The two new members bring GCAW’s membership of major food companies to a combined revenue of $480bn, serving over 100 million consumers daily.
GCAW further strengthens the coalition’s cross-sector collaboration and global reach with Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and gategroup joining the membership.
GCAW brings together leading companies from across the food industry to address challenging and sensitive animal welfare issues that cannot be solved by individual businesses working alone. Through collaboration, members draw on science and evidence, exchange knowledge and practical experience, and engage with external experts. They work collaboratively to develop and implement solutions that can help overcome systemic barriers to higher-welfare production and deliver positive outcomes for animals reared within their value chains.
Brian Lindsay, GCAW’s Independent Chair:
“I am absolutely delighted to welcome Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and gategroup to the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare.
Both organisations operate at considerable scale and across complex international supply chains. Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores brings significant grocery retail and e-commerce expertise, while gategroup brings a distinctive perspective from global foodservice, travel and hospitality. Their knowledge and experience will broaden and strengthen the Coalition’s efforts and its ability to identify the root cause of issues so that strategies to deliver real and lasting change across a range of geographies, value chains and markets can be implemented and impact quantified.
GCAW members recognise that animal welfare challenges are often systemic and require collaboration across the value chain to identify the most effective solutions. By expanding the range of businesses represented within GCAW, we can deepen the knowledge exchange between members and increase our collective ability to accelerate meaningful and lasting impact.”
Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores encompasses Amazon’s physical and online grocery businesses and services, including Whole Foods Market. Its membership will further strengthen GCAW’s retail expertise, bringing additional insight from a distinctive model that combines large-scale grocery retail, e-commerce and complex global supply chains.
Caitlin Leibert, Global Head of Sustainability, Amazon Grocery:
“Improving animal welfare is a complex, systemic challenge that requires collaboration across the entire value chain. Joining the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare allows us to collaborate with other industry leaders on better practices for animal welfare. We’re proud to bring decades of experience advancing animal welfare across grocery retail – along with our perspective as a large-scale grocery and e-commerce business – to GCAW, and we look forward to learning from fellow members as we work to raise the bar for animals across global food supply chains.”
gategroup is a global food and hospitality company and a leading provider of airline catering, onboard retail and related services. Headquartered in Switzerland, it operates an extensive international catering network serving airline passengers across more than 200 locations worldwide. Its membership adds expertise from the travel, hospitality and foodservice sectors.
Yulia Bolotina, Global Head of ESG, gategroup:
“At gategroup, we firmly believe that advancing animal welfare benefits businesses, consumers, and the environment. Our approach is strongly aligned with GCAW’s mission to help transform animal-based supply chains and increase the availability of animal welfare-friendly products. As one of the world’s leading catering organizations, gategroup brings a unique global foodservice perspective, deep supplier engagement experience, and expertise in translating welfare ambitions into practical sourcing and operational realities. By joining GCAW, we look forward to collaborating with other players in the food service industry, learning from and sharing best practices, and driving collective action.
Collectively, GCAW members are working to accelerate practical progress on animal welfare across global food supply chains. Current initiatives include advancing the development of cage-free egg supply in India; funding research with Wageningen University & Research into the welfare, environmental and economic impacts of slower-growing broiler chicken breeds; helping members navigate fragmented animal welfare reporting requirements; and developing tools to identify emerging welfare risks, sourcing challenges and priority issues across different geographies, enabling members to respond earlier and more effectively.”