Whole Foods’ broken promise? Meat from Frankenchickens still on shelves despite animal welfare pledge

Frankenchicken meat remains on shelves despite Whole Foods’ 2016 animal welfare pledge.

LOS ANGELES (September 25, 2024)— Mercy For Animals’ third annual corporate accountability report focused on the welfare of chickens raised for meat, released on Sept. 25, reveals that several leading food companies — including Natural Grocers, Aramark and Compass Group — are demonstrating progress toward meeting their public commitments to higher animal welfare through the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). But some industry giants — such as Whole Foods, Starbucks, Subway and Chipotle — have failed to be transparent about their plans to end the use of “Frankenchickens” and improve chicken welfare.

Whole Foods is known for ethical product sourcing, yet the company continues to sell meat from chickens who often suffer from growth-related diseases despite pledging to prohibit the use of Frankenchickens by the end of 2024.

Mercy For Animals’ “Frankenchickens Report” ranks companies according to their progress toward fulfilling their chicken welfare commitments and their transparency regarding sourcing practices. The companies assessed in the report have all committed to reducing suffering for chickens in their supply chains by adopting BCC standards that address the worst practices and problems affecting chickens raised for meat: 

• Frankenchickens: Most of the nearly 10 billion chickens raised for meat in the United States and Canada each year are bred to grow so large so fast that their bodies often can’t support their weight. Known as Frankenchickens, these birds reach market weight several times faster than chickens raised a century ago. As a result, many suffer serious health issues, including immobility, organ failure, muscle disorders and chronic pain. Common muscle abnormalities in Frankenchickens include white striping, green muscle disease, woody breast, and spaghetti meat — conditions that are often visible in the meat sold to consumers. 
• Unhealthy environments: Most chickens are kept in dark, crowded, unsanitary sheds that exacerbate their suffering. These conditions contribute to the spread of H5N1 (“bird flu”) and other pathogens, increasing the risk of pandemics.
• Live-shackle slaughter: The majority of Frankenchickens in the United States are killed through live-shackle slaughter. Birds are shackled upside down while conscious and shocked before having their throats cut. Many chickens are still conscious when they reach the blades, and some are alive when they are submerged in scalding water meant to loosen their feathers.

Whole Foods is one of more than 600 companies around the world that have committed to meeting BCC standards by the end of 2024. This includes over 200 companies operating in the United States and over 50 in Canada that have pledged to eliminate the use of Frankenchickens in their supply chains and switch to higher-welfare breeds.

“Mercy For Animals is calling for an end to the use of Frankenchickens in our food system,” said Chelsie Schadt, managing director at Mercy For Animals. “Driven entirely by a goal of maximizing profits, the meat industry has made Frankenchickens the norm, breeding these birds to grow monstrously large unnaturally fast. These animals, who are slaughtered at just six weeks old, commonly suffer heart disease, organ failure and muscle disorders, many dying at farms before making it to slaughter. Corporations want us to believe they’re sourcing happy, healthy chickens, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Mercy For Animals is committed to ending these practices and promoting a more just and health-conscious food system. The organization urges companies such as Whole Foods, Starbucks, Subway and Chipotle to fulfill their pledges to stop sourcing Frankenchickens and meet all BCC standards. Consumers are encouraged to hold these companies to their promises and demand transparency regarding their animal welfare practices.

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For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Robin Goist at [email protected].  

Mercy For Animals is a leading international nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system. Active in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico and the United States, the organization has conducted over 100 investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses, influenced over 500 corporate policies and helped pass historic legislation to ban cages for farmed animals. 2024 marks Mercy For Animals’ 25th year of groundbreaking campaigns and programs. Learn more at MercyForAnimals.org.

The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) is an industry-leading set of animal welfare standards that addresses some of the worst practices affecting chickens raised for meat. The BCC calls for giving chickens more space, providing environmental enrichment and better litter and lighting conditions that more closely meet their needs, switching to higher-welfare breeds of chickens and replacing live-shackle slaughter with controlled-atmosphere stunning. When food companies adopt the BCC, they demonstrate a desire to prioritize animal welfare in their supply chains and reduce suffering in the food industry. Learn more at Frankenchickens.com.