Egg producer and egg buyer disconnect: Exploring barriers and levers to increase cage-free egg production in China

About 40% of the world's chicken eggs come from China. Although there is interest in cage-free eggs production in China, the transition has been slow. This report focuses on a key reason: A fundamental disconnect between egg producers and buyers (retailers and end consumers). First, this report gives an OVERVIEW of China's egg industry and commitments to cage-free production.Three BARRIERS causing the disconnect are explained: 1. Understanding — Global cage-free egg campaigns have focused on the singular issue of animal welfare. But the concept of animal welfare is not well understood in China and there is confusion about "cage-free" in China's egg marketplace. 2. Cost — Transitioning to cage-free is expensive and comes with considerable financial risk for Chinese producers. And domestic egg buyers are generally unwilling to pay the resulting price increase. 3. Confidence — Egg producers are not confident that food businesses will keep their commitments. In turn, egg buyers can't always trust claims of traceability and verifiability of their eggs. Five LEVERS to align egg producers and buyers are suggested: 1. Support and fund initiatives for producers and buyers that are firmly China led and driven. 2. Improve transparency and accountability of cage-free commitments specifically in China. 3. Ensure the term "cage-free" is associated with trusted, premium products addressing multiple ethical and social concerns. 4. Increase market demand by targeting receptive demographics (those more concerned with animal welfare, safe, healthy food, and a willingness to pay a price premium for products addressing these concerns). 5. Focus engagement with multinational grocery retailers operating in China yet to make cage-free commitments

Chicken Run: A Chicken-Centred Design Research Project

Chicken Run, an experimental project still in development, sees designers and scientists working together to explore ideas to improve poultry welfare in commercial facilities, applying user-centred design to all key stakeholders: farmer, consumer and chicken. Exploring various aspects of the chicken’s journey from egg to plate, the process has allowed researchers to better understand their needs and to maximise joined-up positive impact. The paper describes the ongoing process where Initial proposals including perches, bales and an app to enable consumers to make the right chicken purchase choices have been developed and tested. Co-authored by leaders of the design and scientific communities involved in the project, the paper describes the issues, design methods used, as well as some of the learning from the cross-disciplinary process. It also provides an update on progress of selected design ideas that are currently being developed with a commercial poultry farm, drawing out the challenges and successes encountered

100% Organic Feed for Poultry – Results of Feed Trials in the UK

Current regulations for organic monogastric production systems permit feed ingredients of non-organic origin, primarily due to concerns about meeting the demand for the essential amino acids methionine and lysine. However, 100 % organic diets will become compulsory in the EU from 1st January 2015, so there is a need to develop feeds which will supply the required level of nutrients and support high animal health and welfare. This paper reports on feeding trials carried out with broilers in the UK to investigate the impact of three 100 % organic diets: a control diet with globally sourced ingredients, a diet based on locally sourced (i.e. within Europe) organic ingredients, and a diet based on locally sourced organic ingredients and algae. The results of the summer and winter trials showed that there was no significant difference in bird weights between the three diets, indicating that using locally sourced and locally sourced with algae feeds do not impact on broiler productivity

100% Organic Poultry Feed: Can Algae Replace Soybean Expeller in Organic Broiler Diets?

Current EU regulations allow 5% of feed for organic poultry to come from non-organic production. This is due to concerns about a 100% organic diet meeting the requirements for specific amino acids such as methionine. This exception is due to end on 31st December 2017. While this may match consumer expectations, protein sourced from global organic production may have a negative impact on perceptions of organic poultry in other ways. Soybean is a commonly used ingredient in poultry feed but soybean production has negative environmental and social impacts. Consumers may also prefer organic poultry to have been fed on locally produced feed and, indeed, this would be in line with organic principles. Preliminary feasibility feed trials were carried out during a summer and a winter season using organic broilers in the UK to test three 100% organic feeds: a control diet with globally sourced ingredients including soybean expeller, a diet based on locally sourced (i.e. within Europe) organic ingredients, and a diet based on locally sourced organic ingredients and algae (a good source of methionine). The results of the summer feed trial showed that there were no significant differences in broiler weight gains. In the winter feed trial differences were found. There was a significant difference (<em>P</em> = 0.034) in weight gain between the local feed (lower weight gain) and the local feed with algae but no significant difference between the control diet with soybean and the two local diets. These preliminary feed trials indicate that there is no significant impact on broiler performance or animal welfare parameters when replacing soybean with European protein sources, possibly including algae, suggesting that, although the research is still at a very early stage, such feeds may be a viable option for 100% organic poultry feed in the future

Exploring the Feasibility of Using Silage-Based Feed with Alternative Sources of Protein in Organic Pig Rations

Current regulations for organic pig and poultry production systems permit feed ingredients of non-organic origin at an inclusion rate of up to 5 per cent. This is primarily due to concerns that there is an insufficient supply of organic protein on the European Union market, in terms of quality and quantity, to meet the nutritional requirements of pigs and poultry raised on organic farms. However, 100 per cent organic diets for monogastric livestock will become compulsory in the EU from 1 January 2018, and there is therefore a need to develop sustainable feeding strategies based on organic feeds. This feed trial conducted in the UK explores the feasibility of using a silage-based feeding system for Gloucester Old Spot pigs, and compares the inclusion of soya, beans and peas as protein sources in terms of pig growth performance. No significant difference in the pen mean daily live weight gain was observed during the grower phase (pen mean age of 11-14 weeks) between the diet groups. However, during the finisher phase (pen mean age of 15-22 weeks), pigs on the soya and pea rations had significantly faster growth rates than pigs fed the bean ration. It is speculated that the slight shortfall in growth rate observed in the pigs fed the bean ration may be offset by the lower cost of production of beans in the UK. This feasibility trial demonstrates that a 100 per cent organic diet for pigs using alternative, locally-grown sources of protein as part of a forage-based ration can provide a viable alternative to a soya-based diet