On last night's episode of Kid Nation, the pint-sized utopia-builders of CBS Bonanza City learned the sobering lesson that among the dozens of off-camera adults retained by the network so that their bold social experiment didn't quickly devolve into a prepubescent Jonestown (watch out for that Michael kid—the way that he can make the entire Nation applaud his every utterance is disquieting), not a single one was there to slaughter their chickens for them, requiring that at least one grade-schooler was going to get a crash course in the art of poultry butchering.

After a brief protest instigated by a PETA-supplied mole fizzled, the kids got to a-choppin', and delicious, protein-rich chicken dinners were consumed. But most crucially, the producers have cleverly prepared their TV audience for the shocking community beheadings they've planned for sweeps.