While the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) has driven meaningful broiler breed reform, further advances require addressing the genetic selection pipeline and scaling welfare improvements globally.
Broiler breed reform through the Better Chicken Commitment represents the most significant structural change in poultry welfare of the past decade. By specifying breed characteristics (maximum growth rate, minimum welfare outcomes) as supply chain requirements, major retailers have created market pressure on genetics companies to develop and certify breeds with better welfare characteristics. The next step is scaling this progress globally and deepening the welfare requirements. The genetics companies themselves are beginning to include welfare traits in selection indices - leg health, cardiovascular fitness, and foraging activity - which creates the possibility of continued improvement within the commercial breeding system rather than relying only on external mandates.