On the Farm
Sustainability
From 1976 to 2016, the carbon footprint of Canadian chicken was reduced by 37% due to major productivity gains and improvements in the feed to gain ratio (the efficiency of converting feed to muscle).
Water consumption has been lowered by 45% from the 1976 levels. Feed production accounts for 59% of the total water consumption. Irrigation represents the largest contribution to water consumption.
Today’s non-renewable energy use is 37% lower than in 1976. In fact, 62% of energy use comes from renewable energy sources.
A life cycle assessment was recently completed to benchmark and assess the environmental and social performance of Canadian chicken.
This is an internationally recognized approach to evaluate the impacts associated with all of the stages of a product’s life – in this case chicken.