Two more global food giants have joined the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW), demonstrating their commitment to improving animal health and welfare standards in their value chains.
GCAW unites companies across the global food industry to accelerate progress on key animal welfare issues. The Coalition provides a collaborative platform for these organisations to work pre-competitively to share best practice, and to benefit from high level stakeholder engagement, research, and resources to address systemic barriers to transitioning to higher welfare standards across all animal protein supply chains.
Minerva Foods is a multinational food company and one of the world’s leading beef producers, dedicated to building connections between people, food, and nature. It is also a top meat processor in South America, exporting to over 100 countries and generating over US$5bn in revenue. Headquartered in Brazil, the company also has operations in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia and Australia. Key species include beef cattle, sheep and its internationally recognised brands include Cabaña Las Lilas, Estância 92 and Pul. Minerva Foods’ protein also includes the processing, distribution and processing of slaughter by-products derived from a range of species, including cattle, sheep, chickens, pigs, fish, dairy products, and eggs.
Nomad Foods is Europe’s leading frozen food manufacturing company and one of the largest in the world, with annual revenues of over US$3bn. Headquartered in the UK, the company operates in 22 markets, producing iconic consumer brands including Birds Eye, Goodfella’s, Findus and iglo. Wild caught fish is a major part of its business; however, the company portfolio also includes chicken and aquaculture products, plus pork and beef products.
GCAW’s Independent Chair Brian Lindsay said: “I am pleased to welcome our new members, Minerva Foods and Nomad Foods to GCAW as we scale our ambitions to advance animal welfare standards globally. Minerva Foods’ insight into farming practices in South America and Nomad Foods’ speciality in frozen foods bring new dimensions to the Coalition’s knowledge base, workflows and discussions at priority species working groups. The more organisations we have collaborating in this space, the more we will be able to accelerate the identification of solutions to common challenges and, importantly, embed knowledge and impact in members’ value chains faster. I look forward to working with both new and existing members in our quest to elevate animal welfare standards.”
Tâmara Duarte Borges, Head of Animal Welfare at Minerva Foods, said: “The alliance reinforces the values and purposes of Minerva Foods, which is committed to the ESG agenda through the implementation of solid and highly demanding programs applied to its operations and relationships with stakeholders. This cooperation initiative will enable collaboration between companies, raising levels of proactivity in the Brazilian and global animal protein chain in terms of welfare and sustainability.”
Alisha Anstee, Group Sustainability Manager, Nomad Foods, commented: “Our mission at Nomad Foods is to serve the world with better food. This means incorporating animal welfare into the centre of how we source and produce our food from farm-to-fork. As we advance our work, GCAW provides a valuable platform to collaborate with likeminded peers to collectively improve the welfare of animals.”
Minerva Foods and Nomad Foods join existing members Aramark, Compass Group, Elior Group, Ikea, Kroger, Maple Leaf, Nestle, Sodexo, Starbucks, The Cheesecake Factory, Tyson Foods, Unilever and 2 Sisters Food Group. Collectively, GCAW member companies operate in 190 markets work with more than 60,000 suppliers and sell to over a billion consumers every day.
