Panera Bread has announced its intention to initiate an industry-wide effort to improve the welfare of broiler chickens by 2024. The chain states that its intention is to lead the industry to align its broiler chicken policy with the Global Animal Partnership’s Broiler Chicken Standard.
“Going forward, we will work with animal welfare experts, growers, suppliers, competitors and other market participants to identify cost-effective solutions for our industry,” the company said in a statement “With help of other market participants, we hope to achieve the following across the restaurant industry by 2024: Use new broiler breeds recognized as having higher welfare outcomes; provide birds more space (reduced stocking density); offer improved environments, including litter, lighting and enrichment; [and] ensure birds are rendered unconscious using multi-step controlled atmospheric stunning.”