KFC is to become the first UK fast-food chain to sign up to new European welfare requirements for farmed chickens. This is an attempt to address growing concerns about inhumane conditions in the extensive and huge-scale production of meat.
The passing of the America-owned chain—18 months after the blueprint was unveiled—will pressure competitors McDonald’s and Burger King and big supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s to observe health.
Supermarkets, restaurant chains, and organizations have all been advised to commit to the European Chicken Commitment. This represents the first time a single set of necessities has been agreed on across the continent by a massive coalition of European animal safety companies, including the RSPCA.
KFC’s UK and Ireland business said it will work closely with suppliers and NGOs to raise the minimum welfare standard throughout the enterprise by 2026. This move will cover its sourcing of poultry within the UK and Europe, which make up the significant majority of its materials, although it also buys a small quantity of poultry from Thailand and Brazil.
The new requirements include stricter auditing techniques, reducing stocking density to offer birds more space in barns, and investing in environmental “enrichment”, supplying perches, pecking objects such as straw and greens, and natural daylight hours.
In arguably the largest step to help scale down some of the cruelest components of the business, which sees rapid-grown, overbred birds collapsing under their own weight, the new trend stipulates a pledge to buy slower-growing breeds.
In the United Kingdom, income from red meat has fallen in recent years, but income from bird meat—seen as “healthy” meat—has risen.
KFC’s Imposter Burger—a vegan patty made from Quorn meant to replicate fowl—was available for a month in the limited range of outlets stocking it.
Although KFC is the largest rapid meals bird chain in the UK—using a predicted 60 million chickens every year in its 900-plus stores—its UK and Ireland income accounts for only 4% of overall fowl income in the UK, with the lion’s percentage coming from supermarkets.
Paula MacKenzie, the general supervisor of KFC UK & Ireland, stated: “Our customers care about improving the lives of the birds we purchase. That’s why we’re adding our voice to the campaign and inspiring others to do the same—to inspire actual change and initiate meaningful action; we want the enterprise to travel with us.”
The Humane League has been lobbying for McDonald’s – which uses massive volumes of chook in its nuggets and burgers – to sign up for the dedication, too. It deals with Director Vicky Bond, who stated: “We welcome KFC’s pas. However, it highlights simply what a laggard McDonald’s is. This will benefit hundreds of thousands of chickens every 12 months during their supply chain. We implore the rest of this region and other food companies to comply in their footsteps.”A McDonald’s spokesperson said the company had a personal scheme to enhance the welfare and health of chickens in its supply chain and had set up a council of professionals to advise. As the disaster escalates…
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