Meat suppliers make sustainability their mission

Supplier partnerships are crucial as operators work to procure meat proteins that fit in with their beliefs around sustainability and animal welfare. Here are a few industry suppliers and associations and their stances on the issue.

Our commitment to delivering excellence in animal welfare permeates the entire Tyson Foods enterprise, from corporate leadership to team members on the ground who interact directly with animals on a daily basis. We strive to advance transparency in animal well-being practices, be a leader in animal experience research and innovation, and ensure the safety of animals and the people who care for those animals in our supply chain.

Cattle farmers and ranchers have many tools to keep the animals in their care healthy and safe, including nutrition programs, veterinary care, facilities that ensure comfort, and good management practices, such as low-stress handling, vaccines and antibiotics, when necessary. No matter the tool, when it comes to animal health, the practices are science-based, regulated and, above all, good for the animal and the consumer.

The National Pork Board will elevate U.S. pork as the global protein of choice by continuously and collaboratively working to do what's right for people, pigs and the planet.

At our founding, nearly 100 years ago, our farmer-members believed in preserving natural resources. Today is no different. We are committed to continuing to advance sustainable agriculture. Protecting our land, water and air for today and for future generations is how we do business. As a metric of our success on the dairy side, 42% of our milk supply has been assessed for environmental impact, and 1,780 metric tons of CO2-equivalent reductions have been delivered.

Animal care and well-being is central to Butterball’s operations, as evidenced through our stringent zero-tolerance policy against any form of animal mistreatment and our voluntary commitment to seeking and maintaining American Humane Certified status through the American Humane. Partnering with our family farmers, we commit daily to achieving industry-leading results in animal care and well-being.

Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs.

Our chicken raw material comes from suppliers that operate slaughter facilities under validated HACCP plans in compliance with FSIS regulations. Our suppliers participate in third party Animal Welfare audits and follow the National Chicken Councils guidelines for Animal Welfare and husbandry practices. Our antibiotic-free chi​cken comes from an American Humane Certified supplier.

We call our efforts Our Food Journey, which includes everything from maintaining the highest standards for animal welfare and handling throughout our entire supply chain to minimizing our environmental impacts and helping to end hunger and food insecurity around the world. We understand the importance of choice. With the introduction of the Applegate brand into the Hormel Foodservice family, we are now able to offer a broad spectrum of protein offerings that range from quality conventional, to all-natural, to raised without antibiotics and enhanced animal welfare standards. Our journey will never end—we will continue to advance our efforts in these and other areas as we know that building social value and creating economic value are not competing goals.