VFC condemns KFC’s marketing campaign as ‘totally misleading’ – vegconomist

Plant-Based Fried Chicken Brand VFC has reacted furiously to a new KFC marketing campaign that appears to show high welfare standards at a farm supplying the fast food chain.

For the campaign, KFC teamed up with social media influencer Niko Omilana, inviting him to go “behind the bucket” at the chicken farm. The film shows the floor of the shed covered with fresh straw, perches and bells provided to enrich the life of the hens, healthy birds and reasonable space.

But VFC was skeptical, having investigated several poultry farms and found consistently poor conditions. The company, which previously said it intended to ‘take on the chicken industry’ and ‘end factory farming’, tracked down the farm used in the film and entered with a filmmaker. Just weeks into KFC’s campaign, VFC captured footage and photos that appeared to show inhumane conditions.

“Infidel” Campaign

Inside the shed, VFC says it found no straw, a dung-soaked floor, no bells and perches far too high for the hens to reach. The company reports that there were several sick and injured birds, and bins full of carcasses outside the unit. There were also dead birds lying in a wheelbarrow and on the floor of the shed, which was much more crowded than shown in the KFC film.

“This is the most dishonest marketing campaign we’ve seen in a long time,” said VFC co-founder Matthew Glover. “This portrayal of chicken farming is totally misleading and is meant to reassure the public that all is well, when nothing could be further from the truth. We weren’t surprised to find things were so bad as this is the daily reality of intensive chicken farming. But that leaves us with just one question: Did the farm lie to KFC about its wellness standards, or is KFC lying to the rest of us?