Food Industry Benchmark Reveals ‘Atlantic Gap’ on Animal Welfare

Our latest Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), released today, shows slow but steady progress across the global food industry on animal welfare.

The BBFAW monitors 150 global food giants, evaluating their policies, practices, and performance on farm animal welfare. As the world’s leading annual assessment of industry welfare standards, BBFAW assesses companies across a wide range of criteria, ranking them into six tiers.

The benchmark is supported by us, alongside animal welfare NGO FOUR PAWS, and 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.

A staggering gap

The results reveal a staggering Atlantic gap in animal welfare standards. Top UK performers included British bakery favourite Greggs PLC, and high street stalwarts Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, as well as Premier Foods. These leading companies show that humane standards of farm animal welfare, such as providing animals with more space or using best practice methods of slaughter, can be integral to a successful business strategy. What’s more, UK-based firms rank highest of all other regions, achieving an average of 41% against all BBFAW criteria.

Meanwhile, US businesses scored poorly across all parts of the benchmark, with 42 of 43 US-based companies given our lowest rankings. The average score for North America was just 12%. Companies like McDonalds, Cargill, Tyson Foods and Yum! Brands – the owners of KFC – have provided limited or no evidence that they are managing animal welfare effectively.

Regional differences

Companies based in Europe and Latin America achieved the second highest overall scores, of 20%. The Asia Pacific region ranked lowest geographically, at just 9%. With these companies mostly based in China, the BBFAW reflects the fact that animal welfare is a relatively new concept, in the region.

Impact Ratings

The BBFAW Impact Rating ranks companies (from ‘A’ to ‘F’) on their tangible welfare impacts. These measure, for example:

• the percentage of cage-free laying hens in a company’s supply chain
• the proportion of dairy cattle free from disbudding and dehorning
• the proportion of pigs free from tail docking.

At the top of the 2024 ratings, three companies (Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Fonterra) qualify for a high ‘B’ grade for the first time. And most notably, New Zealand-based Fonterra, with its singular focus on dairy, has placed a significant emphasis on global reporting and impact, resulting in a rise by three grades (from ‘E’ to ‘B’).

Meanwhile, a large block of benchmarked companies (91%) scored the lowest grades – ‘E’ or ‘F’. These companies have yet to show they are delivering improved welfare impacts for farmed animals in their supply chains.

Key findings

Other key findings from this year’s BBFAW include:

• Slow, but steady improvements on the proportion of companies which have formal policies on farmed animal welfare, since BBFAW’s beginnings in 2012;
• A widening gap between the best and worst performers. The bottom 20% of companies’ progress remains stagnant, while higher performers continue to improve year-on-year;
• Only 42% of companies have commitments in place to end antibiotic use – despite the increasing risk of antibiotic resistance;
• Almost a third (29%) of companies acknowledge the need to reduce reliance on animal-sourced foods.

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:
“It’s not just animals that feel the benefit of these 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.”

Read the BBFAW report here.