CIWF’s Awards Reflect and Reward the Global Drive to go Cage-Free

2016 was a remarkable year for the welfare of laying hens as many of the world’s most influential food companies made a wave of cage-free commitments, laying the foundation for the end of the cage age.

This momentous shift was reflected at CIWF’s 2017 Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards, which took place on Wednesday, June 28th in London.

Four US companies were recognized for their work on advancing animal welfare including Noodles & Company, Shake Shack, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, and Whole Foods Market.

Noodles & Company and Shake Shack were awarded with a Good Egg Award for successfully achieving their transition to a 100% cage-free egg supply chain across all of their products. Shake Shack was also recognized with a Good Sow Commendation for its industry leading policy that ensures neither gestation nor farrowing crates are used for pigs within its supply chain.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, a natural foods retailer, has sold only cage-free eggs since 1955 when it first opened and recently updated its minimum standard to require pasture access across its supply chain. This long standing commitment to laying hen welfare was recognized with Good Egg Award.

Whole Foods Market, who has been recognized for its higher welfare animal welfare policies in the past by CIWF, is the first US food company to receive a prestigious Cage-Free award. The Cage Free Award celebrates companies that have made the momentous commitment to eliminate ALL cages and crates from their business.

The event marked 10 years since the first Good Egg Award was presented in 2007. Since then over 1,000 Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards have been presented to companies from across the globe.

Lucy Siegle, who hosted the event, said: “I am honored to have hosted the Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards. This is not only the 10th year since the awards began but the 50th anniversary year of Compassion itself. Through the efforts of Compassion working with award winners, major strides are being made in improving the lives of millions of farm animals and in positively changing the attitudes of the global food industry towards farm animal welfare.”

The 2017 award winners alone are calculated to positively impact the lives of nearly 100 million animals each year. Together with previous awards winners, other partnership projects, and more recently the groundswell of corporate pledges, more than 1 billion farm animals are set to benefit.

Rachel Dreskin, US Head of Food Business at Compassion in World Farming said: “In the past year, US food companies have stepped up in a tremendous way for farmed animals. Cages for laying hens will soon be a thing of the past, and the plight of the broiler chicken is being seriously addressed by many leading companies. We are delighted to recognize this year’s US winners and look forward to working with all of our food business partners to continue to move the needle forward for farmed animals across the US and beyond.”

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Photographs from the Awards Ceremony will be available for download from June 29th using the following link: https://goodfarmanimalwelfareawards.sharefile.com/d-s0e7bcbdf66744538

For further information on the Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards run by Compassion in World Farming, please contact:
Nina Farley
Head of US Public Engagement
nina.farley@ciwf.org

Notes to editors:
Compassion in World Farming 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 to inspire progress which represents tangible benefits for farm animals. To find out more about the work of the Food Business team, visit www.compassioninfoodbusiness.com.

Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards 2017