Published 31/10/2013

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Compassion’s award winners announced

On the 30th October, Compassion in World Farming held its Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards ceremony in Paris, where food companies leading the way for higher animal welfare were celebrated.

Over 337 million farm animals are now set to benefit each year as a result of all our Good Farm Animal Welfare Award winners’ policies.

Compassion is continuing to expand into Europe, marked by the opening of our offices in both Italy and Poland. Consequently, our Food Business team have focussed on recognising achievements for animal welfare across Europe.

Pioneering European food companies

• SPA Food is the first Polish company to be awarded a Good Chicken Award demonstrating leadership in committing to use only higher welfare chicken across all of their products
• Having achieved a Good Egg Award from Compassion in 2009, this year German retailer Globus achieved a Good Chicken Award for committing to source higher welfare chicken, making them the first German retailer to do so
• Monoprix is a leading city centre supermarket chain in France, they are the first French retailer to receive a Good Egg Commendation by taking the decision to sell only free-range eggs under their own brand label

UK success

British food companies were also celebrating their achievements in farm animal welfare.

• Incredibly, Jamie Oliver achieved a hat trick of awards with a Good Chicken, Good Egg and Good Pig Award
• Sainsbury’s UK was awarded with the Best Retailer Marketing Award for their work in communicating the importance of animal welfare to their customers
• Marks & Spencer UK achieved the Best Retailer award for having the best overall approach to animal welfare as well as the Best Performing Retailer Award for their farming and slaughter practises and welfare outcomes

Making headway for animal welfare

It has been an exciting year for Compassion’s Food Business team, working in new areas and expanding our programme further into Europe. The Awards demonstrate the headway we have already made and while there is still a long way to go, it’s great to see such a growing interest in farm animal welfare in an increasing number of countries.

The longer the Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards continue, the more I expect to see the ‘ripple’ effect across the food industry, spreading the higher welfare message globally and creating an all important market shift towards higher welfare food.

Dr Tracey Jones, Director of Food Business at Compassion

In total, 28 awards were presented at the ceremony, hosted by food journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Food Programme’ Shelia Dillon.

Shelia says: “I have been impressed by the diversity of the companies that have been awarded and by the range of countries from which they come. From Poland to Germany, France to Italy, Denmark to England it shows that big businesses across Europe are turning in favour of better farm animal welfare.

“The Awards help to demonstrate that it is possible to show compassion towards the animals we eat, while accepting the realities of the food industry and the need to be commercially viable.”

The awards were presented across five different categories: Good Egg Award, Good Chicken Award, Good Dairy Award, Good Pig Award and the Retailer Awards.

Full details of all of our award winners can be found here >>

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