Continued large decline of chicken consumption in Sweden
New statistics for meat consumption in Sweden for the first quarter of 2021 have recently been presented. It shows that chicken consumption fell sharply - 1.4 million fewer chickens have been placed on Swedes' plates compared with the same period last year.
After the scandal from Kronfågel's slaughterhouse, Swedens biggest chicken producer, was discovered last week, many Swedes have been enlightened with the chickens' situation in factory farming. New statistics from Swedish Board of Agriculture for the first quarter of 2021 show that more and more Swedes also continue to opt out of chicken and meat from their meals.
Total consumption during the quarter was 18.4 kg per person in terms of chicken, beef, pork and lamb that are bought, thrown away and consumed. During the same period last year, the figure was 19.8 kg per person.
Project 1882 has calculated that this means that at least 1.5 million fewer individuals ended up on Swedes' plates during the first quarter compared with the same quarter in 2020, of which more than 1.4 million were chickens.
It feels fantastic that chicken consumption continues to decline in Sweden and that more people choose chicken-free meals. I think it’s because more and more people are opening their eyes to the raw reality of factory farming and therefore opt out of the meat.
- Camilla Bergvall, president of Project 1882
However, 36.4 million chickens were still consumed by the Swedish population during the first quarter. This shows the need for a continued reduction in consumption, and excluding chickens from meals makes a big difference.
Project 1882's work for the chickens
During the spring, Project 1882's awareness campaign 99 million was relaunched. This has been done, among other things, through an extensive advertising campaign that has been seen both in public transport and digitally. Project 1882's challenge "Chicken-free Friday" has also taken place during the spring, where the participants are inspired to try tasty chicken-free recipes.
The situation of chickens in factory farming
In Sweden, more than 99 million chickens are raised and killed every year for their meat. The growth-oriented breeding has made the chickens grow so fast that they get hurt and chickens live their five-week short lives trapped in factory farming. The space every chicken gets to grow on is comparable to the size of an iPad, and they are expected to grow from 40 grams to 2,000 grams in 35 days
