Chicken sustainability report released: Broiler chicken carbon footprint declines 18%, report shows

WASHINGTON — The National Chicken Council unveiled the broiler chicken industry’s first-ever sustainability report.

The U.S. broiler chicken industry’s carbon footprint declined 18% for every kilogram of bird produced from 2010 to 2020, the report states.

During that time period, the broiler industry achieved other sustainability improvements, as well. Data was measured in environmental footprint per kilogram of bird.

Key takeaways are:

• Land use: down 13%.

• Greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon footprint: down 18%.

• Water consumption: down 13%.

• Fossil resources use: down 22%.

• Particulate forming emissions: down 22%.

“We take pride in how our chicken gets from farm to table, but we know that sustainability is a journey of collective successes and growth areas,” said Mike Brown, president of NCC.

“It’s on us as an industry to review our impact and areas of improvement so that we can direct our industry toward a more sustainable future.”

The report also features the U.S. chicken industry’s collective accomplishments, including:

• Decreasing broiler chicken on-farm mortality rates by 72% since 1925.

• Defining the essential elements of broiler chicken care with NCC’s Welfare Guidelines.

• Donating more than $133 million and 20 million meals to local communities at the height of the pandemic in 2020.

• Bolstering global food security with broiler exports totaling 7.4 billion pounds in 2020.

• Providing Americans and people across the world — throughout all life stages — with affordable, nutritious protein.

View the complete report at www.nationalchickencouncil.org.