Soon there will be no more factory-farmed chickens in the supermarket!
By the end of 2023 (which seems far away, but be honest, had you already realised that 2022 will be here in four and a half months??), the time will have come: there will be no more factory-farmed chickens in supermarkets…
All fresh chicken sold from that point onwards will carry at least one Better Life star. The last supermarket to make that commitment has now also come on board.
Long chain
Supermarket chain Boni was the last in the long line of Dutch supermarkets to join the pledge. According to director Frank Klören, this is only happening now because they have only recently received confirmation from their supplier that it can also fulfil the commitment.
Small steps
According to some, the one-star certification, which the Wakker Dier foundation has fought hard to get all supermarkets and their suppliers to comply with, also has a few points to consider. The longer a chicken lives and the more outdoor space it gets—which are naturally positive aspects in terms of animal welfare—the higher the CO2 emissions, water consumption and manure production. Complicated trade-offs, then (although much less complicated if you simply eat less of it), but for now Wakker Dier is already pleased that the sale of chickens they call ‘flop chickens’ will soon no longer be acceptable either. These are chickens currently on the shelves as an ‘improvement’ on the old factory-farmed chickens, but they still do not earn a star in the Better Life certification of the Dierenbescherming.
Incidentally, frozen chicken products in supermarkets and a large proportion of the chicken sold by many wholesalers to restaurants, poultry shops and butcher shops are still outside this certification scheme. Hopefully that will be a next step! Until then, it is always helpful when a restaurant or café is transparent about ‘the status’ of its chicken or where it comes from, so consumers can weigh up their own choices.
Also read:
- Lidl sells the happiest eggs in the Netherlands
- Should you wash a chicken before preparing it?
- These are the tastiest veggie chicken nuggets you’ll ever try
Sources: Nu.nl, NOS
