Tyson Foods lets the chickens do the choosing

Tyson Foods is one of the world’s largest food companies. With a massive global footprint and millions of animals in production, the company has taken an increased look at animal welfare with a scientific approach to figuring out ways to improve animal health and wellbeing. Recently, the company’s animal welfare research team embarked on a study that leveraged animal preference to test which environmental enrichments chickens on the company’s broiler farms prefer.In this episode Feedstuffs Editor Sarah Muirhead talks with Dr. Karen Christensen, Tyson Foods’ Senior Director of Animal Welfare, about the the company’s Broiler Welfare Research Farm, a state-of-the-art four-house commercial broiler farm, and how it allows the company’s Office of Animal Welfare and university research partners to scientifically evaluate and understand how welfare practices can impact broiler behavior and welfare outcomes in a commercial setting. RELATED: You can watch Sarah Muirhead’s full interview with Dr. Karen Christensen of Tyson Foods via Feedstuffs 365, our virtual community and events platform. Feedstuffs 365 is part of your subscription to Feedstuffs and can be accessed via Feedstuffs.com.This podcast is sponsored by Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production and their #ScienceHearted podcast, “Food Chain Chats.” Check it out to hear insights on how the food supply chain is taking their experiences from 2020 disruptions into 2021. Subscribe wherever you find your favorite podcasts.