What do you see in the opening image?
It is a plastic and photographic representation of what a chicken looked like in 1957 and how the emergence of research and selection in the poultry industry has gradually selected, precisely, animals capable of growing more vigorously, in a short time and able to develop a much more efficient conversion rate of what they eat and drink than their siblings of years ago.
70 years ago a chicken weighed about 1 kg while today it weighs more than 4 kg.
The one 70 years ago had little meat and even if you wanted to use it to feed a family you had to sacrifice more than one. Today, on the other hand, a single intensively raised (protected) chicken provides more quality controlled and safe meat than 4 of that 70 years ago.
It follows that, in addition to other functional aspects of human nutrition, today’s broilers (conventional broilers) allow them to slaughter a quarter of the animals they used to, consume less feed and water (4 chickens eat and drink for 4), and all with a very high feed>meat conversion capacity. A summary in the tab below:
Let’s take a closer look
Intensive poultry farming over the past 70 years has led to several benefits compared to past practices. Let us then list what has changed.
The increase in production efficiency
Genetic selection
modern chickens are genetically selected for faster growth and higher meat yield, with a significant increase in breast size. This allows much more meat to be produced in a shorter period of time;
Optimized nutrition
diets are precisely formulated to provide the right balance of nutrients according to the chicken’s growth stage, improving feed conversion efficiency;
Controlled environments
modern facilities provide controlled environments in terms of temperature, ventilation and lighting, reducing stress for animals and optimizing growth;
Automation
Automated systems for feeding, watering and droppings removal reduce the need for labor and improve hygiene.
Reducing production costs and consumer prices
Increased production efficiency results in lower production costs per unit of meat, making chicken more affordable for consumers.
Improvements in biosecurity and animal health, although these issues are the subject of controversy generated by the anti-livestock associations that we have already covered in other articles on this site:
Improved health management
Advances in understanding poultry diseases, better vaccines, and biosecurity protocols are helping to prevent and control outbreaks.
Veterinary treatments
The availability of antibiotics (although their use is limited to cases of necessity and otherwise prohibited) and other veterinary drugs allow diseases to be treated more effectively.
Reduction in mortality
Due to better environmental conditions, nutrition and health management, mortality rates in modern intensive livestock farms are generally much lower than they were 70 years ago.
Lower environmental impact per unit of product (in some aspects):
Reduced land use
Intensive farming requires less space than extensive systems to produce the same amount of meat.
Potential emission reduction per unit of meat
The most recent studies suggest that, per unit of meat produced, modern intensive livestock farms have a lower carbon footprint than less intensive systems due to higher growth efficiency and feed utilization.
Improved waste management
Constantly evolving modern systems help implement more efficient waste management by recycling and reusing waste.
Importantly, despite these benefits, modern intensive poultry farming also raises significant concerns about animal welfare and overall environmental impact:
Modern intensive poultry farms offer significant advantages in terms of production efficiency, cost and, in some aspects, environmental impact per unit of output compared to 70 years ago. However, these advances have been accompanied by significant challenges related to animal welfare and overall environmental impact that need to be addressed for a more sustainable and ethical future of poultry farming, which nevertheless represents an important source of affordable, quality food for humans that would otherwise be difficult to replace.
