Modern broiler chickens have been selectively bred for growth rates that cause cardiovascular, skeletal and metabolic problems affecting the majority of birds.
The welfare crisis in fast-growing broiler chickens is literally bred into them. The genetic selection for extreme growth rates has created birds whose bodies cannot sustain normal function — walking, breathing, maintaining cardiac output — for the duration of their short lives. This is not a management problem; it is a breeding problem. Slower-growing breeds that have not been pushed to physiological extremes show dramatically better welfare outcomes across every indicator. Consumer and retailer pressure for slower-growing breeds, backed by the Better Chicken Commitment, is the most direct lever available to address this systemic welfare problem.