US fast-food brands make little progress towards improving chicken welfare standards
"The Pecking Order 2021" ranked how global fast-food restaurants are performing regarding the well-being of chickens in their global supply chains. In addition to the global ranking, this year, World Animal Protection released several country-specific reports ranking the companies based on their efforts. These reports show the wide differences in welfare commitments by region and the overall failure globally to set and work toward global commitments.
For the US rankings, half of the eight companies observed (KFC, Nando's, Domino's, and Pizza Hut) scored 'very poor'—the bottom rank—meaning consumers may be unknowingly buying meat from chickens that are subjected to unnecessary cruelty. This includes living in cramped and bare environments with no sunlight. Many will suffer from lameness and skin lesions before being killed.
The other half of companies studied (Starbucks, Subway, Burger King, and McDonald's) ranked in the 'making progress' tier. However, no company has risen as a positive example for chicken welfare in the US market.
Currently, an estimated 60 billion chickens around the world each year live in cruel conditions in factory farms. They are given around 40 days to live until they are slaughtered when they are still effectively chicks. During that time, they are genetically tweaked to develop unnaturally fast, which places unnatural pressure on their hearts, lungs, and legs. As a result, they often live their short lives in chronic pain, suffering from lameness, skin lesions, and even heart failure.
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