Five Companies Join Chicken Commitment • Albert Schweitzer Foundation

Press release

The Albert Schweitzer Foundation is delighted to welcome five new sign-ups to the European Chicken Commitment. Gastro Consulting and the caterers for the universities of Karlsruhe, Augsburg and Siegen will in the future use only meat from chickens kept in accordance with the initiative’s animal welfare criteria. The wholesaler Chefs Culinar will also be further expanding its current range of products that meet these criteria.

Through their voluntary commitments, the members of the initiative together establish a minimum standard in the chicken fattening industry that is considerably higher than the legal minimum and counters some of the most serious animal welfare issues.

Mahi Klosterhalfen, President of the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, is delighted to have these new partners in the Chicken Commitment on board: »The number of supporters of our initiative is growing exponentially. Since the legal conditions still mean that chickens are subjected to great suffering ‘by default,’ voluntary commitments from a range of players in the food, retail and gastronomic sector are crucial for ensuring that animals are treated with more respect. Chefs Culinar, Gastro Consulting and the caterers for the universities of Karlsruhe, Augsburg and Siegen are making a vital contribution toward achieving this.«

European Chicken Commitment: new minimum standard to combat torture breeding

The European Chicken Commitment was launched by the Albert Schweitzer Foundation along with 29 other animal rights organizations and is aimed primarily at combating torture breeding. The chickens normally selected for fattening grow so quickly and to such a huge size that their bones and organs are incapable of supporting them. The initiative also aims to ban the practice of hanging birds upside down for stunning before they are killed. Further criteria regulate the stocking density and configuration of the stalls.

The three university caterers and Gastro Consulting are aiming to implement the standards throughout their entire offering and in all their establishments by 2026 at the latest. Compliance with the relevant criteria will be monitored by an independent third party. Chefs Culinar already carries products that meet the relevant standards and is looking to increasingly gear its range toward these criteria in the future.

The more than 400 companies from Europe and the USA that have undertaken to raise their animal welfare standards in accordance with the criteria of the initiative include major corporations like Nestlé and Unilever, top caterers like Sodexo, manufacturers like Rügenwalder Mühle, restaurant chains like Ikea and Kentucky Fried Chicken and, in the German food retailing industry, the supermarkets and discounter chains Aldi, Norma, Globus and Tegut.

European Chicken Commitment: new minimum standard to combat torture breeding

Links