Compassion in World Farming was founded in 1967 in England by Peter Roberts, a British farmer who became horrified by the development of intensive factory farming. Over 50 years ago he decided to make a difference and take a stand against this farming system. In his lifetime, Peter Roberts saw the demise of veal crates and gestation crates in the UK, and in Europe achieved recognition that animals are sentient beings and secured a ban on the barren battery cage and gestation crates for sows (except for the period up to four weeks into pregnancy).

Compassion in World Farming is dedicated to reforming a broken food and farming system and introducing a more humane, fair, and sustainable one.

Our US office is based in New York City and is led by our US Executive Director, Ben Williamson.

Our achievements

We are immensely proud of what we have achieved for farm animals in the US and all over the world, thanks to the help of our supporters who make these initiatives possible:

Food Business Program

Compassion in World Farming’s Food Business Team works with some of the world’s biggest food companies to help establish policies that improve the lives of animals in their supply chain. More and more companies are acknowledging consumer demand for higher animal welfare standards— from eliminating cages for egg-laying hens and gestation crates for mother pigs to improving living conditions for broiler chickens. Recent progress includes:

• Securing cage-free egg policies from top restaurant chains (including McDonald’s, Panera, and Taco Bell), supermarkets (including Walmart, Kroger, Trader Joe’s, and Publix), and food service companies (including Sodexo and Compass)
• Developing commitments for better living conditions and slower-growth genetics for broiler chickens from producers like Perdue and retailers like Whole Foods Market

Read more about progress from food businesses.

Advocacy Campaigns

Factory farming harms animals, our health, the environment, and farmers and farm workers. Through our advocacy campaigns, Compassion USA works to raise awareness of the impacts of factory farming, and encourage consumers to demand better. The movement is gaining momentum. Our campaigns have reached over 100 million people and counting:

• We are the only animal welfare organization forging unlikely partnerships with factory farm owners who want to speak out against injustices in the animal agriculture industry.
• Empowering consumers to achieve more honest food labels and access to better food options continues to be a key part of our campaigns.
• Our campaigns have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, National Geographic, HBO's Last Week Tonight, and many more.

Read more about our campaigns

Encouraging and Rewarding Progress

When top food companies commit to meaningful change, they pave the way for others to follow. We're proud to recognize leaders in the food industry creating a better world for farm animals. We also benchmark food businesses on their transparency and animal welfare policies to encourage progress.

• Since 2007, our Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards have highlighted companies committed to establishing higher welfare standards in their global supply chains.
• Compassion in World Farming is a founding member of the Business Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), the world’s leading measure of company performance on farmed animal welfare and transparency. Our ratings drive corporate decision-making and have inspired change within some of the world’s biggest companies.
• Top food industry investors are taking note that consumers care about animal welfare. In a groundbreaking letter, 18 institutional investors recently pledged to take farm animal welfare and transparency policies into account when analyzing food companies.

Thank you for being a part of the change.

To see the specific, measurable progress we're making together in our fight to end factory farming, please see our impact.

Thanks to the passion and generosity of our supporters, we have made a great deal of progress to end the biggest cause of animal cruelty on the planet: factory farming. We believe that farmed animals should not and need not suffer. If you agree, please consider donating today.

You can also help by joining the movement to improve the lives of farm animals!

• Sign up for our action alert emails
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn
• Visit our Action Center to get involved in our current campaigns