How selective breeding for rapid growth has created severe welfare problems in modern broiler chickens, and what breed welfare reform looks like.
Modern broiler genetics represent arguably the most widespread and severe welfare problem in the entire food system. The birds produced by the most common commercial breeds are in a state of chronic physical compromise from the day they hatch — unable to walk normally, vulnerable to skeletal collapse and organ failure, and growing so fast that their bodies cannot sustain the process without significant suffering. The good news is that the solution is known and commercially available: slower-growing breeds with better welfare outcomes exist, are increasingly adopted by retailers and food companies, and cost only slightly more per kilogram to produce. Breed reform is the highest-impact single intervention available for broiler chicken welfare.