Science doesn’t support slow-growing broiler movement

There’s more evidence that modern poultry production practices are good for society at large, but will it matter in the long run? In November 2017, German scientific consultancy and research firm HFFA Research GmBH published a comprehensive report evaluating the opportunity cost of moving all poultry production to alternative poultry rearing methods that are “extensive” or “organic.” The study, which analyzed the potential impacts in the European Union and Germany, defined extensive methods as those that: use slow-growing poultry breeds, render less efficient feed conversion than conventional practices and require more space per head. Organic poultry is defined as meeting the EU’s minimum requirements for organic production and labeling.