The Good Chicken Award, launched in 2010, celebrates companies that use or are committing to use (within 5 years) higher welfare chicken production systems in their supply chain.

To date more than 253 million meat chickens are set to benefit each year from our award winners’ policies.

Background

Worldwide, a total of around 50 billion chickens are slaughtered annually for meat. This includes around 9 billion in the USA, over 5 billion in the EU-27 and around 850 million in the UK. Globally, over 70% of meat chickens (broilers) are raised in industrial farming systems, including the large majority in the UK, Europe and the USA, and a rapidly increasing proportion in developing countries.

Minimum conditions for the protection of meat chickens are set out in the EU Directive (Council Directive 2007/43/EC). Unfortunately, the Directive still permits high stocking densities and does not make provisions for access to natural light or an enriched environment. The legislation does not protect against ever increasing growth rates or feed restriction (causing chronic hunger) in the parent birds.

Good Chicken Award

The awards programme works by recognising and rewarding producers, manufacturers, food service companies, retailers and public bodies for working in a sustainable and responsible way.

Compassion awards companies whose supply chains address the stocking density, growth rate and the need for environmental enrichment for broiler chickens.

Click here to see all the Good Chicken Award winners.

Find out more

• To find out more about the Good Chicken Award visit the Compassion in Food Business website.
• Together, we can make a real difference to our food and farm animals. Please donate today.