The US Working Group for Broiler Welfare

The U.S. Working Group for Broiler Welfare brings together purchasers of chicken from different industries to better understand and seek to facilitate the shift in supply chain logistics necessary to meet the Better Chicken Commitment criteria.

Members

In recognition of the collaboration needed to improve broiler chicken welfare, sixteen leading food, and restaurant companies – Applegate, Aramark, Compass Group, Earth Animal, Giant Eagle, HelloFresh US, Martha Stewart & Marley Spoon, Natural Grocers, Nestlé USA, Panera Bread, Pret a Manger, Sprouts Farmers Market, Shake Shack, Sodexo, Target, and Whole Foods – have come together to form the US Working Group for Broiler Welfare. The Working Group operationalizes discussions fostered through Compassion in World Farming’s work with individual companies and its annual Better Chicken Leadership Forum, which has brought together over 50 companies to discuss broiler science and welfare strategy.

Testimonials

Natural Grocers is thrilled to join the US Working Group for Broiler Welfare and we look forward to creating solutions that support healthy birds, thriving farms as well as invigorated rural economies and communities.

Christie Zimmerman, Product Standards Manager - Food, Natural Grocers

Testimonials

Bringing restaurant leaders together in the Working Group helps us collaborate and innovate across all parts of this important transition—from impacts on farmers to measurement of animal care. These discussions help us as we continually strive to provide responsibly raised proteins.

Sara Burnett, VP of Food Values, Sustainability and Public Affairs, Panera Bread

Testimonials

I am thrilled to be a part of the Working Group as we push to improve broiler chicken welfare across the industry. Shake Shack’s focus on premium ingredients, thoughtful sourcing, and animal welfare has always been core to who we are. We appreciate the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with our peers to better understand barriers and potential solutions for accelerating improvements more broadly.

Jeffrey Amoscato, SVP Supply Chain & Menu Innovation, Shake Shack

Testimonials

As this Working Group aligns with Sodexo’s global animal welfare position, we embrace the opportunity to work collectively to improve broiler chicken welfare and foster better engagement with the industry as a whole.

Judy Panayos, Senior Director Sustainability, Supply Management, Sodexo

Testimonials

At Whole Foods Market, we’ve long maintained rigorous Quality Standards across our Meat Department and take the issue of broiler chicken welfare seriously. We sincerely appreciate the important work of Compassion in World Farming and we’re excited to join the Working Group to share what we’ve learned about raising the bar for broiler welfare and to join with others in pushing for systemic change.

Karen Christensen, SVP of Merchandising for Perishables, Whole Foods Market

Purpose

Facilitated by Compassion and Blue House Sustainability Consulting, the Working Group aims to support members in exploring workable strategies and creative solutions for transitioning supply chains through the lens of the Better Chicken Commitment, which outlines baseline standards for the following key welfare components:

Breed selection
Space allocation
Environmental enrichments
Slaughter method
Third-party auditing

Over 200 US brands have committed to improving welfare standards in alignment with the Better Chicken Commitment. The learnings from this Working Group will be a resource for these companies, enabling them to progress towards their commitments to meaningfully improve the welfare of the broiler chickens in their supply chains.

Blue House Sustainability Consulting is led by Mindy Gomes Casseres, an expert with more than 20 years of experience in helping global Fortune 500 companies craft leading sustainability strategies and communications.