Despite claims, chicken not the most affordable protein

Opinion

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This article was published 04/01/2025 (271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Restaurants are expecting to sell more chicken this year. Grocery shoppers are also forecast to buy more poultry in 2025, as chicken is marketed as healthier, more sustainable and more affordable compared to other meats.

But how much of this marketing is real, and how much is cherry-picked industry spin? Is chicken truly the best choice for the planet and pocketbook?

Turns out there are other protein options more eco- and budget-friendly. But the meat industry isn’t going to tell you about them.

In Canada, chicken consumption has seen steady growth since the 1980s, while beef consumption has been in steady decline. This is due to a variety of factors, including the consumption of red meat being linked to increased disease risk, as well as concerns about the massive carbon footprint associated with farming cattle.

More recently, as food prices have shot up, chicken is also being promoted as an economical protein, ready to fill in for other, more costly meats. (Beef prices have recently hit a record high.)

However, when we do the math of cost per gram of protein, other foods —specifically plant proteins— come out as the real winners at the cash register.

When comparing one of the more budget-friendly chicken products (without the added “raised without antibiotics” label), at a Walmart in Winnipeg, the cost at the time of writing was $12 for three breasts, which equates to about 150 grams of protein.

When compared to a can of chickpeas sold at the same Walmart for $1.77 for 39 grams of protein, or popular plant protein tofu for $3.47 for 56 grams of protein, a can of kidney beans for a mere $1.47 for 25 grams of protein (dried legumes are even cheaper), chicken is far from the most affordable source.

To break it down more clearly: 100 grams of protein from chickpeas costs $4.50, from tofu $6.20, from kidney beans $5.88, and from chicken: $8. During times of food price inflation, these costs can really add up.

Something that doesn’t add up, though, is claims made by industry marketers regarding the sustainability of chicken.

Sure, compared to beef, chicken has a smaller eco-footprint, but once again compared to plant proteins, chicken loses. Foods like tofu, beans and peas, and even plant-based meat alternatives like Beyond Meat, require far less water to produce, use up much less land, and emit notably fewer greenhouse gases.

Further, as the chicken industry works to become more environmentally “efficient,” as Chicken Farmers of Canada calls it, animal welfare is taking a troubling hit.

“It just means they are cramming more chickens into barns,” Nicholas Carter, an environmental researcher and co-founder of Plant Based Data told Corporate Knights magazine.

Indeed, while Canada’s chicken farms have drastically decreased from over 99,000 in the 1970s, to fewer than 3,000 today, flock sizes have exploded nearly sevenfold. Canadian chicken farms today cram an average of 6000 birds into their warehouses (adding to concerns about the spread of bird flu) who have been genetically manipulated to grow bigger, faster.

Because rapidly growing birds consume less food and water and produce less waste before they are butchered, amounting to a marketing-friendly reduced carbon footprint. Meanwhile the price the animals pay is significant and disturbing.

But Canadians need healthy protein, right? While many people consider chicken their go-to for lean and nutritious protein, science points to plants more often.

For example, as per the latest iteration of the Canada Food Guide —reportedly created without industry input this time — the protein portion of our plate can and should contain a good amount of plants.

“Plant-based protein foods can provide more fibre and less saturated fat than other types of protein foods,” according to the guide’s website. “This can be beneficial for your heart health.”

Health Canada, along with Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and broader scientific consensus suggest we limit our intake of saturated and trans fats, found mainly in animal-based foods, including chicken, to lower our risk of heart disease and stroke, top killers of Canadians. “Choose plant-based foods more often,” says the foundation.

As the consumption of chickens rises, the industry’s spin on its affordability and sustainability falls apart under scrutiny.

The truth is clear: more eco-friendly, cost-conscious and ethical options exist, and it’s time we focus on proteins that truly benefit the planet, the animals, our health and our budgets.

Jessica Scott-Reid is a Winnipeg based freelance journalist and independent animal advocate. She is also the culture and misinformation correspondent for Sentient.