In the United States, over 8 billion chickens are consumed every single year. Yes, that’s right. That’s billion with a “b.” That’s over 21 million chickens every single day of the year. So it goes without saying that it’s a pretty popular food in the lives of many Americans.

However, although chicken is sold in large quantities throughout the year, not every month is equal in chicken sales. Traditionally, September had been a slow month for selling chicken, which is why September was eventually turned into National Chicken Month, a month that encourages more people to buy chicken and prepare it for their families.

The History of National Chicken Month

This month was first created around the turn of the 21st century. It was created by the National Chicken Council to promote chicken sales in the U.S. during this month. Evidently, this plan worked because now September is an extremely busy month for chicken sales.

Facts About Chicken

We are big fans of chicken, so we decided to go ahead and research some facts that people can chew on during National Chicken Month. We think the following chicken facts will be entertaining and educational to anyone taking the time to read them.

• During the 2012 Super Bowl, over 100 million pounds of chicken wings were eaten.
• Every cup of chicken contains 38 grams of protein.
• Half of the total soup sales in the U.S. are Chicken Noodle Soup.
• Scientists believe that chickens were first domesticated approximately 5,400 years ago.
• The invention of Buffalo Wings goes back to 1964 in Buffalo, New York.
• There are more chickens on the planet than there are human beings.
• Chicken became popular during WWII when there were pork and beef shortages.
• Popeye’s Chicken is named after the character Popeye Doyle, played by Gene Hackman in The French Connection.

Observing National Chicken Month

There’s almost an endless number of ways that a person could prepare chicken for this month. Chicken can be fried, baked, broiled, grilled, barbecued, turned into a stew, used to make chicken salad sandwiches, or for a ton of other dishes.

It’s especially good when used in pitas, burritos, and wraps. Some of our favorite chicken recipes include Buffalo Chicken Wraps, Greek Grilled Chicken Pitas, and Chicken Burritos. Yum! Anyone observing this month can also take the time to spread the word about it using the hashtag #NationalChickenMonth.

Let’s introduce other people to some new chicken recipes that they’re going to love and enjoy. After all, chicken is a high-quality protein that doesn’t have a whole lot of fat and contains plenty of B-vitamins. Lean cuts of chicken have a reasonable amount of calories as well, so eating chicken is good for people trying to lose weight.