Global food giants lag behind on animal welfare commitments, report warns

Global food companies are failing to turn animal welfare promises into meaningful action, despite years of public commitments to improve standards across their supply chains, a major new report has found.

The latest Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), which assessed 149 global food businesses, found that progress remains inconsistent across the industry, with many companies struggling to deliver measurable improvements on farms.

One of the starkest findings centred on cage-free eggs. While 69% of companies using eggs in their supply chains have pledged to eliminate cages, only 18% have fully transitioned to cage-free systems.

Progress on poultry welfare was similarly limited. Fewer than 5% of companies signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment reported substantial progress across its key welfare standards.

Despite some signs of improvement, nearly 90% of businesses received the lowest Impact Ratings of E or F, indicating little evidence of meaningful welfare improvements in practice.

The report did highlight gradual movement in some areas. Around 71% of companies are now reporting progress towards cage-free egg targets, up from 67% last year, while more businesses have introduced targets to phase out farrowing crates for pigs.

Companies are also beginning to address issues including male chick culling and antibiotic use.

However, BBFAW warned that progress remains too slow, particularly as concerns grow around antimicrobial resistance. Only 40% of companies assessed have committed to ending routine antibiotic use.

Among the strongest performers were Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods, Waitrose and Greggs, all of which achieved Tier 2 status — the highest ranking awarded this year.

The benchmark found significant differences in performance between regions.

UK companies ranked strongest overall, while many Asia-Pacific firms were found to lack even basic animal welfare policies. Latin America recorded the fastest improvement and outperformed other regions for the first time.

Investors and consumers are also placing increasing pressure on food businesses to demonstrate stronger welfare standards and greater transparency across supply chains.

BBFAW executive director Nicky Amos said the findings exposed a growing disconnect between corporate ambition and real-world delivery.

“While many companies have set a course for a more compassionate and resilient food system, progress remains slow,” she said.

“That puts not just farm animals at risk, but also consumers and investors.”

Philip Lymbery, chief executive of Compassion in World Farming, said companies must move faster to honour their commitments.

“Phasing out cages is a vital first step,” he said.

“But companies now need to turn promises into meaningful progress that delivers better lives for millions of animals.”

The findings suggest that while animal welfare commitments are becoming increasingly common across the global food sector, meaningful change on farms is still lagging far behind corporate promises.