Companies like Whole Foods are betting customers will pay more for unhurried maturing of birds.The U.S. chicken industry has spent decades figuring out how to grow its birds fast. Now, some of its customers are looking for producers willing to slow things down.A typical commercial chicken has been bred to grow to twice the size of birds from 50 years ago, in around half the time. The faster pace has meant big savings and fatter profits for the meatpackers that raise them. But companies such as Whole Foods Market Inc. and Starbucks Corp. now are betting their customers are willing to pay more for chicken raised at a more leisurely rate.
Growing demand for meat from animals raised more slowly reflects a broader shift in consumer tastes for food and farm practices regarded as more humane and natural. The debate over how food should be raised has powered a flood of changes by meat companies that for decades have worked to drive down costs and scale-up production.