaining for months about the humongous size of commercially-raised chickens, but these breasts took the cake. I yelled for Steve to come to the kitchen with his camera. I got the yardstick and placed it just above the first breast half I had pulled from the package. You can see just how gigantic it is. I would say it is almost the size that a turkey breast was when I was a child (granted, that was a long time ago, but….). I was almost stuck dumb! I can only hope that my posting this photo will further raise concern about the use of growth hormones and whatever else is being done to raise chickens of such magnitude. These just can’t be good for us. I know organic, locally- and humanely-raised birds are expensive, but either we start eating them or whatever they are doing to commercially-raised birds is going to start to eat us!
judithchoate.com 
Hi Judie,
I had known about your vast and impressive cookbook repertoire, but I just stumbled across your blog while exploring for new culinary resources. While here, I noticed this post. I wanted to let you know that no chickens raised in the U.S. are given growth hormones or steroids – ever. It is prohibited by federal law. Americans prefer white meat, unlike the rest of the world, so chickens have been bred to maximize it. To put it another way, breeders have found over the years the right hens and roosters to put together.
I’d be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
-Tom Super
National Chicken Council
tsuper@chickenusa.org
Tom – Nice to hear from you and glad to be assured that our chicks get no growth hormones or steroids – but please tell us what they do to plump up these birds. Has to be more than fat hens and big boy roosters getting together – in fact, do they ever really “get together” anymore? I really do appreciate your comments and the fact that you found my ramblings and glad to know that you are familiar with my cookbook repertoire. Let’s keep up our correspondence – you might like a post I did on tiny chickens somewhere last year.
Thanks from all of us,
Judie, the two Steves, and Loupe Digital