Time for improved corporate social responsibility
As a company in the food industry, your decision for improved animal welfare will have a future-oriented influence on the conditions under which animals are kept and slaughtered in factory farming. A sensible animal welfare policy is not only necessary to be considered a progressive company, but also for reduction of animal suffering, strengthening your company profile/brand, signaling to consumers, and less risk of public criticism.
Americans Want Businesses To Act On Animal Welfare
More than ever, consumers want social wellbeing to be reflected in what they buy. Studies repeatedly show that Americans highly value animal welfare - often above all other issue areas.
Consumer Preferences Are Clear:
- 4 out of 5 Americans want restaurants and grocers to end cruel factory farming practices
- 78% of consumers supported improving the lives of chickens even if it increases the cost of meat
- 77% of consumers said they are concerned about the welfare of animals raised for food
- Animal welfare is in the top four attributes consumers value, along with avoidance of toxins, fair labor practices, and minimizing pollution
- Nearly 75% of consumers said that when making purchasing decisions, it is important that the company treats animals “humanely.”
- The top animal welfare practices cited as likely to increase product purchases included animals not being mistreated while alive and animals raised in as natural an environment as possible.
Higher Animal Welfare = Better Food Safety
Animal welfare and food safety for humans go hand in hand. Zoonotic diseases such as "mad cow disease," swine flu, and also the current COVID-19 pandemic are examples of an immediate threat to humans and animals alike, being transmitted from animals to humans.
Diseases like these have perfect breeding environments in groups of animals with high stocking densities and who have been overbred, making them particularly susceptible to infections, treated with extremely high quantities of antibiotics. The issue, aside from unknown health consequences of ingesting animal tissue with large amounts of various antibiotics, is that antibiotics are often used to prevent diseases in humans too.
Using antibiotics in large quantities in animals threatens antibiotic use for humans as they are rendered ineffective due to antibiotic resistance.
- As examples, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Food Safety Authority, more and more strains of Campylobacter and Salmonella bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics.
- These germs are not only present in meat, but also in the water and exhaust air from farms to the surrounding area. Through farmers fertilizing, they also land on plants and are transferred to humans. Higher welfare conditions for animals thus translates to a safer environment.
As a company in the food industry, you have a unique opportunity to decide which animal welfare standards you stipulate in your purchasing policy and can influence for good.
The Animals and Issues We Focus On
Broiler Chickens
The serious problems for broiler chickens consist of three main issues: extreme overbreeding, overcrowding/high stocking densities, and problematic slaughter methods/mis-stunning. The Better Chicken Commitment addresses these problems and is designed for food companies using chicken meat products. Over 500 leading companies already support the Better Chicken Commitment including KFC, Burger King, Chipotle, Starbucks, Compass Group, Whole Foods, HelloFresh, General Mills, Unilever, and Nestlé. Join them.
Laying Hens
Fortunately, companies and consumers are driving a market shift to 100% cage-free eggs, recognizing the misery of hens living in barren, wire cages. Companies with cage-free commitments include: Safeway, Walmart, Costco, 7-Eleven, Campbell’s, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Kraft Heinz, and PepsiCo. Join them.
In-Ovo Sexing
In order to prevent the killing of billions of day-old male chicks, new technologies, called in-ovo sexing, are now available. This technology offers many advantages for companies: potential cost savings, reduced environmental impact, minimization of animal suffering, and improved brand positioning and reputation. United Egg Producers, a collective representing 90% of egg production in the U.S., as well as purchasing giant Unilever, have both endorsed in-ovo sexing. Join them.
About Animal Equality and Our Corporate Outreach Department
Animal Equality is an international non-profit organization with locations in eight countries on four continents and over ten years of experience in dialogue with food businesses. We work together with society, politics and companies to improve the living conditions of animals in factory farming. Animal Equality’s four strategic focuses are educational campaigns, corporate outreach, animal welfare legislation, and undercover investigations.
Our Corporate Outreach Department works with some of the world's largest food businesses to inform and advise on the best animal welfare practices in their supply chains and purchasing policies. Our Corporate Outreach Team consists of more than 20 employees and has permanent offices in the United States, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Animal Equality is a member of the Open Wing Alliance, a global coalition of more than 90 organizations working to end the cruelest practices in the keeping of broiler chickens and laying hens. As part of this coalition, over 1,500 international food companies have chosen to commit to meaningful animal welfare practices, including Nestlé, HelloFresh, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Compass Group, and more.
In 2020, our work achieved a potential media reach of more than 700 million in the U.S., with a potential worldwide reach of 3.8 billion. Over the years, our work has been covered by Bloomberg, Politico, the BBC, and The Daily Mail, among other publications.
We have worked with some of the largest food companies in the world on meaningful animal welfare improvements and look forward to supporting your business as well. Contact us.
