Activists from the L214 association demonstrate in front of a La Brioche Dorée sign, owned by the Le Duff group. January 21, 2020, in Rennes. - C. Allain / 20 Minutes

  • The L214 association demonstrated Tuesday at noon in front of a La Brioche Dorée sign in Rennes, where the headquarters of the Le Duff group are located.
  • The activists wanted to alert consumers to the conditions of raising broilers from the food giant.
  • The pressure paid off since the group undertook to comply with a reference document in Europe. But without mentioning the passage outdoors of animals.

Some posters showing the interior of an intensive chicken farm. And three words. "Locked up. Stop cruelty ”. Tuesday noon, fifteen activists from the L214 association challenged the Le Duff empire. By standing in front of the Brioche Dorée sign located a stone's throw from Place de la République, in Rennes, the association wanted to alert passers-by to the fate of farmed chickens used by the behemoth of the industrial bakery. And thus put pressure on the agrifood group, whose head office is located in Rennes but which employs 35,000 people around the world and posts a turnover of more than two billion euros.

According to L214, the Le Duff group did not comply with the recommendations of the European Chicken Commitment, a commitment document produced by very many European associations for the defense of animal welfare. "We have been interacting with the Le Duff group since 2018 but it had not wished to follow our recommendations", summarizes Léo Le Ster, campaign manager at L214. But Friday, in the wake of the announcement of the association's upcoming actions, Le Duff woke up and sent a press release. “The group is committed to meeting the criteria determined by the European Chicken Commitment. French restaurant brands joined the initiative in 2019, and it is now Kamps, the German brand, which completes the group's commitment, ”specifies the food industry empire.

#Rennes The association @ L214 sits in front of a Brioche Dorée shop belonging to @GroupeLeDuff to denounce cruelty to farm animals @ 20Minutes pic.twitter.com/sBvOxU7ndr

- 20 Minutes Rennes (@ 20minutesrennes) January 21, 2020

An initiative welcomed by L214 but deemed insufficient. “We also asked them that 20% of their broiler supplies come from farms with access to the outdoors. It is a fundamental element of animal welfare. Twenty percent is not insurmountable! But they did not follow, "regrets Léo Le Ster, who specifies:" We do not want to stigmatize the managers of this or that shop, nor the customers, but inform consumers. It is a societal demand ”. The association is based on a survey carried out by Ifop in 2018 which revealed that 93% of French people were opposed to the confinement for life of chickens.

Put pressure on the giants of the food industry

By putting pressure on the giants of the food industry, the association hopes to gradually change farming practices. If Brioche Dorée, Bridor, Del Arte or Fournil de Pierre require their suppliers to have chicken raised outdoors in their sandwiches or pizzas, farms will be forced to follow. Contacted, the Le Duff group did not respond to our requests.

Recently, L214 convinced the Intermarché group and the Courtepaille restaurants to comply. Others like Carrefour, McDonald's or Buffalo Grill refuse to do so. “It is a very competitive sector which is observed and followed. We encourage everyone to go the right way, ”said the L214 spokesperson.

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  • Breeding
  • Agriculture
  • Animals
  • Animal cruelty
  • Hen
  • Food
  • Economy
  • Rennes