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Which Food Companies Are Actually Advancing Farm Animal Welfare?

The 2025 BBFAW identifies four Tier 2 leaders and eight companies that moved up a tier, but 120 of 149 companies still received Impact Rating F. Learn how to distinguish policies, implementation and measurable welfare outcomes.

By Animalso Team 7 min read

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Farm animal welfare progress is clearest when a company can show implementation and animal-level results, not just a public pledge. In the latest Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), covering 149 companies and published on 5 May 2026, Greggs, Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose occupied Tier 2, the highest tier with any companies. Eight other companies moved up one tier. Yet 120 companies still received the benchmark’s lowest Impact Rating, F, so the overall picture is incremental progress alongside a substantial implementation gap.

This guide separates BBFAW’s business-practice tiers from its A–F impact ratings, identifies the companies showing movement, and gives you a practical way to judge whether a welfare claim covers real animals, suppliers and products.

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At a glance: 2025 BBFAW progress signals

Company 2025 signal Evidence or impact rating Scope or qualification Checked
Greggs PLC Tier 2 Impact Rating C Tier 2 means welfare is integral to strategy; C indicates improved impacts for at least some animals November 2026
Marks & Spencer PLC Tier 2 Impact Rating B B indicates reported improved impacts for a reasonable proportion of animals November 2026
Premier Foods PLC Tier 2 Impact Rating B B indicates reported improved impacts for a reasonable proportion of animals November 2026
Waitrose Tier 2 Impact Rating C C indicates reported improved impacts for at least some animals November 2026
Amazon/Whole Foods Market Moved up one tier Tier movement only Read the current disclosure to see which operations and suppliers are covered November 2026
Asda (Bellis Topco Ltd) Moved up one tier Impact Rating E Tier movement and impact rating are separate measures November 2026
Groupe Casino Moved up one tier Impact Rating C Impact rating reflects reported welfare effects, not simply policy quality November 2026
Hilton Food Group Moved up one tier Impact Rating D Moved from E to D on impact rating November 2026
Maple Leaf Foods Moved up one tier Tier movement only Check species, geography and product coverage in current reports November 2026
MBRF Moved up one tier Tier movement only Company reports extensive audits and cage-free egg sourcing; these are company statements November 2026
New Hope Liuhe Moved up one tier Tier movement only Benchmark movement does not establish that every supplier meets the same standard November 2026
WH Group Moved up one tier Tier movement only Review the latest public implementation evidence before drawing a broad conclusion November 2026

Source: Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare and its 2025 detailed results.

Which companies are making the most visible progress?

The strongest comparative performers in the 2025 BBFAW are the four Tier 2 companies: Greggs, Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose. No company reached Tier 1. Tier 2 is therefore the highest occupied tier, not a claim that these businesses have solved farm-animal welfare across every species or supplier.

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Eight companies moved up one tier: Amazon/Whole Foods Market, Asda (Bellis Topco Ltd), Groupe Casino, Hilton Food Group, Maple Leaf Foods, MBRF, New Hope Liuhe and WH Group. A tier increase means the benchmark found stronger integration of welfare policy, management and implementation evidence than in the previous assessment. It does not automatically mean a comparable improvement in measured animal outcomes.

Several impact ratings also improved independently of tier changes. Cranswick moved from D to C, Hilton Food Group from E to D, and ALDI SOUTH, Asda and LDC Groupe from F to E. The benchmark’s highest impact-rating group was Fonterra, Marks & Spencer and Premier Foods with B; Cranswick, Greggs, Groupe Danone, Migros and Waitrose received C. These ratings are comparative statements about reported impact evidence, not guarantees for every animal in a company’s global supply chain.

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What do BBFAW’s tiers and impact ratings actually measure?

The tier measures how deeply welfare is built into business practice; the A–F Impact Rating measures reported welfare effects. Keeping them separate prevents a policy announcement from being mistaken for an outcome.

BBFAW assesses 149 food companies across 51 objective criteria in 23 countries, covering retailers and wholesalers, restaurants and bars, and food producers. Its tier bands are: Tier 1, over 80%; Tier 2, 62–80%; Tier 3, 44–61%; Tier 4, 27–43%; Tier 5, 11–26%; and Tier 6, under 11%. The scores describe benchmark performance, not the percentage of animals receiving an improvement.

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The separate Impact Rating asks whether a company reports welfare benefits and performance impacts. In 2025, 120 of 149 companies received F, 14 received E, seven D, five C and three B; none received A. The report says most companies had not yet demonstrated reported improved welfare impacts across operations or supply chains. For methodology and the benchmark’s full criteria, see the official benchmark overview.

What implementation evidence is appearing across the sector?

The benchmark shows more activity on specific welfare issues, but coverage and delivery remain uneven.

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  • Cage-free eggs: 69% of companies had set targets to eliminate laying-hen cages, and 71% reported progress toward cage-free supply chains. However, only 39 companies (28%) said at least 61% of their global laying-hen supply chains were cage-free, up from 33 companies (24%) in 2024.
  • Close confinement: 74% had partial or universal policies addressing close-confinement systems.
  • Pre-slaughter stunning: 53% addressed stunning in their policies or requirements.
  • Broiler genetics: 20% reported sourcing chickens from strains with improved welfare outcomes or slower growth potential.

Those percentages are from the 2025 BBFAW report and should be read as company reporting across different scopes. A policy may cover only selected species, countries, brands or suppliers; it may also set a future target rather than document current delivery.

What does MBRF report about its animal-welfare work?

MBRF’s public account provides a useful example of why scope and verification matter. The company says 100% of its poultry, pork and beef slaughter units have been audited since 2024, and that 100% of eggs it procured in Brazil were cage-free from 2020. It says this cage-free commitment was consolidated globally in 2025. MBRF also reports environmental enrichment in 92.27% of integrated operations in 2025 and says its commitment to group gestation stalls for sows by 2026 was still in progress.

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These figures are company-reported statements, not independent conclusions that every operation meets a particular welfare outcome. The company’s animal-welfare page is the appropriate place to check definitions, reporting boundaries and updates.

Why do cage-free commitments sometimes move backward?

Public commitments can be narrowed or delayed. The 2025 benchmark says Mondelēz International, Ahold Delhaize, Loblaw Companies and Unilever stepped back from global cage-free egg commitments or revised their timelines, citing supply availability and cost challenges. This does not prove that every regional programme stopped, but it does show why a pledge should never be treated as permanent evidence of delivery.

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When a company changes a commitment, check four details: the new deadline, the geography, the products or brands included, and whether the target covers direct suppliers or the wider supply chain. A regional cage-free result may be meaningful while still falling short of a previous global promise.

How can you tell whether a welfare commitment is being put into practice?

Use the following checklist when reading a company report, product claim or benchmark entry.

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  1. Identify the species and issue. Is the claim about laying hens, broilers, pigs or cattle? Does it address cages, sow stalls, stocking density, breed, transport, stunning or enrichment?
  2. Check the coverage. Look for the percentage of animals, volume of products, suppliers, facilities or sales covered. “Our supply chain” is not precise enough without a boundary.
  3. Separate policy from rollout. A written standard explains what should happen. Implementation evidence shows how much is happening now, such as a cage-free share or audited facilities.
  4. Check the date and deadline. Prefer a current, time-bound target with interim milestones. Note whether the company has extended, narrowed or paused it.
  5. Look for outcome measures. Examples include mortality, lameness, injury, use of slower-growing broiler strains, enrichment coverage or the proportion of animals affected. A benchmark tier alone is not an animal-outcome measure.
  6. Examine verification. Find out who audits farms and slaughter sites, how often, what happens after non-compliance and whether results are independently assured. “Audited” does not by itself reveal the standard or corrective-action rate.
  7. Compare like with like. Use BBFAW’s tier and Impact Rating as comparative signals, then read the underlying disclosure. A company can rank well overall while a particular species, country or product line lags.
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What should consumers conclude from the 2025 results?

The fair conclusion is comparative, not absolute. Greggs, Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose sit at the leading occupied tier, and eight companies improved their tier position. Some companies also report concrete progress on cage-free eggs, audits, stunning, confinement policies or broiler genetics.

At the same time, 120 of 149 assessed companies received Impact Rating F, no company reached Tier 1, and several major businesses revised cage-free commitments. Progress is therefore real but incomplete. The most reliable description of a company is one that states the exact issue, scope, date, implementation share, verification method and reported outcome—rather than relying on a badge, a general promise or a single ranking.

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How we assessed “progress” in this article

The comparison follows the BBFAW evidence categories: integration of policy and governance, supply-chain management, reporting, implementation, performance measurement and reported welfare impact. It gives greater weight to current rollout and outcome data than to undated aspirations, and it treats company claims as claims unless the source identifies independent verification. All benchmark figures refer to the 2025 assessment, launched in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a cage-free target mean every egg a company sells is cage-free?

No. Targets can apply only to selected brands, countries, product lines or supplier groups. Check the reported percentage, geographic boundary, product scope and deadline before treating the claim as universal.

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Can a company’s BBFAW rating go down?

Yes. Arla Foods moved from Impact Rating E to F in the 2025 results, showing that ratings can change independently of a company’s public policies or tier position. A previous high score should not substitute for checking the latest report.

Are BBFAW scores an audit of every farm?

No. BBFAW evaluates public policies, management systems, reporting and performance evidence against its criteria. Its ranking is a comparative framework and cannot guarantee that every supplier, species, region or product meets a high welfare standard.

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What is the difference between a welfare policy and a welfare outcome?

A policy states the conditions a company requires, such as a ban on close confinement. An outcome is evidence of what animals experienced, such as the share raised under that requirement or measured changes in injury, mortality or mobility.

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