Denmark: Demand is central to the debate about chicken

L&F warns against a Danish ban on the production of fast-growing chickens if politicians do not also address the demand of supermarkets.

L&F Poultry strongly warns against implementing a Danish ban on the production of faster-growing chicken breeds without also considering what supermarkets are experiencing demand for.  

The political winds at Christiansborg are blowing in the direction of a ban on fast-growing Danish chickens. But the fast-growing breed will continue to be found in supermarkets if politicians don’t think all the way through. This is the assessment of Jeppe Mouritsen, chairman of L&F Poultry. 

“Politicians need to think very carefully before they choose Danish unilateralism. If you ban production in Denmark but continue to import the same products from other countries, you have moved nothing but jobs and our opportunity to influence animal welfare,” says Jeppe Mouritsen. 

He therefore believes that a political decision about a fundamental change in production must be seen in a European context. 

– We would like to help develop Danish chicken production. But it makes no sense to make demands on Danish producers if we also accept that foreign products produced according to other standards can freely take over the space in the refrigerated counter. If politicians want the development to go significantly faster, some solutions must be found so that we do not just import our goods, says Jeppe Mouritsen. 

Retail cannot stand on the sidelines

At the same time, L&F Poultry emphasizes that a faster conversion cannot be implemented by farmers alone.

– This is a cycle where each individual link must be considered together. We can certainly restructure production so that we have more slower-growing chickens in Denmark, but there must be someone who wants to buy and sell them. As a farmer, you need to have someone to sell to, and you need to be sure that there is a continuous demand. Together with the retail chain, we must talk to politicians about how we get there. Because you cannot demand one form of production in the barns and at the same time compete fiercely for the lowest price in the refrigerated counter, says Jeppe Mouritsen.

L&F Poultry therefore calls on politicians, retailers and the rest of the value chain to take joint responsibility for further development.

– We are not running away from our responsibility. But we also do not accept that the entire responsibility is placed with the farmer. If Denmark wants a faster transition, both politicians, retailers and the rest of the value chain must help make it work in reality. And I think we must be honest and say that much of the healthy and good Danish chicken that the Danes love will become more expensive. This is something that politicians must prepare voters for, says Jeppe Mouritsen.

The debate is out of proportion

L&F Poultry also believes that the debate about chicken welfare lacks proportions. Individual pictures and individual cases may be serious and should be taken seriously, but they do not tell what the broad Danish production looks like.

In fact, we have low mortality, good results for footpad health and an ongoing positive development in production. Does that mean that you can’t find problems? No, because there will be sick or weak animals in a large production. This will be the case with both the fast-growing chickens and the slow-growing ones. We must not accept violations of the law or systematic negligence, but we must also look each other in the eye and be honest about the fact that mistakes happen, says Jeppe Mouritsen.