By Kerry Maxwell, communications manager, British Poultry Council
Safe, affordable, nutritious poultry is half the meat the nation eats. With that comes a big responsibility, and one we are incredibly proud of.
Everyone deserves to have confidence in their food, including where it comes from and how it is produced – especially if the ambition for food and farming is to strive for more self-sufficiency. That is why it was incredibly disappointing to hear a comment insinuating that chickens are “pumped with growth hormones,” undermining our farmers, producers and the decades of investment and innovation that defines British poultry production.
No chicken in the UK is “pumped with growth hormones” and using antibiotics as growth promoters is illegal. The safe use of antibiotics has been prioritised by the poultry meat industry since 2011. We were the first sector to voluntarily develop a strategy for the responsible use of antibiotics, which has seen overall use decrease by 81% and the use of critically important antibiotics decrease by 98.7%. Our BPC Antibiotic Stewardship collates data recording annual use. Our 2024 report launched just last week, and you can find it on our website.
Transparent discussion is at the heart of continual progress and while we accept the thoughts and opinions of others when it comes to how we produce the food we need, we will not accept deceptive information that misleads consumers or makes false claims at the jeopardy of our industry.
Misinformation and unsubstantiated claims – accidental or not – perpetuate a stigma that will see our industry exported. The standards we have worked hard to achieve will be lowered, including animal welfare, and prices will rise at a time quality, affordable food matters more than ever.
Feeding the nation underlines what all BPC members know. The birds are the most valuable part of any farm so their health and welfare are valued as such. We balance our duty to bird health and welfare alongside our other responsibilities as responsible employers and stewards of the environment to put safe, quality and affordable food on every table. We will continue to do so because ours is an industry people trust and value.