KFC has conceded it will not reach its Better Chicken Commitment target to switch to slower-growing breeds by 2026.
The fast food chain said the poultry industry was “not yet in an operational or commercial position to deliver the BCC” by then.
KFC promised it would meet all clauses of the commitment in 2019, including implementing a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m2, meeting improved environmental standards, and adopting slower-growing breeds such as the Rambler Ranger, Ranger Classic, and Ranger Gold.
In an interview with The Grocer last year, KFC UK&I general manager Meghan Farren said the chain had signed up to the commitment because it was more achievable than taking its entire supply chain free-range.
Farren highlighted how KFC was in a unique position as the buyer of just 4% of British chicken, compared with retailers who would have to face a much higher cost for the switch.
However, the company has now concluded that the highly publicised switch would be set against an “unachievable timescale”, as KFC UK&I head of sustainability Ruth Edge told the Egg & Poultry Industry Conference last week.
“We’re not saying we’re never going to, but we’re saying for 2026 and the way the market has developed, or lack of, we’re not going to be able to do it,” said Edge.
KFC Europe chief supply chain officer Rudi Van Schoor told The Grocer: “The reality is, at the moment, the UK poultry industry is not yet in an operational or commercial position to deliver the Better Chicken Commitment by 2026.
”But we remain committed to the Better Chicken Commitment framework – we signed up in good faith and with the best intentions, and have worked hard with our chicken suppliers to deliver year on year improvements in key welfare outcomes, being completely transparent about progress.”
“When we signed up in 2019, we did so to support the direction of travel and to agitate for change in the wider industry. We were very clear that we could only meet all of the asks in the Commitment if the wider poultry sector moved, as we make up less than 3% of the total UK chicken market.”
Animal protection charity The Humane League UK has called for a protest at KFC’s headquarters in Woking next week.
The charity is calling on KFC to publish a new timeline for the pledge.
“We were over the moon when KFC announced they’d help their birds in 2019”, said THL head of programs Katie Ferneyhough.
“Indeed, KFC has benefited from publicity and praise because of this decision. Now they say they will not stop using Frankenchickens by 2026.
“That means tens of millions of chickens in their supply chain growing too big, too quickly; often lying in their own waste, which burns them, and experiencing severe lameness and inflamed joints, rendering them unable to walk.
“The use of Frankenchickens is the biggest animal welfare crisis of our time, and we will not tolerate companies breaking their promises to animals. We will not rest until KFC comes to the table and sets out a new timeline for adopting the BCC; next week’s protest is just the start of that work.”
KFC maintained it would “continue to work” towards reducing stocking density and allowing chickens more space.
“We are continuing to work on our roadmap in partnership with Compassion in World Farming, which includes reducing stocking density to 30kg per square metre for all UK purchased chicken,” said Van Schoor. “And alongside all our partners and peers across the industry, we will be doing everything we can to play our part and provoke meaningful change in the UK market.”
Earlier this year, Compassion in World Farming said more retailers would have to sign up to the BCC to raise standards. To date, only two retailers have signed up: M&S, which is already compliant, and Waitrose, which expects to meet the target in 2026.
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