"KFC" formerly known as "Kentucky Fried Chicken"

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this may be old but it is still unclear to me. or simply put... i want some proof. although i don't usually eat at KFC.

a friend e-mailed me saying that the food chain formerly known as "Kentuky Fried Chicken" change it's name to "KFC" simply because what they used aren't exactly chicken, i repeat... they are not exactly chicken. according to the e-mail, it's "genetic chicken" and the U.S. government (not sure about this) forbid them to use the word "chicken" in any of KFC's merchandise items, advertisements, and even menu. in short they cannot use the word "chicken" because they are not using real chicken.

i heard about this before, several months ago but i didn't really give it any attention. but the issue came back again. how true is this stuff? just a curious question. and no intention of offending anybody who might be connected with KFC in anyway.

 

EU had a similar thing, they weren't going to let Cadburys call their chocolate "chocolate" (had to be called "chocolate substitute" or something...). Mind you, that wasn't cos of manky GM stuff...

 

I think that to sell in Europe most British chocolate has to be called "Family Chocolate", because it has a much higher fat content and lower chocolate content than mainland European chocolate.

 

always thought it was due to the company wanting to distance themselves from (being widely-regarded as) selling only chicken.

:chicken:

 

It tastes like chicken...But then again, so does everything else!

 

Actually, I heard they changed their name to remove 'Fried' from the title, to keep up with the times. They figured they would draw in a more health concious consumer base.

Remember in the late 80's early 90's when McDonalds changed their menu all around and started including things like frozen yogurt and the <cringe> McDLT? Same reason.

 

"Take chicken, for example. Maybe the machines couldn't figure out what chicken tasted like, which is why chicken tastes like everything..."

--The Mouse, in "Matrix"

 

maybe all three words are no longer relevant- in addition to the above points, there may be very little on the menu at present which originated in kentucky?

 

An urban legend surrounding the change was the KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken back then, of course) developed chickens with up to eight legs and extra-large breasts so as to get more meat per chicken. The government decided that those "chickens" could not be labeled as chickens, so the company had to change its name. Of course, urban legends aren't true, but it does stave off eating that chicken patty for lunch. Another rumor was that a psychic predicted changing the name to KFC would bring good fortune. Another one, as previously stated by Damona, was that they wanted the word "Fried" out of the picture. Yet another one was that the state Kentucky had patented the word "Kentucky", so the fast-food company had to change its name. Not sure why they really changed, though.

[This message has been edited by C'Jakob (edited May 27, 2002).]

 

They shoulda changed the name to Kentucky Fried Pigeon. Last time I ate there the pieces of bird I got were sooooo small. Too small even for duck or pheasant, yet bigger than your average sparrow or spotted owl.
I found a place around here that sells Broaster chicken. Still fried but more chicken, less breading and much better taste.