CHICKEN

The biggest change seen in the 2007 survey for meat (broiler) chickens is the shift towards better welfare for indoor birds.

HOW DID THEY SCORE?

M&S came out top for only selling higher-welfare fresh chicken. Organic, free-range or from higher-welfare indoor systems, ‘Oakham’ chickens are slower-growing and indoor birds have more space. M&S is extending this into its prepared foods so watch this space for developments.

Waitrose, Co-op and Tesco are all improving environments for indoor birds, with Co-op standing out by moving all own label fresh chicken to the higher-welfare ‘Elmwood’ standard.

Sadly, we’ve also seen an increase in the proportion of chickens reared intensively since our 2005 survey.