Tag: CIWF

Statement From Compassion in World Farming in Response to Unilever’s Abandonment of their Global Cage-Free Commitment

Stuart Mitchell

It is deeply disappointing to see Unilever – one of the world’s largest food manufacturers – not only abandon the global cage‑free egg commitment it made in 2018 but also withdraw from the higher‑welfare broiler chicken requirements of the Better Chicken Commitment. Cage‑Free Egg CommitmentAfter reaching 68% global cage‑free implementation, this reversal leaves hens confined in cages, unable to express even their most basic natural behaviours. Unilever’s pledge was global in scope – not limited to Europe and North America, where it has since gone 100% cage‑free. Consumers around the…

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2025 Cage-Free Egg Commitment Deadline Looms: Time for Companies to Crack On

Stuart Mitchell

With just six months remaining until the 2025 cage-free egg commitment deadline, food companies are in the final stretch to transition their remaining egg supply. The pressure is on as the industry works to meet consumer expectations and honour long-standing animal welfare pledges. As of March 2025, 82 of the UK egg industry had already shifted to cage-free production, highlighting significant progress and aligning with public expectations. Across Europe, legislative momentum has also been building. Austria has banned enriched cages since 2020, with Germany, the Czech Republic, France, and Wallonia…

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Food Industry Benchmark Reveals Animal Welfare Leaders Among 150 Global Food Companies

Stuart Mitchell

The latest Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), released today, reveals steady progress on farm animal welfare across the global food industry. A leading group of companies demonstrate that humane standards of farm animal welfare, such as providing animals with more space or using best practice methods of slaughter, is integral to their business strategy. There are concerns however that a significant block of large food companies (79%), including household names like Nestlé and McDonalds remain in ‘Tiers 5 and 6’ – the bottom two tiers – for a…

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ChickenTrack Report 2023 Unveils Progress, but more Retailers Urged to Join Better Chicken Movement

Stuart Mitchell

Compassion in World Farming has launched its second annual European ChickenTrack Report measuring company progress towards meeting the higher welfare requirements of the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). ChickenTrack aims to help drive compliance, encourage transparency and support the successful transition to higher welfare chicken by holding companies accountable for their commitments.  The BCC is a package of science-based criteria, and ALL the requirements need to be implemented to significantly improve the lives of broiler chickens. ChickenTrack 2023 assesses progress on each criterion, and this year shows that the majority of…

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Campaigners launch ground-breaking legal action against European Commission for failing to deliver promised caged farming ban

Stuart Mitchell

The Citizens’ Committee of the successful End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) has recently launched legal action against the European Commission over its failure to deliver its commitment to ban caged farming. Papers have been filed at the Court of Justice in Luxembourg outlining the Committee’s case demonstrating that the Commission has failed to act on its promise to introduce legislation to ban cages in response to a successful ECI – the first to secure a proper commitment. It further explains that ECIs were introduced with the specific…

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