Shane explores the surprising science and unexpected histories of “The Replacements”: five animal and plant species that made allies of humans and grew to dominate the planet alongside us. One species illustrates the promise and the peril of The Replacements best of all. The chicken is the most abundant bird on the planet.
Globally, humans produce two thousand chickens per second, mostly for their inexpensive, tasty meat. But today, food-tech startups are starting to grow meat in laboratories – no birds needed – revealing how fragile our alliances with The Replacements can be. When a species becomes a commodity, The Replacements can become The Replaced. Since nothing signals our love for poultry more than a wing-eating competition, the filming for this entire series was launched right here at our local Dirty Birds Ocean Beach.
The next episode of #HumanFootprintPBS airs Wed, July 26 at 9/8c on @PBS! You can stream #HumanFootprintPBS now on the PBS App!
