Better animal welfare from meat industry, finds report
The second report of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, published today, assessed 70 food companies from across Europe and the US, including retailers and wholesalers, restaurants and bars, and meat processors.
It revealed that 41% of companies had published objectives and targets for farm animal welfare in 2013, up from just 26% in 2012. Additionally, 56% of companies had published formal animal welfare policies, up from 46% in 2012.
In particular, the report praised The Co-op Group (Switzerland), Marks & Spencer, Arla, Marfrig, Royal FrieslandCampina, Sainsbury’s, Vion and Waitrose for the improvements they had made over the past year. It added that The Co-op Group (Switzerland), Marks & Spencer, The Co-operative Food (UK), J Sainsbury, Marfrig, Noble Foods and Unilever had “carved out a clear leadership position in reporting farm animal welfare policies”.
Lagging behind
However, while some businesses scored well in the report, others failed to make significant progress.
“While 71% of food companies acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue, almost half have yet to formalise their approach to managing the issue. This indicates that farm animal welfare is lagging behind other issues on the corporate responsibility agenda,” said Benchmark programme director Nicky Amos.
The worst performers were predominantly from the restaurant, bar and foodservice sector, with the report noting that performance appeared to be “affected by a company’s proximity to the consumer”.
“Those that have a strong high street presence, such as Greggs, JD Wetherspoons, McDonald’s or Starbucks, all performed notably better than business-to-business companies such as Elior, Gategroup Holding or SSP Group, which are relatively unknown to the public,” it said.
The report set out a roadmap for action to encourage these businesses to improve their animal welfare management and reporting.
Business agenda
Animal welfare groups have welcomed the publication of the report.
Philip Lymbery, CEO of Compassion in World Farming, said: “The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare has played a catalytic role in putting farm animal welfare on the business agenda. It has pushed companies to acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue and, critically, it has forced them to take action.”
Mike Baker, CEO, World Society for the Protection of Animals, added: “Animal welfare should play an integral part in basic food standards; I think we are seeing more demand from both consumers and regulators for this. The Benchmark’s effectiveness is demonstrated by the significant changes we have seen in company performance in the last year alone, and we hope that will continue year-on-year.”
