The latest Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), released today (27 March), reveals steady progress on farm animal welfare across the global food industry.

BBFAW is the world’s leading annual assessment of the food industry’s farm animal welfare policies, practices and performance, assessing 150 global food companies across 51 criteria and 5 pillars, and ranking across six tiers.

The report, which is supported by Compassion in World Farming and animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS, reveals that 14 companies have moved up the tier ranking. Greggs, Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose are the top performers reaching ‘Tier 2’. In fact, UK-based companies dominate the upper tier rankings, and have an average overall score of 41%.

The leading group of companies demonstrate that humane standards of farm animal welfare, such as providing animals with more space or using best practice methods of slaughter, is integral to their business strategy.

There are concerns however that a significant block of large food companies (79%), including household names like Nestlé and McDonalds remain in ‘Tiers 5 and 6’ - the bottom two tiers - for a second consecutive year.

This year’s results are the second since BBFAW introduced more stringent criteria that put a greater focus on companies’ welfare performance and approach to reducing their reliance on animal sourced food.

The key insights from the report include that:

• Greggs PLC joins Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose among top performers (ranking in Tier 2 of six tiers), while 14 companies improve their tier ranking.
• Three companies (Fonterra, Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods) break into high ‘B’ grades for first time on BBFAW’s Impact Rating - which assesses whether the company is delivering meaningful welfare improvements for animals in their supply chains.
• A majority of food companies (118 of 150 companies), however, are stuck in BBFAW’s bottom two tiers, so provide limited evidence that they are managing animal welfare effectively. Nestlé, McDonalds, Cargill, Tyson Foods and Yum! Brands - the owners of KFC, are among those in the bottom two tiers for second consecutive year of the revised benchmark.
• Geographic diversity - UK-based companies dominate the upper tier rankings and have an average overall score of 41%. Companies based in Europe and Latin America perform next best with average overall scores of 20%. Average scores for North America were 12%, and in the Asia Pacific region just 9%.
  
  

Philip Lymbery, Global Chief Executive, Compassion in World Farming, said:

“Businesses play a critical leadership role in transforming food systems for a more sustainable and animal welfare-friendly future. A key first step is eliminating cages—and we are already making progress. As the impact of current practices weighs on people, animals, and the planet, the urgency for change will only grow.

Every company has the power to drive meaningful progress by shifting toward higher-welfare, cage-free products, diversifying protein portfolios with more plant-based options, and embracing regenerative farming. Together, we can build a food system that respects animals, supports the planet, and creates a better future for all.”

Nicky Amos, Executive Director of the BBFAW said:

“This is the second year of results since BBFAW introduced more stringent criteria and it’s encouraging to see companies responding positively with 14 companies moving up a tier, and a further 14 improving their Impact Rating. It’s not just animals that feel the benefit of those changes – with more space to roam and fewer farm animals suffering mutilations or long-distance live transportation. Companies feel the benefits too - in terms of building their reputation with consumers and getting ahead of potential regulation.

“While the leaders are picking up the pace, clearly much more needs to be done with the large majority of food companies, including many household names, stuck in BBFAW’s bottom two tiers. Too many food companies still provide limited evidence that they are managing animal welfare effectively.

“Perhaps most striking this year is the Atlantic Gap. While the UK is the highest-performing region, practically all North American food companies are stuck in the bottom two tiers of the benchmark.”

Read the full BBFAW report.

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For more information, please email media.team@ciwf.org or call +44 (0)1483 521 615.

Notes to editor

- Compassion in World Farming: Compassion in World Farming is the leading international farm animal welfare organisation dedicated to ending factory farming and reshaping the food system to benefit the lives of animals, people, and the health of the planet. Through campaigning, lobbying for legislative change, and positive engagement with the global food industry, we seek to influence key decision makers that shape, make and fund the food system. Through our Food Business programme, we work in partnership with leading food companies to drive transformational change for farm animal welfare, reduce the reliance on animal sourced foods and encourage a shift to regenerative farming practices.

- FOUR PAWS: FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. four-paws.org

- The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the leading global measure of farm animal welfare management, policy commitment, performance and disclosure in food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare, and it drives – directly and through the efforts of others – corporate improvements in the welfare of animals reared for food. The BBFAW Secretariat maintains the Global Investor Statement on Farm Animal Welfare and convenes the Global Investor Collaboration on Farm Animal Welfare, a collaborative engagement between major institutional investors and food companies on the issue of farm animal welfare. The programme is supported by Compassion in World Farming and FOUR PAWS, who provide technical expertise, guidance, funding and practical resources, alongside supporting the assessed food businesses with training, programmatic expertise and consultancy engagement.

BBFAW was formed in 2012 and is the globally recognised investor framework for assessing the quality of companies’ practices, processes and performance on farm animal welfare. Companies were assessed on their approach to managing farm animal welfare in five areas: (1) Policy Commitments, (2) Governance and Management, (3) Targets (4) Performance Impact; and (5) Reducing Reliance on animal sourced foods. Company assessments were based on information published by companies on the date of their assessments. All companies were assessed during the period from October to November 2024. BBFAW is supported by a coalition of institutional investors, managing over $2.4 trillion in assets, who will engage with the companies in the year ahead to drive improvement. More information on the programme can be found at bbfaw.com

Additional quotes

Josef Pfabigan, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Four Paws, said:

“FOUR PAWS once more supports BBFAW’s efforts to encourage higher animal welfare in the food industry and a transition towards sustainable and cruelty-free food systems globally. It is encouraging to see a group of leading companies piloting modern strategies and implementations against the systematic abuse of over 80 billion farmed animals that are slaughtered for food every year. I am pleased to see more companies starting to address the need to reduce dependence on food of animal origin which not only supports a critical reduction in greenhouse gas emissions but also offers the chance to improve the welfare standards of farmed animals. However, for the majority of companies, animal welfare is merely lip service to this day. Here, tangible measures and concrete actions must urgently be implemented. FOUR PAWS keeps on advocating and fighting for ending cruel practices in factory farming, including a reduction of farmed animals, worldwide.”

Robert-Alexandre Poujade, ESG analyst, biodiversity lead at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said:

“The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare is a unique yardstick for the market that gives investors a valuable insight into the management quality of individual food companies. It helps to shine a light on which companies are best managing not just on-the-ground animal welfare systems, but business-critical issues such as reputational risk, resilient supply chains and antimicrobial resistance. This year the results tell us a lot about which companies are taking this issue seriously.”