Multiple tiered welfare certification systems exist for broiler chicken production, offering consumers a pathway to choose higher-welfare products while creating market incentives for producer improvement.
Broiler welfare certification represents one of the most effective market mechanisms for improving farmed animal welfare outcomes at scale. When major food companies commit to sourcing only certified higher-welfare chicken, the market signal reaches millions of individual birds through producer supply chain changes. The Better Chicken Commitment in particular has been carefully designed by animal welfare scientists to require changes with demonstrated welfare impact: slower-growing breeds address the fundamental problem of growth-rate-driven pathology; lower stocking densities reduce crowding stress and injury; enrichment allows behavioral expression; and controlled atmosphere stunning eliminates the cruelty of live shackling. Consumers choosing certified products and advocacy organizations pressuring companies to make and fulfill commitments are both essential components of this welfare improvement mechanism.