Do you know where your chicken comes from? Unfortunately, less than half of Canadians know how their food gets to the table. With misleading and often unreliable information in the media, consumers are not always getting the truth about Canadian farmers.
“We work really hard to help restaurants understand what’s different about Canadian chicken,” says Lisa Bishop-Spencer, director of brand and communications at Chicken Farmers of Canada. “With 93 per cent of Canadians looking for Canadian meat, restaurants need to know where their chicken comes from to meet their customers’ expectations.”
When customers visit a restaurant, they trust that they are eating sustainable, responsibly grown chicken “from gate to plate.” 85 per cent of consumers want Canadian chicken, rather than imported, so restaurants need to care about where their chicken comes from, too.
RELATED: Consumers are looking to restaurants and chefs for the facts on Canadian chicken
In response to the growing consumer demand to know where their food comes from, Chicken Farmers of Canada created the Raised by a Canadian Farmer initiative, helping restaurants promote farmers’ commitment to providing nutritious chicken raised with the highest standard of care. Research shows that Canadians trust Canadian farmers, so this label makes it easy for restaurant guests to know they’re getting the very best chicken that Canada offers.
What’s behind the label? The Raised by a Canadian Farmer Animal Care Program is based on the National Farm Animal Council (NAFCC)’s code of practice, bringing stakeholders with different perspectives together, including farmers, scientists, veterinarians, processors, retailers, and foodservice representatives, transporters, animal welfare associations, and provincial/federal governments.
Canada’s Animal Care Program ensures that farmers practice humane treatment standards, and farmers are audited under this program to ensure that animal care standards and practices are strictly followed. “If restaurants are committed to serving Canadian chicken, then they are committing to serving chicken that’s well cared for from one of our 2,800 farmers across the country,” says Bishop-Spencer.
Many restaurants don’t know that Chicken Farmers of Canada is a valuable resource in helping to deliver this important message to consumers. They offer the use of the Raised by a Canadian Farmer logo for free and they can even help with financial support in converting marketing materials and promoting this initiative.
“Restaurants need to demonstrate that they are delivering on customer expectations. They need to do that while telling the Canadian chicken story and Chicken Farmers of Canada can help them do that,” sums up Bishop-Spencer.
To learn more about Chicken Farmers of Canada and how they can help, visit this link.
