Press Release: Leading food companies form the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare

Companies join forces to advance animal welfare standards throughout the global food supply chain.

10 October 2018 – Launched today, the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW) is the world’s first food industry-led initiative aimed at advancing animal welfare globally. The global platform unites major companies and animal welfare experts in improving animal welfare standards at scale and in meeting consumer demand for food products from animals reared in systems that promote good welfare.

Founded by seven member companies, GCAW represents some of the largest names in global food production and food service: Aramark, Compass Group, Elior Group, IKEA Food Services, Nestlé, Sodexo and Unilever. With combined revenues of EUR 139 billion (USD 165 billion), and serving 3.7 billion customers per day, these companies have launched the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare to collectively address systemic barriers to improving animal welfare, accelerate the development of standards and drive progress on key welfare issues.

Today, more than 70 billion land animals are farmed for food annually, and, by 2050, livestock production is expected to double what it was in 2000.

GCAW will advance animal welfare through:

  1. Providing a platform for food companies to work more closely with farm animal welfare experts to identify common objectives and drive improvements;
  2. Prioritizing welfare issues and developing roadmaps for industry change while supporting producers in implementing strong animal welfare practices;
  3. Advancing animal welfare knowledge globally through industry insights, bespoke research and partnerships for action.

GCAW members have identified five priority work streams: cage-free policies, improved broiler chicken welfare, farmed fish welfare, antimicrobial resistance, and global standards for transportation and slaughter. Working with a group of multi-disciplinary experts from academia, industry and civil society, GCAW aims to publish an agenda for change during 2019.

For further information, please see the GCAW website:
http://michaelneligan.co.uk/GCAW

or contact the GCAW Secretariat:
secretariat@gc-animalwelfare.org

#Ends#


Notes to editors

  1. Contact Nicky Amos at the GCAW Secretariat on (44) 7796 430714/ (44) 1243 788613 or email secretariat@gc-animalwelfare.org
  2. The Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW) is a global platform uniting major companies and animal welfare experts in advancing animal welfare standards throughout the global food supply chain.
  3. Founded by seven member companies, GCAW represents some of the largest names in global food production and food service: Aramark, Compass Group, Elior Group, IKEA Food Services, Nestlé, Sodexo and Unilever.
  4. Working with a group of multi-disciplinary experts from academia, industry and civil society, GCAW will establish an agenda for change focused on five priority areas: cage-free policies, improved broiler chicken welfare, farmed fish welfare, antimicrobial resistance, and global standards for transportation and slaughter. The agenda will be published in 2019.
  5. According to Compassion in World Farming (ciwf.com), over 70% of the world’s 70 billion farm animals live in intensive systems, often in conditions where they are unable to move freely or behave naturally. The treatment of farm animals and the nature of the production systems in which they are reared is not only an ethical issue but one that connects to other issues such as food safety, human health and antimicrobial resistance, as well as environmental issues such as carbon emissions, water supply and land use.
  6. Total meat production in the developing world tripled between 1980 and 2002, from 45 to 134 million tonnes (World Bank, 2009)
  7. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that 200 million more tonnes of beef and other livestock will be needed by 2050 to meet the needs of the world’s expected 9-billion-strong population.

Related Posts