Noble Foods has retained its top animal welfare ranking in the latest annual report from Compassion In World Farming.
The organisation produces an annual report – Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare – measuring policy commitment, performance, and disclosure on farm animal welfare in food companies.
The 2021 report analysed 150 global food companies, including 62 producers and manufacturers, 53 retailers and wholesalers, and 35 restaurant and bar chains. In the top two tiers, there are nine food producers and manufacturers (Noble Foods, Barilla, Cargill, Cranswick, Groupe Danone, Maple Leaf Foods, Marfrig Global Foods, Premier Foods and Unilever. This compares to six retailers and wholesalers, and just one restaurant and bars company (Greggs).
Of the 150 companies covered by the benchmark, 134 companies (89%) now acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue (compared to 71% of the 68 companies evaluated in 2012), 122 companies (81%) have formal policies on farm animal welfare (compared to 46% of companies in 2012) and 119 companies (79%) have published formal objectives and targets for animal welfare (compared to just 26% of companies in 2012).