The broiler chicken industry is under growing pressure to adopt higher welfare standards. The Better Chicken Commitment represents the most significant coordinated welfare reform effort in the sector.
The welfare of fast-growing commercial broilers is systematically compromised by genetics selected for extreme growth rate. Skeletal deformities, painful leg disorders, heart failure (Sudden Death Syndrome), and respiratory distress are endemic at commercial scale — not rare exceptions. A chicken unable to walk normally cannot reach food and water, causing hunger, thirst, and social exclusion in addition to the primary pain. The BCC, which requires adoption of slower-growing breeds like Hubbard JA87 or ROSS 308 AP alongside environmental improvements, has strong evidence of welfare benefit. Full implementation across the food industry would reduce suffering for billions of individual animals annually. Consumer and investor pressure on food companies to honour BCC commitments is an important lever for change.