National Chicken Council: The Trade Group Behind America's Wing Consumption Data

The National Chicken Council (NCC) is the primary trade association representing the US broiler chicken industry, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Its members include major integrated poultry companies (Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, Koch Foods) that collectively account for the large majority of US chicken production. ## Functions The NCC serves multiple roles: federal lobbying on food safety regulations, labor rules, and trade policy; collecting and publishing production statistics; and industry public relations. It is the authoritative source for US chicken wing consumption data. ## The Super Bowl Wing Forecast The NCC's most visible public-facing output is its annual Super Bowl wing consumption forecast — a figure that has become a cultural touchstone. In 2024, the NCC projected 1.38 billion wings consumed over Super Bowl weekend, up from around 700 million a decade earlier. These numbers are widely cited by media and reflect the structural shift in American chicken consumption. ## Documenting Wing Price Inflation NCC data documents one of the most dramatic food price stories in recent decades: Why Chicken Wings Inflated 7x While General Prices Only Doubled (2005–2025) while general food prices only doubled. Wings went from a low-value byproduct (when whole chickens and breasts dominated) to a premium product driven by the rise of Buffalo wing culture, sports bars, and fast-casual chains. The NCC tracks how this demand shift has restructured the entire broiler supply chain. **See also:** Boneless Wings: The Naming Controversy Over Breaded Breast Meat Sold as Wings