Food service giants pledge to use chickens from reduced stocking densities by 2024

Some farming groups are looking towards the US to lead the charge on broiler welfare as it did on cage-free egg commitments
Some farming groups are looking towards the US to lead the charge on broiler welfare as it did on cage-free egg commitments

Food service giants Compass Group USA and Aramark have pledged to use chickens from reduced stocking densities and with environmental enrichment by 2024.

Following the rush of cage-free egg commitments over the summer, many are hoping this could be the start of the next wave of higher welfare company commitments.

The recent cage-free egg revolution began in the US with McDonald’s and Walmart pledging to only use cage free eggs in their outlets by 2025. This created a domino effect with almost 200 other US companies from across all sectors following their lead, while in the UK pledges from Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Morrison’s, Lidl and Iceland came in rapid succession. In July food service business Sodexo announced a global cage-free commitment for both whole and liquid eggs by 2025, which was followed in September by a similar pledge from their competitor Compass Group.

"The speed with which these announcements were made demonstrates the power of the market when forward thinking brands lead the way and act as a catalyst for change," says Dr Tracey Jones, Director of Food Business, Compassion in World Farming. "We are hoping a similar domino effect will occur now that catering companies Compass and Aramark have made their intentions public about improving the welfare of broilers in the US.

There is already evidence that change is happening in broiler welfare this side of the pond, through national awards. The annual 'Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards', Compassion has recognised companies for their higher welfare standards for broilers through its Good Chicken Award which addresses stocking density, growth rates and the need for environmental enrichment. Of the eight Good Chicken Award winners this year, Compassion recognised Jumbo Supermarkten in the Netherlands for developing their own higher welfare ‘New Standard Chicken’. This standard assures that 100 per cent of all the fresh chicken sold in all its stores comes from slower growing breeds, reared in higher welfare systems with a stocking density of 25kg/m².

The US to lead the charge on broiler welfare

Some farming groups are looking towards the US to lead the charge on broiler welfare as it did on cage-free egg commitments. The UK arms of the Compass Group and Aramark might see fit to follow suit and start another wave of higher welfare company commitments across Europe.

"Those producers considering designing new buildings to be ready for the ‘broiler revolution’ should consider the excellent example of the Windstreek system that has been developed in the Netherlands," Dr Tracey Jones said. "This is a new design of broiler house which incorporates multiple features for improved welfare, such as functional spaces for activity and resting, and which has strong sustainability elements, providing excellent air and litter quality, significantly reduced energy use and low Co2 emissions."

"Another benefit of operating a higher welfare system with good stockmanship is the potential to reduce reliance on antibiotics. For example, Italian Co-operative, Valverde, has successfully reared ‘Gran Selezione’ chickens that are clearly labelled as ‘raised without antibiotics’. This has been achieved not through consciously refusing to use antibiotics but due entirely to using robust breeds and developing higher welfare systems with stricter rules than legislation, regarding stocking density, growth rate and environmental enrichment," Dr Jones concluded.