The 2017 Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare report analyses farm animal welfare management and performance of 110 global food companies, including retailers, wholesalers, food producers, restaurants and bars.
The report’s finding include:
- Farm animal welfare is seen as a strategic opportunity by many companies, with 72% of the surveyed companies having published plans to improve farm animal welfare.
- Companies are setting targets on key animal welfare issues such as avoiding close confinement, sow stalls and cages for laying hens.
- The number of companies that consider farm animal welfare integral to their strategy has increased in recent years, as shown in the figure below.
- Reporting on animal welfare performance is becoming more common. For example, 54% of the companies provide some data on the proportion of animals free from close confinement.
- Consumer demand is important: 79% of respondents identified customer and client interest as the most important influence on their approach to animal welfare.
- Barriers to progress include costs and capital investment, a lack of awareness of the business benefits of animal welfare and the perception that customers don’t want to pay more for better animal welfare.
Read the full report here (PDF link). See also the Foodsource building block What is animal welfare?
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