Better Chicken Commitment

Following Compassion’s in-depth work with Knorr and Global Animal Partnership (GAP) to introduce higher welfare standards for broiler chickens - for which they each received Special Recognition Awards in 2015 and 2016 respectively - nine leading NGO’s in the US (2016) and 30 NGO’s in Europe (2017) came together and agreed a unified ‘corporate ask’ for improved broiler welfare.

The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) in the US and the European Chicken Commitment (ECC) asks for a reduced stocking density (to 30kg/m2, 6llb/ft2), use of approved breeds with proven good welfare outcomes, the provision of natural light, pecking substrates and perches, with humane slaughter methods and third party auditing.

To date, more than 230 US brands have signed up to meet the BCC by 2024 (and the higher welfare breed standard by 2026), and over 380 companies have signed up to meet the ECC criteria by 2026.

Compassion has worked closely with some of the food companies that have pledged to improve their chicken standards. Find out more here.

In the US – Whole Foods Market was the first major food company to sign up to the new requirements for broiler chickens by 2024. Today, major companies across food service, manufacturing, and restaurant sectors have joined the ranks. The growing list of committed companies includes brands like Subway, General Mills, and Popeyes. Read the full listing of US company broiler welfare commitments here.
In Europe – leading brands like KFC, Burger King, Nando's, Domino's, M&S, Unilever, Nestlé, Waitrose, Danone, Elior Group, Sodexo, E, Leclerc, Intermarché and Carrefour have all have signed up to the European Chicken Commitment, promising to achieve their aims by 2026. Read the full listing here.

More than 1 billion broilers are set to positively benefit when these corporate pledges come to fruition, as part of our ongoing food business engagement.