Stakeholder views on a UK transition to production of chicken meat using slower-growing broiler chickens

Siobhan Maya Abeyesinghe ^* Imogen Stanley Christine Janet Nicol Jacqueline M Cardwell

• Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London, United Kingdom

Longstanding concerns about the welfare of conventional broiler chickens used to produce chicken meat have led to commitments by 104 retailers, restaurants and food service providers in the UK, that by 2026 their poultry products will meet the requirements for the ‘Better Chicken Commitment’ (BCC), including production using slower-growing strains that demonstrate improved welfare outcomes. However, wide-scale transition to production using these strains has not occurred in the UK. To explore reasons underpinning this limited movement and potential solutions, semi-structured interviews with representatives (n=30) of the UK poultry industry, retailers, assurance schemes, animal welfare organisations and animal welfare scientists were conducted. The main identified barriers were increased economic and environmental costs of production using slower-growing strains which would produce less meat per unit area, coupled with uncertainties about consumer appetite and willingness to pay for these welfare improvements. Stakeholders differed in their focus during discussions. Retailer and industry representatives emphasised current consumer demand, provision of affordable food and minimising carbon footprint in alignment with legislated commitments and UK government prioritisations. Animal welfare organisations, assurance schemes and scientists discussed sustainability more holistically, alongside the need for transformative change in the food system and consumer behaviour for a sustainable future encompassing improvements in broiler welfare. Suggested solutions encompassed ways to minimise economic and environmental costs, better aligning consumer purchasing with preferences through improved clarity in labelling and marketing, and alternative strategies for improving broiler welfare. However, stakeholders diverged on perceived feasibility, relevance and effectiveness of these solutions. Insufficient relevant and comprehensive data on economic, environmental and social elements of sustainability, integrating animal welfare, currently undermine decisions on the best way forward. If UK broiler welfare improvements are to be market-driven, robust contextually-relevant evidence is needed to evaluate these trade-offs for all strategies, and risk-mitigations, to achieve welfare improvement whilst balancing sustainability goals.