How can meat poultry farming methods adapt to changes in consumer demand?

With social changes and economic development, meat poultry farming methods have also undergone significant changes: higher nutritional levels, greater feed supply, less activity, shorter rearing cycles, larger farming scale, more growth-promoting measures, more detailed management, faster turnover, and higher efficiency. The benefits brought by this are also obvious: poultry meat products went from severe shortage to basically meeting demand, and then to the current relatively abundant supply, and poultry meat food has changed from a luxury more than 30 years ago into a mass-market food. With the improvement of consumption capacity, the differentiation of consumer groups, and the reversal of the supply-demand relationship, some high-end consumers are no longer satisfied merely with quantity supply and have begun to pursue quality and grade. The proportion of high-end, mid-range, and low-end consumers of poultry meat is undergoing obvious changes, and the number of high-end poultry meat consumer groups is quietly growing. The author believes that meat poultry farming methods must adapt to changes in consumer demand.

Appropriately extend the rearing period

In the 1960s and 1970s, backward productivity, low production efficiency, and a lack of social wealth created a huge gap between supply and demand. This was true of animal husbandry, and also true of the meat poultry industry. After reform and opening up, with the liberation of productivity, the meat poultry industry began to explore and pursue a series of methods such as fast growth speed, high feed conversion rate, and short farming cycles, including breed selection, crossbreeding improvement, feed optimization, use of additives, research and development of vaccines and veterinary drugs, and environmental improvement. Up to now, it has almost reached an extreme state. The feed-to-weight ratio of broiler chickens and meat ducks has reached about 2:1, and the farming cycle has reached more than 40 days. This is the result of the development of animal husbandry science and technology, and also the result of market promotion.

While sufficient poultry meat supply meets people's quantity needs, it has also borne the cost of declined poultry meat quality, poor taste, and insufficient aroma. Fast growth speed and short rearing cycles are due to genetic breeding factors, and an excessively high feed nutritional level is one of the important factors. In the past, when supply was short, pursuing rapid growth and increased output was undoubtedly reasonable. When shortage has turned into a balance between supply and demand or even surplus, it is also necessary to revise farming standards, appropriately lower feed nutritional levels, appropriately extend the rearing period, and take poultry meat quality into account.

Appropriately increase activity

Life lies in movement, and an appropriate amount of exercise is an important condition for life to maintain health and vitality. Among artificially raised meat poultry for food, people particularly favor free-range chickens and free-range ducks. In addition to their omnivorous nature, one obvious reason is their ample activity.

Today, when Chinese people have basically bid farewell to poverty, reached a moderately prosperous life, and are gradually transitioning toward modernization, green food and organic food have begun to enter people's vision and life. Building exercise yards and swimming pools for organic pigs and feeding chickens in the woods are not only selling points in operators' marketing plans, but also one of the measures to improve quality.

At this stage, under the background of pursuing maximum economic benefits, the meat poultry farming industry regards restricting meat poultry movement as one of the means to speed up growth, save feed, and increase income. Meat poultry stocking density is high, let alone exercise space, and movement is even restricted. "Eating, sleeping, and growing" has become the norm for meat poultry. Market changes and the reversal of supply and demand require us to re-examine the accustomed meat poultry farming methods, revise and improve meat poultry farming standards, provide reasonable living space and activity space for meat poultry, and appropriately increase activity. This is not only a form of animal welfare, but also one of the measures to improve poultry meat quality.

Appropriately reduce the use of growth promoters

The use of growth promoters is a magic weapon and secret weapon of the modern meat poultry farming industry. Objectively speaking, the use of growth promoters such as vitamins, trace elements, and mixed additives has generally played a good positive role in the development of the meat poultry industry, and has made indispensable contributions to alleviating the shortage of poultry meat supply and improving people's living standards.

But in recent years, signs of excessive use have appeared in the use of growth promoters. For the same kind of meat poultry, not only are there many types of growth promoters used, but the phenomenon of excessive amounts is also common, and violations such as illegal use of antibiotics, illegal use of hormones, and banned substances occur repeatedly despite prohibitions. The market and media have already issued warning signals about the excessive use of growth promoters, and consumers have already questioned the excessive use of growth promoters with suspicion. Meat poultry farming standards should also regulate, adjust, and revise the types and amounts of growth promoters.