Document type : Article published on the website of Bloomberg
Authors: Leslie Patton, Michael Hirtzer, Amelia Pollard
In the 1920s it took more than three months and almost 12 pounds of feed for a chicken to grow to a sellable size, at the time about 2½ pounds. Today, thanks to cross-breeding and industrial farming methods, breeders can get a 6½-pound bird ready for slaughter in seven weeks, while it consumes a bit less feed. But that increase in efficiency has come at a cost: Most chickens are raised in cramped industrial facilities, they've been bred to have breasts so big that they can barely stand up straight, and the meat can be riddled with unappetizing white strips of fat or develop a hard, wooden texture.
Now an emerging segment of the industry wants to reverse course, raising smaller birds more slowly-with both ethics and eating in mind. These producers say they can strike a better balance of animal welfare, efficiency, and the meat's flavor and tenderness. They eschew the fast-growing genetic trait, selecting animals whose offspring are healthy, with robust immune systems and strong legs for jumping and running outside. And they're looking to ensure the animals achieve happiness in bird terms, meaning the ability to do things like perch, peck, and scratch in the dirt. "Hyperdemand and competitiveness for cheaper meat have driven down the quality of chicken," says Matt Wadiak, founder of Cooks Venture, a company in Arkansas that sells a slower-growing breed of pasture-raised poultry. "The industry is on a runaway train."
These niche producers will struggle to make a meaningful dent in the market. Currently only two breeders - Aviagen Group and Cobb-Vantress, a unit of U.S. giant Tyson Foods Inc. - control the genetics for more than 90% of the 60 billion broilers annually slaughtered for food worldwide. There's a "massive bottleneck" in chicken genetics, says Jack Algiere, farm director at the Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, a research center in New York's Hudson Valley. Breeders developing new lines have to be cautious because "chances are those genetics are patented or have some intellectual property on them," he says. "It's all been consolidated." Aviagen and Cobb-Vantress say they help chicken producers worldwide supply sustainable and affordable protein using methods that ensure the welfare of the birds.
Despite the animal welfare and quality issues with mass-produced chicken, the inexpensive cuts are responsible for a poultry renaissance. In the U.S. it's the most popular meat-ahead of beef and pork-with Americans consuming an average of almost 100 pounds annually, more than triple the level in 1960. In the past year supermarkets and restaurant chains such as KFC, Wingstop, and Bojangles have reported they can't get sufficient supplies.
Although the smaller producers are more expensive-as much as $10 per pound for boneless breasts vs. about $3.50 for mass-market birds-they say demand for their meat is increasing. Since its inception in 2019, Cooks Venture has grown its weekly output to as many as 600,000 chickens from its breed, a cross between a Transylvanian naked neck and Delaware and Peterson lines. Freedom Ranger Hatchery Inc. in Reinholds, Pa. which sells to small farms, has increased production of its heritage breeds by 20% over the past year. D'Artagnan Inc, a company in New Jersey that focuses on Brune Landaise chickens native to France, has seen sales of those birds jump 28%, to 60,000 a week, since the start of the pandemic. "If you pay more for a good chicken, you're going to get a much, much better taste," says owner Ariane Daguin.
Breeding, though, is painstaking and expensive. Perdue Farms Inc, a giant that controls 7% of the U.S. market for chicken meat, has been working on a series of alternative breeds since 2016 but won't say when any of them will be available in stores. Scott Sechler, owner of Bell & Evans, a premium producer in Fredericksburg, Pa. says it's difficult to design a tasty animal that can also live a longer life. The company has invested $75 million in a new slower-growing chicken but hasn't yet developed a bird with meat that's sufficiently tender. "Any older animal has more flavor but gets tougher," he says. "Consumers don't like that."
Yet advocates of a slower approach say tastes are changing, and the Global Animal Partnership, a food-labeling nonprofit that assesses farming methods, is changing along with them. The group, which certifies animal welfare practices that help determine the purchasing of brands such as Applegate Farms, Coleman Natural Foods, and Whole Foods Market's 365, is set to release a revised list of approved breeds that will initially exclude some of the bigger varieties while adding a few new ones. "It might be a little bit smaller piece of chicken on your plate for the same price," says Anne Malleau, the group's executive director. "But it's better for the bird, and we're hoping consumers will see the value in that."
