The Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW) exists to unite companies from across the food supply chain to improve animal welfare standards at scale and for the long term. It does so by providing a platform for companies to work more closely with each other, and with farm animal welfare experts, in a pre-competitive setting.
By agreeing to work pre-competitively to improve animal welfare, GCAW members have the opportunity to identify routes to help move the entire industry toward responsible animal husbandry at a faster pace than would otherwise be possible. Through GCAW, the member companies can combine efforts to collectively address current systemic barriers to change, share best practices and accelerate progress on key welfare issues.
Meeting the welfare needs of farm animals, and stakeholder expectations around these, requires ongoing knowledge exchange as animal welfare science develops. GCAW supports members in achieving continuous improvement, in seeking alternatives for the practices that can compromise an animal’s welfare, and in promoting the enhancements that can positively impact welfare.
And what we can’t do
As an industry-wide global initiative, GCAW’s aims represent a collaborative approach to improving farm animal welfare at scale. The Coalition expects its members to share its vision and work towards its objectives. It does not prescribe specific commitments or targets that members are expected to adopt, nor can it respond on behalf of individual companies or their suppliers with regard to specific processes, performance indicators and reporting against these.
