Sustainability of Rearing System Using Multicriteria Analysis: Application in Commercial Poultry Production

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Organic poultry production is growing annually in Europe and USA. The main objective of the organic rearing system is to improve animal welfare, environmental impact and human welfare. All of these aspects are part of the "One Welfare" approach, which also includes food security, sustainability, the reduction of human suffering and improvements in the productivity of farms by applying high welfare standards. However, “One Welfare” is still a theoretical concept; it is important to determine practical applications for this concept in order to evaluate the production system in its entirety. This study, for the first time, applies the One Welfare approach in commercial poultry production by developing a specific a multicriteria model. This model was used to compare three different rearing systems, considering all their inputs and outputs simultaneously. ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to develop a multicriteria model for the comparison of three commercial poultry farms: organic with Ross 308 genotype (OR), organic with Naked Neck genotype (ONN) and a conventional system (C), which represents the most common commercial farming system. A model based on multicriteria decision analysis was developed, considering for the first time the One Welfare approach in an operational manner, including three dimensions: human, environmental and animal welfare. The three alternatives demonstrated different performances, according to the different dimensions considered. In particular, the two organic systems performed better for human welfare and animal welfare, with relevant differences due to the genetic strains used. Conventional rearing performed better for the environment index due to the method chosen. The multicriteria analysis showed that the organic system performed better overall than the conventional system. In particular, the use of an adapted Slow Growing (SG) strain positively affected the final rank, mainly by reducing welfare problems and producing good economic and social performance. The stability of the results was verified by performing a sensitivity analysis, specifically a weight stability analysis, which confirmed the strength of results.