Eight businesses from across the hospitality industry have announced they are withdrawing from the Better Chicken Commitment to launch their own initiative.
A group of leading hospitality businesses, which own or franchise 18 brands including Nando’s, Burger King and KFC, have announced that they are stepping away from the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) to launch a new initiative, the Sustainable Chicken Forum. They have stated that the forum has been designed to “advance chicken welfare while balancing environmental sustainability, carbon reduction and supply pressures”.
A collective commitment
The group is made up of eight businesses, including BKUK Group Limited (Burger King UK), Yum! Brands (KFC UK & Ireland, Pizza Hut UK, Taco Bell UK), Nando’s UK & IRE, and The Big Table Group (Banana Tree, Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, Frankie & Benny’s). According to the group, the SFC represents a “collective commitment” to take a more “holistic view” of chicken production, with welfare, environmental impact and food security being addressed together.
The SFC will have the following areas of focus:
- Advancing chicken welfare across each business’s supply chain, led by science-based welfare outcomes.
- Using reporting mechanisms to demonstrate progress across the hospitality sector.
- Championing continuous improvements in chicken welfare.
- Exploring opportunities for further research into the challenges facing the poultry sector in balancing welfare improvements with environmental impact and consistent supply.
- Engaging in policy development that supports the British supply to grow as part of the European and global poultry supply chain. In the UK, advocating for a joined-up approach to poultry policy that overcomes restrictive planning rules and aligns animal welfare and farming priorities.
In a statement, the group said that the move comes following businesses making “significant progress” against the BCC welfare framework, and added that the businesses no longer believe that the BCC is the right framework to “drive the next phase of progress on welfare” due to its requirement to source only slower growing breeds, which, it said, ignores the knock-on effect of these breeds for the poultry supply chain.
“The choices and the decisions that the organisations in the chicken supply chain need to make are not straightforward.”
Dr Louise Manning, agri-food supply chain expert, commented: “The choices and the decisions that the organisations in the chicken supply chain need to make are not straightforward. In a difficult time for ensuring a secure, affordable and consistent food supply, minimising the impact of UK production on the environment and ensuring continued employment where alternative opportunities are limited, means evidence-based leadership of the sector is required
The move has prompted criticism from some welfare groups, including the RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming, which called the step back from the BCC “deeply disappointing”.
Welfare and sustainability
National Farmers’ Union Poultry Board chair Will Raw stated: “Animal welfare is a key priority for poultry producers and here in the UK we have some of the highest welfare standards in the world.
“As a sector, we are always striving for improvement and welcome collaboration across the supply chain in doing so. It’s vital that any changes to standards are underpinned by scientific evidence and developed in partnership with poultry producers to ensure there is a demonstrable benefit to bird welfare.”
British Poultry Council (BPC) chief executive Richard Griffiths commented: “The announcement of a Sustainable Chicken Forum is most welcome. Not only does it recognise that sustainability must be grounded in practical delivery, but it also reflects a growing consensus that frameworks must be workable if they are to endure.
“British poultry meat businesses are balancing welfare, environmental stewardship, and food security at a time of huge uncertainty, rising production costs, and planning barriers. If we want to move faster and go further, we need to support investment; not layer on costs and expectations that make progress impossible.
“Industry has proven time and again that when solutions are developed in partnership with those who have to deliver them, progress follows. Whether it be on a welfare footing or an environmental one, sustainability cannot be declared into existence; it has to be built on foundations that last.”
