Transitioning commercial chicken production to slower-growing breeds is the single most impactful welfare improvement available in broiler farming.
Slower-growing breed adoption is the most impactful single welfare intervention available in chicken production. Standard fast-growing breeds have been selected to grow so rapidly that their skeletal, cardiac, and respiratory systems cannot keep pace — resulting in painful lameness, heart failure, and breathing difficulty as predictable, engineered outcomes. Slower-growing birds have the physiological capacity to grow into their bodies without these systemic failures. The welfare improvement is documented, reproducible, and substantial. The primary barrier is cost — and consumer willingness to pay slightly more for chicken that did not suffer predictably. Food company BCC commitments create market pull for this transition, but progress against deadlines has been slow in many markets.