Animal Welfare Practices
At Lessing’s Food Service Group, we believe in the welfare of the chickens raised for our supply chain and we are pushing our suppliers to adhere to the highest animal handling and care standards. Humane treatment of chickens, requiring a cage-free and enriched environment that allows the chickens to turn around and flap their wings, is a priority for us. We support the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which we became familiar with in 2017. Coming out of the COVID Pandemic, we have refocused our efforts on striving to meet the guidelines provided by the BCC. We acknowledge that there remains room for improvement in our chicken sourcing practices and continue to strive towards the BCC targets to ensure that we source chickens humanely and respectfully. We pledge to report our progress annually.
Progress to date
BCC Component
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
Stocking Density (6 lbs/sq. ft)
14%
30%
60%
85%
100%
100%
Litter Requirements
14%
30%
60%
85%
100%
100%
Lighting Requirements
12%
25%
50%
75%
100%
100%
Environmental Enrichments
12%
25%
50%
75%
100%
100%
CAS Processing
0%
10%
20%
50%
75%
100%
High-Welfare Breeds
0%
10%
20%
50%
75%
100%
3rd Party Auditing
7%
15%
25%
50%
75%
100%
Stocking Density (6 lbs/sq. ft)
- 2024
- 14%
- 2025
- 30%
- 2026
- 60%
- 2027
- 85%
- 2028
- 100%
- 2029
- 100%
Litter Requirements
- 2024
- 14%
- 2025
- 30%
- 2026
- 60%
- 2027
- 85%
- 2028
- 100%
- 2029
- 100%
Lighting Requirements
- 2024
- 12%
- 2025
- 25%
- 2026
- 50%
- 2027
- 75%
- 2028
- 100%
- 2029
- 100%
Environmental Enrichments
- 2024
- 12%
- 2025
- 25%
- 2026
- 50%
- 2027
- 75%
- 2028
- 100%
- 2029
- 100%
CAS Processing
- 2024
- 0%
- 2025
- 10%
- 2026
- 20%
- 2027
- 50%
- 2028
- 75%
- 2029
- 100%
High-Welfare Breeds
- 2024
- 0%
- 2025
- 10%
- 2026
- 20%
- 2027
- 50%
- 2028
- 75%
- 2029
- 100%
3rd Party Auditing
- 2024
- 7%
- 2025
- 15%
- 2026
- 25%
- 2027
- 50%
- 2028
- 75%
- 2029
- 100%