Global Fast Food Restaurants in Indonesia Expected to Guarantee Product Quality

INDUSTRY.co.id - 

Jakarta - Once a friend opened a conversation by asking why the bodies of wild rats now are so big compared to before, they are not as big as now.

 

The friend revealed, the change in the rats size was caused by drugs used by purebred chicken farmers to raise these chickens before finally becoming the raw material for various global fast food restaurant in Indonesia.

 

The friend also said, the drugs were absorbed into the chicken's body to the bones. When the bones were thrown into the trash because they were not consumed by consumers, many rats gnawed the bones as their feed.

 

As a result, the drugs absorbed in the bones were also absorbed by the bodies of these mice. That causes the size of the rats to grow larger.

 

Although they do not know for sure the truth of the story, the World Animal Protection (WAP) in its study report entitled The Pecking Order 2022 assesses that many global fast food restaurants in Indonesia ignore the welfare of livestock served to consumers.

 

Rully Prayoga, the Campaign Manager of WAP Indonesia, said that such a study report has been launched since 2020. In the latest WAP Indonesia report, it shows that one of the leading global fast-food fried chicken restaurants carrying the name of a state in America has always shied and reasoned for the commitment of chicken welfare in their supply chain.

 

“The global fast-food fried chicken restaurant is the sixth or worst ranked company to handle the well-being of chicken and its meat supply chain. This has been evaluated by WAP Indonesia since 2020. The company has made no progress to realize its commitment to chicken welfare,” said Rully in a press conference in Jakarta, Thursday (20/10/2022).

 

Rully disclosed, about 60 billion chickens in the world each year suffer at the hands of fast food companies that refuse to take chicken welfare seriously in their supply chains. The reason is, these farm animals that want to live naturally all their lives experience chronic pain, suffer from lameness, respiratory disorders and even heart failure.

 

“That’s because the live chickens are crammed into farm factories with little or no healthy and supportive environment. Broiler chickens that are products of genetic selection make them grow up quickly, that is, only about 27-30 days. It puts a lot of pressure on the heart, lungs and legs of chickens and limits them from behaving naturally,” Rully said.

 

Therefore, according to Rully, WAP Indonesia urged the food industry to commit to policy changes that will improve the welfare of chickens through the use of healthier growing chicken seeds. The reason is the accelerated growth rate of chickens, lack of natural light lighting, and insufficient space for movement can cause the chickens to experience serious health problems, including heart and lung failure, muscle weakness and limping when standing.

 

“Because they don’t want to experience many chicken population deaths due to diseases like those that ultimately cause losses, many broiler chicken farming companies use various medicines to reduce the health problems of these chickens. This is what worries mothers if they want to provide fast food fried chicken products for their children. They are worried that these drugs could affect the health of their children,” said Rully.

 

Rully clarified, the authorities in various broiler farming companies are expected to provide opportunities for chickens on the farm to have natural behaviors, such as perching, pecking, dust and flapping wings. In addition, they can also obtain natural lighting as one of the requirements for high-quality living space for these chickens.

 

“In addition, they are also asked to ensure that the slaughtered chicken is carried out humanely before being cut, without overturning the chicken alive,” Rully added.***