1.25 bln chicken wings to be eaten during US Super Bowl

1.25 billion wings will be eaten during Super Bowl XLIX, as fans watch the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots battle for the Lombardi Trophy, matching the record tied last year, according to the National Chicken Council’s 2015 Wing Report.

In terms of weight, 1.25 billion wings would weigh 5,955 times more than the weights of the Seahawks and Patriots entire 52-man rosters combined.

“Although the total amount of pounds of chicken produced last year rose by about 1.8%, the total number of chickens processed was virtually the same in 2014 as is was in 2013,” noted National Chicken Council vice president of communications Tom Super. “A chicken only has two wings; therefore, the supply of wings is limited by the total number of chickens produced.”

The average price (wholesale, not retail) of whole wings is currently $1.71/lb, up from $1.35/lb at the same time last year, according to the Daily Northeast Broiler/Fryer Report by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service. This is down significantly from when wing prices hit a record high of $2.11/lb in January, 2013.

Wing prices traditionally go up in the fourth quarter of the year as restaurants and supermarkets stock up for the Super Bowl, and prices usually peak in January during the run-up to the big game.

The data shows that more than four in five US adults (81%) eat chicken wings, holding steady from last year. More than half (56%) of US adults who eat chicken wings say they typically like to eat their wings with ranch dressing, according to a new National Chicken Council poll conducted online in January 2015 by Harris Poll.