The Unbearable Whiteness of Industrial Chickens

Care, Commodification, and Varietal Politics in Vietnam

Bibliographic Data

ID24212907
AuthorsSango Mahanty (0000-0003-0382-5879, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University), Cầm Hoàng (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences)
Year2026
Pages1-22
Publication date2026-10-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00472336.2026.2736838
OpenAlexW7220400263
LanguageEN
References cited29

Drawing on research in Northern Vietnam, this article examines the interplay between the significant social and cultural role of chickens and a relatively recent boom in industrial chicken meat production. Based on feminist understandings of social reproduction and care, the article finds that the chicken as a species is enlisted into diverse forms of care work within society and the supernatural world in ways that contribute to social reproduction. Key to industrial expansion has been the introduction of new high-yield broiler chicken breeds. The ubiquitous white broiler that is used in the chicken meat industry has become emblematic of industrial production, but is considered unsuitable for social exchange and rituals. The white broiler is typically relegated to mass forms of consumption outside of established social relations, while coloured chickens are embraced for household food, ritual, and social exchange. The article examines the continual interplay between commodification and the symbolic/cultural dimensions of inter-species relations, where the colour differentiation that enables the continuation of chicken’s care labour is also being co-opted into novel commodification projects.

Animal welfare · Care · Commodification · Poultry farming · White meat · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Livestock and Poultry Management · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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