Sure, I don’t think it makes a difference whether the chicken grows to a bigger size in total, or grows to a bigger size more quickly, both would establish a prior that you need fewer years of chicken-suffering for the same amount of meat, and as such that this would be good (barring other considerations).
FWIW, Molly’s comment you linked to quoted and cited Welfare Footprint Project and basically addressed something like “grows to a bigger size more quickly”:
The Welfare Footprint Project used the Cumulative Pain Framework to investigate how the adoption of the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) and similar welfare certification programs affect the welfare of broilers. Specifically, they examined concerns that the use of slower-growing breeds may increase suffering by extending the life of chickens for the production of the same amount of meat. From their main findings they stated:
‘Our results strongly support the notion that adoption of BCC standards and slower-growing broiler strains have a net positive effect on the welfare of broiler chickens. Because most welfare offenses endured by broilers are strongly associated with fast growth, adoption of slower-growing breeds not only reduces the incidence of these offenses but also delays their onset. As a consequence, slower-growing birds are expected to experience a shorter, not longer, time in pain before being slaughtered.’
You are right! I had mostly paid attention to the bullet points, which didn’t extract the parts of the linked report that addressed my concerns, but you are right that it totally links to the same report that totally does!
Sure, I don’t think it makes a difference whether the chicken grows to a bigger size in total, or grows to a bigger size more quickly, both would establish a prior that you need fewer years of chicken-suffering for the same amount of meat, and as such that this would be good (barring other considerations).
FWIW, Molly’s comment you linked to quoted and cited Welfare Footprint Project and basically addressed something like “grows to a bigger size more quickly”:
You are right! I had mostly paid attention to the bullet points, which didn’t extract the parts of the linked report that addressed my concerns, but you are right that it totally links to the same report that totally does!