Global non-profit organization Mercy For Animals has released the inaugural Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard, the first report to rank Canada’s major food companies on their animal welfare practices.
The report scores 40 well-known retailers, restaurants, and other companies including the likes of Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart, Nestlé, Tim Hortons, and A&W. It ranks them on their animal welfare commitments and progress toward implementation and ranks them into seven performance tiers.
Companies are ranked on the basis of having the following public animal welfare commitments and whether they are publicly reporting the percentage of progress toward policy implementation:
- Public Better Chicken Commitment policy
- Time-bound cage-free egg policy
- Time-bound crate-free pork policy
The Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard found that Whole Foods and Chipotle are among the top performers, while Costco and Wendy’s rank in the lowest tiers.
In the inaugural 2021 Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard, the companies rank as follows:
Gold Tier — Leading in Commitments and Transparency
The report notes that companies in the gold tier have all three policies and are publicly reporting the percentage of progress toward sourcing cage-free eggs and crate-free pork.
- Chipotle
- UNFI1
- Whole Foods Market
- IKEA
Silver Tier — Significant Commitments and Transparency
Companies in the silver tier have two of the three policies and
are publicly reporting the percentage of progress toward sourcing
cage-free eggs or crate-free pork.
- A&W
- Aramark
- Loblaws
- McCain Foods
- Metro
- Nestlé
- Save-On-Foods
- Sobeys
- Sodexo
- Starbuck
- Subway
- Unilever
- Campbell’s
- Compass Group
- Kellogg’s
Bronze Tier — Some Commitments and Transparency
Companies in the bronze tier have one of the three policies and
are publicly reporting the percentage of progress toward it.
- Dairy Queen
- McDonald’s
- Recipe Unlimited — brands including Harvey’s, The Keg, Swiss Chalet
- Taco Bell
- ConAgra Brands
- General Mills
- Kraft Heinz
Fourth Tier — Significant Commitments, No Transparency
Companies in the fourth tier have two or all three policies but
are not publicly reporting any progress.
- Boston Pizza
- Restaurant Brands International — brands including Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons
- Second Cup
- Walmart
Fifth Tier — Some Commitments, No Transparency
Companies in the fifth tier have one of the three policies but
are not publicly reporting any progress.
- Flanagan Foodservice
- Gordon Food Service
- KFC
- MTY Group — brands including Country Style, Manchu Wok, Mr. Sub,
- Pizza Hut
- Pizza Pizza
- Stewart Foodservice
- Wendy’s
Sixth tier — No Commitments, Some Transparency
Companies in the sixth tier do not have any of the three policies
but are publicly reporting the percentage of progress.
- Costco
Seventh Tier — No Commitments, No Transparency
Companies in the lowest tier have none of the policies and are
not publicly reporting any progress.
- Sysco
“With the recent development of ag-gag laws in Canada, which punish whistleblowers shining a light on egregious animal abuse, Canadian consumers deserve to know which companies are keeping their promises to the public and which ones are not,” said PJ Nyman, corporate relations specialist at Mercy For Animals.
Mercy For Animals emphasizes that “millions of animals at industrial farms and slaughterhouses in Canada suffer tremendously — pigs confined in crates so small the animals can’t turn around, hens kept in crowded cages where they can’t even spread their wings, and chickens raised for meat bred to grow so large so quickly that they struggle to walk.
“Many corporations have made promises to the public to ban these cruel practices, and while some are making progress, others have failed to take action or lack transparency in following through on their promises.”
The scorecard will be published annually and aims to keep Canadians informed about how companies rank on animal welfare. All companies are urged to report progress toward their commitments and to ensure they have meaningful, time-bound policies to reduce suffering for animals in their supply chains.
Read the full 2021 Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard here.
