Corporate Reporting on Farm Animal Welfare: An Evaluation of Global Food Companies’ Discourse and Disclosures on Farm Animal Welfare

Abstract

Simple SummaryCompanies that produce or sell food products from farm animals can have a major influence on the lives and welfare of these animals. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) conducts an annual evaluation of the farm animal welfare-related disclosures of some of the world’s largest food companies. The programme looks at companies’ published policies and commitments and examines whether these might lead to actions that can improve animal welfare on farms. It also assesses whether companies show leadership in this field. The BBFAW found that, in 2012 and 2013, around 70% of companies acknowledged animal welfare as a business issue, and that, between 2012 and 2013, there was clear evidence of an increased level of disclosure on farm animal welfare awareness in the companies that were assessed. However, only 34% (2012) and 44% (2013) of companies had published comprehensive farm animal welfare policies, suggesting that many companies have yet to report on farm animal welfare as a business issue or disclose their approach to farm animal welfare to stakeholders and society.AbstractThe views that food companies hold about their responsibilities for animal welfare can strongly influence the lives and welfare of farm animals. If a company’s commitment is translated into action, it can be a major driver of animal welfare. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is an annual evaluation of farm animal welfare-related practices, reporting and performance of food companies. The framework evaluates how close, based on their disclosures, companies are to best practice in three areas: Management Commitment, Governance & Performance and Leadership & Innovation. The BBFAW analysed information published by 68 (2012) and 70 (2013) of the world’s largest food companies. Around 70% of companies acknowledged animal welfare as a business issue. Between 2012 and 2013, the mean BBFAW score increased significantly by 5% (p < 0.001, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test). However, only 34% (2012) and 44% (2013) of companies published comprehensive animal welfare policies. This increase suggests that global food companies are increasingly aware that farm animal welfare is of interest to their stakeholders, but also that many companies have yet to acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue or to demonstrate their approach to farm animal welfare to stakeholders and society.

Providing Effective Environmental Enrichment to Pigs: How Far Have We Come?

“…The commitments of food companies can be a major driving force to influence the welfare of animals, especially if the commitments expressed are translated into actual behaviour [11]. There is increasing pressure on food companies to include animal welfare as an area of focus within their business objectives, especially those that have animal products in their supply chain (e.g., food retailers, processors and food service businesses).…”

“…Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the principle instrument to communicate a company’s ethical and social commitments [114] and CSR statements are also an important component of branding, assuring consumers that due diligence requirements are being met and helping to retain customer fidelity [98]. Many companies have incorporated animal welfare statements within their social responsibility targets [11,115]. Furthermore, companies are starting to realise that ignoring supply chain-related animal welfare issues may create business and brand value risks [114,116], and this increases pressure on companies to include animal welfare as a focus of management.…”

“…Tools such as the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW, an annual evaluation of the management of farm animal welfare in the world’s largest food companies) have helped investors to differentiate between those companies that manage farm animal welfare well and those that do not, as the BBFAW encourages improved reporting on farm animal welfare by companies and it provides a robust framework for assessing companies’ approaches to this issue [118]. There is evidence that companies respond to signals sent to them via responsible investors, as there has been a year on year increase in the overall BBFAW score for most of the businesses assessed, despite tightening of the Benchmark criteria and the increased emphasis on performance reporting and impact [11,120].…”

“…Countries, regions, businesses and individuals travelling on this journey reach the destination of improved animal welfare at different rates and in different ways. The drivers on this ‘journey’ will vary in different global regions, but a broad categorisation is possible [10,11]:Regulation;Concern about animal welfare from consumer/citizens, actioned via non-governmental organisations (NGOs);Welfare standards and private animal welfare initiatives (assurance schemes);Agri-sector business innovation and business engagement, for example via Corporate Social Responsibility.…”

A commentary on animal welfare in the US meat and poultry industry

“…Most of the top 10 meat and poultry producing companies in the US addressed the issue of animal welfare in their most recent sustainability report. As such, this is somewhat at odds with the claim by Sullivan, Amos, and van de Weerd (2017) that many of the major food companies “ have yet to acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue or to demonstrate their approach to farm animal welfare to stakeholders and society .” That said, the leading US meat and poultry producing companies were at their most emphatic in emphasising their strategic commitment to animal welfare, but some of these claimed commitments might currently be best seen as aspirational. In addressing achievements, some of the companies reported on successfully meeting a number of their animal care targets but were less fulsome in reporting on how some strategic commitments were being pursued, and in providing any detailed material to explicitly evidence their animal welfare achievements.…”