Better Chicken Commitment
A toothless ‘commitment’ for broiler chicken welfare. Another empty logo
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People
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Environment
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Animals
Not Verified
What we say
The scheme is all about chicken welfare, and its pretty solid in it’s intentions but the big flag is this from their own FAQs:
“Does my entire supply change need to meet the [..] standards?
No. The Better Chicken Commitment is not a certification or verification program, but instead a public commitment to improving animal welfare”.
The scope is about the bird’s environment – no cages and multi-tiered systems is great – and trying to improve the short lives of the breeds that are selected.
So far there are a bunch of UK suppliers and retailers signed up (including Greggs, Itsu, Pret and M&S) but as its just a ‘public commitment*’ it’s really not worth anything.
Third party auditing is mentioned as something a signatory ‘commits*’ to and on-going reporting is something we’ll be looking into over time – especially as they have Nestle on the ‘committed* companies’… That immediately raises some flags about what ‘commitment*’ actually means in practice.
What they say
Companies signing up for the BCC (in the UK) commit* to 100% of their fresh, frozen and processed chicken will:
- Comply with all EU animal welfare laws
- Implement a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m2 or less. Thinning is discouraged and if practiced must be limited to one thin per flock.
- Adopt breeds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes (there’s a list on their site)
- Meet improved environmental standards
- At least 50 lux of light
- 2 metres of perch space per 1,000 birds
- Air quality levels regardless of stocking density
- No cages or multi-tiered systems
- Atmospheric stunning using gas or multi-phase systems, or electrical – but no live inversion
- Demonstrate compliance via third party auditing and annual public reporting.
*Urgh, this word ‘commit’ means nothing. It’s the same as property developers ‘committing’ to affordable housing and ‘committing’ to renewable energy. They aren’t legally required to do anything and therefore it doesn’t mean diddly.