“Not only is chicken nutritious, low in fat and the most affordable meat protein, it also has genuine environmental benefits over more expensive meats. Chicken is a clear winner when it comes to environmental impact and the industry is committed to maintaining and improving further on its environmental sustainability.”
Dr Andreas Dubs, Executive Director of the ACMF
Back in 2006, a majority of Australians regarded climate change as a pressing issue that required action.1 This view is likely to have become even more predominant in the intervening period. Consumers are rightly becoming more concerned about their own environmental footprint and that of the foods they eat.
Protecting the environment is also a priority for the chicken meat industry and we’re proud of our efforts to date.
The good news is that compared to all other major meat, chicken is the most environmentally efficient.2
Maintaining and improving our industry’s environmental sustainability is our clear goal. This will encourage Australians to continue enjoying 100% home-grown chicken.
What contribution does agriculture and specifically chicken make to greenhouse emissions? Agriculture generates 15.6% of total greenhouse gas emissions with the main contributors being beef cattle, sheep and dairy cattle farming.3 Poultry contributes as little as 1% to Australia’s agricultural emissions 4 (about 0.3% of total emissions).3
If we replaced the beef in our diet with chicken, every individual could save 8kg of CO2 greenhouse pollution every week.2
Globally, researchers have identified reducing the use of transport, nitrogenous fertilizer and methane emissions from livestock as the most critical ways in which agricultural emissions can be reduced.
What about energy use and global warming? Chicken meat uses the least energy in its production compared to other meats and also has the lowest impact in terms of its potential contribution to global warming.2
Poultry only contributes 1% of the total global warming potential from agriculture, with beef contributing more than half.4
Poultry meat production also results in substantially less eutrophication (increased concentration of chemical nutrients) and acidification (lowering of the pH) of the environment than other meats.2
Source: Williams, A.G., Audsley, E. and Sandars, D.L. (2006)2
What about organic or free-range production? While organic production of other foods tends to have a smaller impact on the environment compared with standard ways of production, in the case of chicken the reverse is true.
Based on overseas research, free-range poultry increases energy use by 20% and organic production requires 65%-200% more land.2 Importantly, though, all types of chicken production result in substantially lower environmental impact than other meats.
Why is chicken the most environmentally efficient meat? Chicken’s efficiency in converting its feed to meat plays a big part. This is a result of selective breeding over many generations and better matching of nutrients in feed to the chicken’s actual dietary needs. Chickens also produce less methane than cattle and sheep.
Does this not make chicken more expensive? No. These efficiencies make chicken an affordable meat for consumers. Over the past four decades the price of chicken has increased at a much lower rate than any other meat.4,5 Chicken is eco-friendly and economy-friendly.
What about the future of the environment? Compared to chicken, sheep and cattle production is more vulnerable to the biophysical and economic impacts of climate change.4
Because of its lower impact on the environment, demand for chicken is expected to be strong for years to come.4
Despite this, the chicken meat industry is not complacent. We are looking to improve environmental sustainability and help consumers make environmentally-positive choices.
What areas is the chicken meat industry working on to maintain and improve its future impact on the environment? Ongoing research and development projects in environmental sustainability are testament to our industry’s commitment to meeting the demands of consumers and a stricter regulatory environment:
Research into Environmental Management Issues The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation's Chicken Meat Program, the Australian Poultry CRC and chicken meat companies are supporting a projects aimed at assisting the industry to improve its environmental performance and understanding and better managing its impacts on the environment.
Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) Act: Members of the industry currently report their individual emissions which soon become publicly available. This will identify areas of improvement before the introduction of CPRS (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme).
Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Program: The Australian Chicken Growers’ Council is raising environmental awareness and increasing the skills of growers through this program, will promote the adoption of EMS on chicken meat farms beyond current regulatory requirements. This includes training farmers nationally, developing local EMS plans and extending current environmental projects through the supply chain. For further details, please contact Gary Sansom, Executive Officer of the Australian Chicken Growers’ Council (www.acgc.org.au).
Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA): This research will help us better understand the environmental impacts of chicken meat throughout its life-cycle. Once this is available, targeted areas for improvement will be able to be identified more easily. The RIRDC Chicken Meat Program is working with a number of other agricultural and livestock industries on this project.
Practices to Increase Productivity: This includes traditional breeding practices aimed at developing more efficient breeds and better matching of feed to dietary needs (which are already widely practised.) This is already a significant contributor to our industry’s environmental efficiencies.
Recycling and Waste Management: We are implementing and improving recycling and waste minimisation programs.
Water Saving Initiatives: The RIRDC’s Chicken Meat Program is examining ways to increase recycling and improve the quality of wastewater.
For further information on RIRDC’s R & D including research into ways to reduce the industry’s environmental impact visit the RIRDC Chicken Meat Program website at http://www.rirdc.gov.au/programs/cm.html
The Poultry CRC also has a program of environmental research under its Program 3B The Impact of Poultry Production on the Environment. This program is looking at odour and dust emissions from broiler sheds and ways of minimizing these. Further information on the Poultry CRC’s environmental program can be obtained from their website: www.poultrycrc.com.au/.../the_impact_of_poultry_production_on_the_environment/
Chicken meat companies are also working on their own environmental initiatives.
Inghams EnterprisesPty Limited Julia Seddon, Group Environment Manager:
“Inghams operates on the basis of continual environmental improvement and is developing and implementing a companywide sustainability and climate change strategy across all aspects of the business. We are focused on a number of goals including minimising water and energy use, reducing waste to landfill, employee training and broad stakeholder engagement on sustainability. We have completed our baseline carbon footprint which has been independently audited and verified. We take our leadership role seriously as well as our company philosophy of ‘doing the right things and doing things right.”
Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited - Meghan McGhie, National Technical Manager:
“Bartter Enterprises Pty Limited is currently overseeing the implementation of management programs to comply with State and National environmental legislation. We are committed to the continuous research and knowledge expansion of environmental matters, specifically with relevance to development & implementation of practical strategies to minimise environmental impact.”
References 1. The Lowy Institute Poll (2006) Australia, Indonesia and the World- Public Opinion and Foreign Policy. Available at: www.lowyinstitute.org/Publication.asp?pid=470. 2. Williams, A.G., Audsley, E. and Sandars, D.L. (2006) Determining the environmental burdens and resource use in the production of agricultural and horicultural commodities. Main Report. DEFRA Research Project IS0205. Bedford: Cranfield University and DEFRA. Available on www.defra.gov.uk. 3. Green Paper, July 2008; Summary, p.14. 4. Garnaut Climate Change Report. (Sept 2008). Chapter 22. Available at http://www.garnautreview.org.au/pdf/Garnaut_Chapter22.pdf 5. Charlton DE et al. (2008). Food, health and nutrition: where does chicken fit in? National Centre for Excellence in Functional Foods.
