Campaigners, including Chris Packham, claim that breeding for 'Frankenchickens' is unnatural and leads to serious deformities with health. Photo: Vuk Walcic/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
This week, Supreme Court judges are being asked to decide whether to ban the so-called «Frankencourts,» birds bred for supermarkets that have been selectively bred to grow faster and larger.
The lawsuit, brought by the Humane League campaign group, has reached the UK's highest court, arguing that farming practices should be outlawed for the sake of the welfare of chickens. 12 weeks is faster and can be twice as long as a typical bird raised on a farm 50 years ago. They can go from egg to slaughter in as little as 35 days.
Selective breeding has helped ensure the UK has plenty of cheap chicken to serve at dinner tables across the country.
However, campaigners, including broadcaster and environmentalist Chris Packham, argue that the breeding practice is unnatural and causes serious health problems for the animals. Moreover, they claim that all this was done solely for profit.
“Many of these industries are not based on simply feeding people and making a small profit,” the poet. Benjamin Zephaniah, who is backing the lawsuit, told the Independent this week before the High Court. “It brings the maximum profit. And I can't think of another word but greed.»
That's a characterization that poultry farmers would scoff at.
Far from greedy speculation, many farmers say they have difficulty driving ends meet. In fact, the industry is now warning of a potential chicken shortage as soaring prices are forcing many to give up altogether.
'Frankencourts' reach maturity 12 weeks faster and can go from egg to slaughter in 35 days. Credit: FLPA/Alamy Stock Photo
The British Poultry Council said this week that the industry has reached a «breaking point». Many growers say they lose money on every bird they raise.
CEO Richard Griffiths said this week: “The drive to make food available in exceptional market conditions where production costs are not being recouped. makes the poultry business unviable through the market.”
Whatever the outcome of the High Court case, supermarket chicken has a difficult future ahead of it. Traditional Sunday roast poultry will become even more expensive and harder to keep.
Farmers are believed to have reduced their herds by about 10 percent since mid-March.
«We cannot afford show yourself the numbers and not make a profit,» explains Griffiths.< /p>
Smaller flocks mean fewer chickens on the shelves and higher prices. A shortage cannot be ruled out as it has been difficult to get eggs in recent months.
“I would say that we are now in the same position as the producers of tomatoes and eggs, since production costs are rising very quickly” , says Griffiths.
Joe Hilditch, who owns Whittern Farms on the Welsh border in Herefordshire and has been in the sector for 30 years, says: for this industry».
There are no «Frankencourts» here. On her farms, well-being comes first.
"My managers are mostly ranchers who are passionate about caring for chickens, albeit of a relatively short life."
< p>Them however, the economics of poultry care is currently not adding up. Hilditch doesn't make money from their work.
Supermarkets say they work in partnership with their suppliers, «but they don't,» says Hilditch.
Farmers' costs haven't been rolled over yet
Big grocers are fighting to limit the rise in chicken prices, betting that even selling poultry at a small loss will get shoppers through the door where they can spend more.
According to Assosia, prices for fresh chicken meat rose less than 14% from May last year, while the typical grocery basket as a whole grew by 17%.
On the Hilditch farm, costs have risen. by 40% on average over the last year. Electricity bills have gone up, farm equipment fuel has gone up, and feed prices have gone up too. Even the cost of cleaning paddocks and farmhouses has skyrocketed, jumping by a whopping 60%.
Hilditch says many farmers will not survive unless supermarkets give in and start paying higher prices.
Currently, about two-thirds of the chicken meat consumed in the UK is farmed in that country.
However, Griffiths of the British Poultry Council says more chickens are now being imported from Spain, driving down the price for British farmers.
«It's a false economy to rely on imported food because we'll be at the whim of whoever sends it to us.» he says.
“If we reduce our domestic production, then of course these imports will become more expensive because there is no competition.”
The British Poultry Council wants the government to use its purchasing power to develop the industry by making a commitment to only serve home-grown meat to government services such as the NHS. From 5 to 10 percent of food products go through public procurement.
“This could really be an opportunity for the government to show that it stands with the British,” says Griffiths. “This is not about handouts, subsidies or grants. It's about a fair price.»
Campaigners want farming practices outlawed to protect welfare chickens. Photo: Danny Halpin/PA Wire.
Westminster's attention is currently focused on the high-profile Battle of the Frankenchiken.
Lawyers for Environment Minister Teresa Coffey said this week that there is «no scientific consensus that fast-growing meat chickens have a genetic make-up that means they cannot be kept without compromising their welfare.»
They added. that the government «didn't have a 'policy' to keep any particular breed of chicken.»
Farmers will be keeping a close eye on this case. Forcing the government to change the way it practices will guarantee major changes in the industry.
However, many argue that there is an easier way to improve bird welfare: paying more for chickens.
One poultry farmer says: «If the economy doesn't add up, you'll get more people cutting corners and behaving unethically.»
Hildich says: «It all comes down to the consumer just having to pay more for chicken because the costs what we're seeing is just awful.»
With activists fighting in the High Court and farmers trying to make ends meet, the future of Sunday fried chicken is in the air.
Свежие комментарии