A Conscious Consumer's Guide to Chicken: Which Retailers Live Up to Their Values on Animal Welfare?

(December 15, 2021 - New York, NY) - The Humane League released a new guide that informs chicken consumers which natural retailers in the United States are committed to improving the welfare of chickens in their supply chains, and which do not. Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Natural Grocers, and Thrive Market are among the natural retailers who have committed to improve the treatment and conditions of chickens raised for meat in their supply chains, in line with the Better Chicken Commitment—just as consumers would expect. The Fresh Market and Fresh Thyme Market fail to have meaningful chicken welfare policies in place.

“Consumers today are becoming more and more aware of how their buying patterns impact the world around us. They want to see companies doing the same,” said David Coman-Hidy, President of The Humane League. “The research shows us that people care about how animals are raised for food. They want to spend their money with brands they can trust. Retailers like The Fresh Market and Fresh Thyme need to keep up with other natural supermarkets, or risk falling behind and deceiving consumers.”

In the last decade, farm animal welfare has gone from a niche issue to a mainstream concern that affects buying patterns. Today’s shoppers are looking for strong animal welfare standards: Research from Walmart showed that 77% of its shoppers were likely to increase their level of trust in a retailer whose policies improved the treatment of animals in their supply chain, and 66% were more likely to purchase their products.

What is the Better Chicken Commitment? The Better Chicken Commitment is a science-based animal welfare policy that addresses all of the worst causes of chicken suffering. As of today, more than 200 major food companies in the United States have already adopted the Better Chicken Commitment. The policy addresses and improves critical health issues related to breeding chickens for fast-growth and high-yield, the amount of space provided per bird, housing conditions, and slaughter practices.

In today’s industrialized food system, chickens raised for meat consumption are housed in filthy, crowded sheds—bred to grow so large and unnaturally fast, they’re unable to hold up the weight of their own bodies. They’re typically slaughtered at just six weeks of age, using the cruel industry standard known as live-shackle slaughter. Using this method, more than half a million birds will be tragically boiled alive in scalding tanks each year. Yet some natural retailers, including The Fresh Market and Fresh Thyme Market, have failed to adopt a meaningful policy to address this cruelty.

The Conscious Consumer Guide can be found here. Find out more about the Better Chicken Commitment here.

About The Humane League The Humane League is a global nonprofit that exists to end the abuse of animals raised for food by influencing the policies of the world’s biggest companies, demanding legislation, and empowering others to take action and leave animals off their plates. Since its founding in 2005, The Humane League has focused on effectively ending the worst abuses in factory farming, securing strong animal welfare commitments from major foodservice providers, restaurants, food manufacturers and hospitality leaders around the world—changing the lives of billions of farm animals suffering everyday.