{"id":867,"date":"2016-03-17T22:05:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T22:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmforward1.wpengine.com\/?p=867"},"modified":"2022-10-06T22:05:53","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T22:05:53","slug":"in-landmark-announcement-largest-welfare-certification-addresses-genetic-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/news\/in-landmark-announcement-largest-welfare-certification-addresses-genetic-health\/","title":{"rendered":"In Landmark Announcement, Largest Welfare Certification Addresses Genetic Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

In yet another sign that sweeping change is afoot within the poultry industry, today the nation\u2019s leading farmed animal welfare certification, Global Animal Partnership (GAP), announced\u00a0a landmark pledge to phase out by 2024 the fastest-growing strains of chickens, which currently account for more than 99 percent of chicken meat sold in the U.S.<\/strong>\u00a0Advocacy group Farm Forward pioneered the efforts that ultimately led to today\u2019s historic announcement, which includes a commitment by Whole Foods Market to follow the new standard.<\/p>\n

As the first national organization to focus on poultry genetics, Farm Forward has pushed to make the return to genetically healthy birds a central aspect of GAP\u2019s 5-Step\u00ae standards since GAP\u2019s inception. Last year, these efforts led to a change effectively requiring producers at the highest Step to use heritage turkeys (turkeys with optimal welfare) and refrain from caging or feed-restricting breeder turkeys, practices used universally in conventional breeding facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the proudest I\u2019ve ever been of GAP,\u201d said Steve Gross, Farm Forward\u2019s Chairman and a founding member of GAP\u2019s Board of Directors. \u201cIn the early years of GAP, genetic requirements only appeared within the highest tiers of our program; today marks a historic moment in making genetic health a mainstay of GAP\u2019s standards from top to bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message sent by GAP and Whole Foods is unequivocal,\u201d said Ben Goldsmith, Executive Director of Farm Forward. \u201cFor too long the poultry industry has manipulated the genetics of these animals in ways that have terrible consequences for their welfare. As a result of pushing chickens and turkeys past their genetic limits, the birds experience chronic pain, diminished immune health, and debilitating cardiovascular and bone disorders throughout their entire lives. It\u2019s simply unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farm Forward\u2019s work from within GAP is only one facet of its broader strategy to fundamentally improve poultry welfare by focusing on genetic health. Following Farm Forward\u2019s early work with Chipotle to use heritage chicken meat in a test market, an increasing number of companies have promised a return to genetically healthier poultry. Recently, Starbucks committed to focus on eliminating \u201cfast growing practices\u201d in its poultry supply chain, and Nestle, the world\u2019s largest food manufacturer, committed to address the welfare implications of fast growth as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise in consumer and institutional interest in seeking a return to healthier poultry genetics is a massive win for animals,\u201d said Goldsmith. \u201cThe rise of the slower-growth movement means that the future is brighter for chickens and turkeys in American agriculture than it has been since the earliest days of factory farming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donate<\/a> now and help us improve the lives of farmed animals!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact:<\/strong>\u00a0Ben Goldsmith<\/a><\/p>\n

Full PDF of Press Release Available Here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Global Animal Partnership (GAP), announced\u00a0a landmark pledge to phase out by 2024 the fastest-growing strains of chickens, which currently account for more than 99 percent of chicken meat sold in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,20,22,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animal-product-labeling","category-animal-welfare","category-food-system-solutions","category-genetic-modification"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmforward.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}