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Inform your business about changing trends in farm animal welfare. Register HERE for Footprint Forum: The Future of Farm Animal Welfare in association with McDonald’s 24th October 15.00 – 17.00 followed by networking. Soho Hotel, 4 Richmond Mews, London W1D 3H
In a Mintel consumer study back in 2015, three quarters of the sample (74%) agreed with the assertion that “meat coming from animals which are looked after well is among the top issues that make a food company ethical”. With that in mind, it is remarkable that, whereas much of the high street has taken steps to make animal welfare integral to procurement, foodservice still has some catching up to do. According to the more recent Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare report from March 2017, “Increasingly, companies describe farm animal welfare in terms of the opportunities – financial and reputational – that can be delivered”. The report (which also included retailers, manufacturers and producers) went on to say that the food sector’s score was dragged down by the B2B firms that have less proximity to the public or that trade under multiple service brands. These, the report said, “scored significantly worse” with the average score of these companies being “approximately half that of the other sectors covered by the benchmark”. Since these reports, it is clear that much is happening in the foodservice sector, particularly in the area of cage-free eggs, as various high profile catering organisations take on board that animal welfare is now regarded as a key criteria and adapt their sourcing policy accordingly. But those organisations represent only a veneer and there is a long way to go to embed this focus across the overall foodservice market. It is in this context that Footprint Forum meets to debate ‘The Future of Farm Animal Welfare in Foodservice’ in association with McDonald’s on 24th October 2017. As Connor McVeigh, Supply Chain Director at McDonald’s UK says “We know our customers are interested in where their food comes from. Raising standards of animal welfare is a key pillar of the McDonald’s Farm Forward programme. We are proud not only of the bold sourcing moves we have made in recent years on RPSCA Assured pork and eggs but also of the research we have carried out with our partners on how to address key welfare challenges and push our standards further.” The forum will assess the status quo – the what, the why and the wherefore – and look to the future of food from an animal welfare perspective. We will look at the areas where the Footprint Forum members are able to effect change and what is commercially achievable. |
