Most global food companies now acknowledge farm animal welfare as a key concern, yet tangible improvements remain elusive. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) recently evaluated 150 prominent food companies and assigned the majority a low-performance impact rating due to their poor animal welfare practices.
The revamped BBFAW report introduced stricter criteria focusing on actual welfare outcomes. A substantial investor coalition, managing assets worth $2.3 trillion, plans to discuss these findings with various food companies to encourage better practices.
Investor Engagement and Animal Welfare
Nicky Amos, BBFAW’s executive director, explained in a press release that investors rely on the BBFAW Report to assess how companies manage business risks and opportunities linked to farm animal welfare. This factor is becoming increasingly crucial for those with investments in the food sector.
Investors use these insights to make informed decisions and fulfill their stewardship duties by encouraging companies to adopt recommended practices from the BBFAW assessments. They may also band together to address concerns about a company’s poor farm animal welfare standards and push for systemic improvements.
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Current Status of Farm Animal Welfare
Approximately 95 percent of food companies worldwide recognize farm animal welfare as a central business issue. Despite this, none have reached Tier 1 ‘Leadership’ status in the BBFAW rankings. Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose are among the highest-ranked. But overall, 93 percent of companies have received poor ratings, indicating a lack of protection for animals against harmful practices like close confinement or routine mutilation.
Many of the largest food companies, including Mars, Mondelez International and Starbucks, show no evidence of farm animal welfare on their business agendas, with Tier 6 rankings. Companies like Domino’s Pizza and Yum China Holdings are yet to even publish a formal farm animal welfare policy.
Amos highlighted two main hurdles to achieving progress: the time and investment required to fulfill commitments as well as the complexity of implementing welfare improvements across global supply chains.
Legislation, Consumer Influence and Company Responsibility
BBFAW noted that animal welfare regulations play a crucial role in setting minimum standards, but these laws vary widely and are not uniformly enforced. Companies are therefore encouraged to adopt comprehensive policies that exceed these minimum requirements to ensure consistent standards across all markets. Consumers and business customers also significantly impact how companies manage animal welfare, driving the need for companies to better educate the public on these issues.
The latest BBFAW report now also evaluated how companies are adapting to reduce reliance on animal-sourced foods and shift towards alternative proteins. About 25 percent of assessed companies acknowledge the importance of this shift, with firms like Carrefour and Greggs setting specific targets.
Since its inception in 2012, BBFAW has been the foremost global evaluator of farm animal welfare policies and practices, supported by Compassion in World Farming, Four Paws and a coalition of investors. Recently, animal protection groups have called for the European Union (EU) to stop livestock exports by sea, highlighting significant welfare risks to both animals and crew.
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