The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) promises to improve animal welfare standards, but independent research suggests that it comes at a significant cost to consumers and the planet, in the form of higher prices and an increased environmental footprint. British consumers say they are concerned above all about the cost of food, but they also want assurances on animal welfare and the sustainability of food production. All three are possible thanks to innovations in genetic science, as well as advances in poultry housing, environmental and monitoring technologies. Rather than making excuses for reneging on its BCC pledge, this is what KFC and other restaurant chains and retailers should be telling their customers. The application of science and innovation can support access to healthy, affordable supplies of their favourite poultry meat with an assurance that both animal welfare and sustainable production can be safeguarded and improved, argue livestock geneticist Professor Helen Sang and SSA co-ordinator Daniel Pearsall.

 

Fast food chain KFC was recently lambasted by animal welfare groups for reneging on its 2019 pledge to switch to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) by 2024.

 

The Better Chicken Commitment programme seeks to improve bird welfare by setting additional requirements for broiler chicken production, such as lower stocking densities and the adoption of slower-growing breeds.

For its part, KFC makes clear that it hasn’t dropped the BCC pledge altogether, but says the industry ‘isn’t ready’ to make the changeover, blaming the fact that retailers en masse haven't moved towards the adoption of slower-growing birds.

However, like the retailers, in reaching this decision KFC may have had one eye on the environmental performance and reporting requirements it is also expected to comply with, in particular Scope 3 emissions.

 

And bosses at KFC may also have been weighing up the financial impacts of making the BCC switch in such a highly competitive and price-sensitive marketplace.

That’s because implementing the requirements of the Better Chicken Commitment has been shown to incur significantly higher production costs, and to result in increased environmental impacts.

Earlier this year, UK consultants ADAS produced an impact assessment report quantifying the additional costs and likely implications of BCC requirements, or their equivalent at an EU level, on chicken production.

 

For each kilogram of poultry meat produced, ADAS concluded that the adoption of BCC requirements would result in:

 

• additional production costs of 37.5%

• a 35.4% increase in water consumption

• a 35.5% increase in feed consumption

• a 24.4% rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

 

ADAS also estimated that a switch to BCC would lead to a 44% reduction in total meat produced compared to standard production methods, requiring significant investment in new poultry production units to maintain current production levels.

 

The ADAS report adds that the cumulative effects on both production costs and volume would inevitably lead to higher retail prices, potentially excluding a large proportion of consumers from buying chicken meat, or drastically increasing imports from third countries not adhering to the same production standards.

 

This should be ringing alarm bells among policymakers, because poultry makes up half the meat consumed in Britain today, and food affordability is a serious issue of concern.

 

A recent IPSOS survey conducted on behalf of the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) found that one in four people in Britain are ‘food insecure’, which means having limited or uncertain access to adequate food.

 

Indeed, the price of food is the number one issue influencing consumer purchasing decisions, according to the FSA’s Consumer Insights Tracker, which monitors the behaviour and attitudes of consumers aged 16+ in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in relation to food.

 

According to the most recent edition of the Consumer Insights Tracker, covering July-September 2024, food prices ranked highest among consumers’ concerns, by some considerable margin (see chart below).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​Source: Food Standards Agency

​​

The same chart also reveals that while consumers cite animal welfare in the food industry as a major issue of importance to them, they are equally concerned about the sustainability of food production, covering environmental issues such as greenhouse emissions and sustainable use of natural resources.

 

So, consumers are concerned above all about food prices and affordability, but they also want assurances on animal welfare and sustainable, climate-friendly production.

 

And thanks to the innovations taking place in modern broiler breeding, all three can be achieved.

 

A recent peer-reviewed paper charts the history of commercial poultry breeding, from early domestication to the development of commercial breeding strategies. It describes the development of breeding goals over time, from mainly focusing on production-related traits to a much broader range of characteristics, including bird welfare and health, robustness, environmental impact, biological efficiency and reproduction.

 

Current breeding goals include welfare-related traits such as foot and leg health, contact dermatitis, gait, cardiovascular health, and robustness.  The paper also details how breeding innovations such as genomic selection and gut health research are supporting a more balanced, holistic approach to breeding which supports the production of affordable, lean animal protein needed to feed people, with a focus on delivering continuous improvements in bird health and welfare.

 

Thanks to breeding advances, it is also estimated that today’s broiler has a 55% lower carbon footprint than the equivalent bird in the 1970s, and that a further 10% reduction will be achieved as a result of improved genetics. On a global basis, this equates to some 13 million tonnes less carbon emissions each year.

 

So, over the five years since KFC made their pledge to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment, new strains of conventional birds have been developed with improved welfare characteristics such as cardio-vascular function, leg strength and robustness, and whose production leads to reduced environmental impact.  

 

Alongside genetic improvements, continuous innovation in housing and environmental technologies are helping to reduce the environmental footprint of poultry production still further, while the introduction of advanced imaging and AI technology is allowing producers to track individual birds’ mobility, growth rates and health status, so providing early warning of potential welfare issues.

 

The modern reality is that advances in breeding and livestock production systems are helping to deliver better outcomes for animal health, welfare and the environment, not worse.

 

Rather than making excuses for reneging on its BCC pledge, this is what KFC and other restaurant chains and retailers should be telling their customers.

 

The application of science and innovation can support access to healthy, affordable supplies of their favourite poultry meat with an assurance that both animal welfare and sustainable production can be safeguarded and improved.

 

Retired livestock geneticist Professor Helen Sang OBE FRSE FRSB previously led a research programme at The Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh) on the development and application of genetic technologies in the chicken. This research included applications in basic biological research, in biotechnology and in the potential of developing genetically disease resistant chickens, with funding from Government (mainly UKRI-BBSRC) and industry. She is a member of the Science for Sustainable Agriculture advisory group. 

 

Daniel Pearsall is an independent consultant specialising in communication and policy development in the farming, food chain and agri-science sectors. He runs a small livestock farm in Scotland. He co-ordinates the Science for Sustainable Agriculture initiative.