Coles' chicken decision will hurt farmers: ACGC

Coles’ recent decision to stock only RSPCA-approved chicken is nothing more than a “hollow marketing tactic” which will have a similar effect on the poultry industry as the milk price wars, according to the Australian Chicken Growers Council (ACGC).

The ACGC has slammed Coles’ decision, claiming the supermarket giant is using “devious advertising double-speak to disguise the real impacts on farmers”.

“Consumers are being duped into paying increased prices for their food with no scientific basis for the claims that this change is providing enhanced animal welfare,” ACGC President Mike Shaw said. “They are, in fact, being denied choice by the supermarkets.

“Changing farms to an RSPCA-accredited production system comes at a significant extra cost to chicken growers, and this system also shifts significant risk of production from processors onto farmers.”

The RSPCA guidelines were not developed in consultation with farmers, Shaw says, and growers believe that some guidelines actually have a negative impact on chickens’ welfare. Consumers who are unfamiliar with the guidelines could be duped into believing that RSPCA accreditation is similar to free-range production, which is not the case, Shaw says.

“And now the RSPCA is commercially involved with the major retailers, receiving a significant income stream from licensing fees,” Shaw said.

“This process has short-circuited all the conventional channels when it comes to production standards, at the expense of farmers and consumers. Coles is arbitrarily imposing standards - which suit its vested interests - on other parts of the value chain.”

The ACGC claims that in the UK, where a similar scheme is in place, the majority of chicken meat is imported as locally produced chicken is too expensive.