Compassion in World Farming celebrated five US food businesses and one certification program for their notable work to improve poultry welfare standards at the 2016 Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards.

The event was held in Berlin on June 28 and was hosted by singer/songwriter and animal welfare advocate Blanche Elliz. The awards demonstrate that awareness of farm animal welfare is quickly rising in the public and business consciousness.

Compass Group, Aramark, The Happy Egg Company and Prêt a Manger were awarded with the Good Egg Award for their cage-free egg policies. In order to qualify for this award, companies must either currently source 100% cage-free eggs, or have committed to achieving this within a 5 year timeframe.

A Special Recognition Award was presented to Whole Foods Market in the US in partnership with Global Animal Partnership (GAP) for their commitment to slower-growing breeds and better living conditions for chickens in the US. In a market-leading move, GAP has committed to replace 100%of fast-growing chicken breeds with slower-growing breeds for all levels of its 5-Step® Rating Program, and for all levels to meet or exceed the criteria of the Good Chicken Award. Whole Foods Market has committed to implementing the new chicken standard across all its fresh and frozen chicken by 2024.

“Since 2011, Whole Foods Market has used Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step Rating system to provide our customers with standards and information around how the animal was raised for the meat they buy,” said Theo Weening, global meat buyer for Whole Foods Market. “Supporting this additional commitment to improve chicken welfare is a step forward in continuing to provide our customers with products of the highest quality and flavor.”

Whole Foods Market and GAP’s award is particularly significant, as it is the first major, specific, time-bound commitment to address the negative effects of fast growth on chicken health and welfare in the USA where both supply and demand for slower-growing breeds are currently severely lacking. By taking this one action, the lives of 245 million birds in the USA will be improved.

Rachel Dreskin, Food Business Manager for Compassion in World Farming said: “We congratulate all of our US award winners, whose policies and practices will benefit millions of animals each year.Cage confinement for hens will soon be a thing of the past, and broiler welfare is quickly moving up the corporate agenda. The work that Whole Foods Market and GAP are doing will not only directly benefit the chickens in their supply chain and those certified by GAP, but also sends a clear signal to the rest of the US poultry industry that this is the future of broiler production.”

Full list of winners: (full details of winners’ policies available on request)

Good Egg Award Winners
Aldi Nord (Retailer - DE)
Aramark (Food Service - US)
Clarence Court (Manufacturer - UK)
Compass (Food Service - US)
Ecoterra (Manufacturer - Chile)
Five Guys (Food Service - UK)
Greene King (Food Service - UK)
Gourmet Burger Kitchen (Food Service - UK)
Happy Egg Co. (Manufacturer - US)
Harry's (Manufacturer - FR)
McDonald's (Food Service - AUS)
McDonald's (Food Service - NZ)
Mitchells & Butlers (Food Service - UK)
Monoprix (Retailer - FR)
Pret (Food Service - UK)
Pret (Food Service - US)
Procuratio (Food Service - DE)
Rema 1000 (Retailer - NO)
REWE (Retailer - DE)
Tchibo (Food Service -DE)

Good Chicken Award Winners
Capestone Organic (Manufacturer - UK)
Ella's Kitchen (Manufacturer - UK)
Jumbo Supermarkten B.V. (Retailer - NL)
Migros (Retailer - CH)
Réné Meyer (Manufacturer - FR)
Schiever – bi1 brand (Retailer - FR)
Terrena Nouvelle Agriculture (Manufacturer - FR)

Good Dairy Award winners
Pret (Food Service - UK)
Rachel's (Manufacturer - UK)

Good Dairy Commendation winners
Bel Portugal (Manufacturer - PT)
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Food Service - NL)

Good Pig Award winners
Cook (Manufacturer - UK)
Fumagalli Industria Alimentari S.p.A. (Manufacturer - IT)
Primavera (Manufacturer - IT)

Good Sow Commendation winners
Madeo Tenuta Corone (Manufacturer - IT)
Marcos (Manufacturer - ES)

Good Rabbit Award winners
Coop Switzerland (Retailer - CH)
Kani-Swiss (Manufacturer - CH)
Real (Retailer - DE)

Good Rabbit Commendation winners
REWE (Retailer - DE)

Best Innovation Award 2016
Plukon Food Group (Manufacturer - NL)

Best Marketing Award 2016
McDonalds (Food Service - UK)

Special Recognition Award 2016
Whole Foods Market / Global Animal Partnership (Retailer & NGO - US)

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Photographs from the Awards Ceremony will be available for download from 28 June using the following link: https://goodfarmanimalwelfareawards.sharefile.com/d-s63e543ea9f447d99

For further information on the Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards run by Compassion in World Farming, please contact:
Nina Farley
Public & Media Engagement
443-812-2081
nina.farley@ciwf.org

Notes to editors:
Compassion is recognized as the leading international farm animal welfare charity. It was founded in 1967 by Peter Roberts, a British dairy farmer, who became concerned about the development of intensive factory farming. Compassion in World Farming’s Food Business team engages with the world’s leading food companies, inspiring progress through prestigious awards and supporting products and initiatives which represent tangible benefits for farm animals. We also encourage higher-welfare food purchasing in the public sector. To find out more about the work of the Food Business team, visit www.compassioninfoodbusiness.com.

Compassion Awards Poultry Welfare Progress in the US