Chicken @#$%

I really shouldn't knock something until I've tried it, but I'm going to anyway. Hey, it's my blog and you don't have to read it. Maybe I'm just a little sensitized after spending days pouring through some new books on eating local, gardening and the slow food movement (of which I am a member) for an article I'm working on.

Cruising through the coupons in the paper this weekend, I stopped on a page with a couple new products from Tyson, the largest processor and marketer of chicken in the country...maybe the world.

The one that caught my eye (and made me spew coffee all over the paper) is something called "any'tizers." And within the "any'tizers" product line, is a product called "Homestyle Chicken Fries."

I'm not kidding. The box of chicken fries shows a picture of what looks like breaded French fries, but instead of potatoes, it's processed chicken meat. Seriously? One serving (seven "fries") is 230 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 25% of your daily sodium intake. But hey, it's 13 grams of protein, or 26% of the recommended daily allowance. That makes me feel better.

Now, if you own Tyson stock (TSN) then good for you. They recently beat their numbers and Jim Cramer of Mad Money is in love with Tyson right now. Making money is good. Probably better for you than eating chicken fries. So, you might want to think about buying the stock, but your health would be better off by picking up a roasted chicken (Tyson still wins either way).