In its first appearance in the global Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), Perdue Farms achieved the second highest of six levels. That level recognized companies that made animal welfare integral to their business strategies, and placed Perdue Farms among the top 15% of more than 100 global food companies. Perdue was one of only three US poultry or meat companies to achieve Tier 2 or higher. The ranking covers the company’s welfare practices and policies for chickens, turkeys and hogs across all its brands, including PERDUE, PERDUE HARVESTLAND, COLEMAN ORGANIC, COLEMAN NATURAL and local and specialty brands.
“We’ve been working very hard the last few years to improve the conditions under which our animals are raised,” said Jim Perdue, Chairman of Perdue Farms. “The Business Benchmark aligns with our vision to be the most-trusted name in premium protein, and provides independent, third-party recognition of our progress. We share a common goal in improving farm animal welfare.”
The BBFAW 2017 report, released February 22, assesses 110 global food companies on their quality of management and disclosure of farm animal welfare. The Business Benchmark was established in 2012 and is considered the first global measure of company performance on animal welfare. BBFAW reserves the top-two tiers for companies that demonstrate strong commitments to farm animal welfare and have established management systems and processes.
In 2016, Perdue announced its groundbreaking “Commitments to Animal Care,” a comprehensive program to accelerate advancements in how it raises chickens, including increased activity, the study of higher welfare breeds and moving to controlled atmosphere stunning. The company followed up a year later with its second annual global animal care summit and the release of a progress report and goals. Perdue has lead the way in no-antibiotics-ever practices in the United States and does not use close-confinement crates in any of its programs. These were all factors contributing to the company’s BBFAW ranking.
