Motivated by growing public concern for animal welfare throughout Asia and recent commitments by multinational food companies and governments around the world to eliminate extreme confinement systems—including battery cages for egg-laying hens and gestation crates for mother pigs—from their supply chains for eggs and meat, leading food and hospitality companies operating in Asia came together for the Asia Animal Welfare Roundtable, organized by Humane Society International in Singapore on 6th March.

Participants believe that the treatment of animals raised for food is an important moral and ethical issue, and agreed to continue working together to improve farm animal welfare in their supply chains, including through annual meetings and information exchange, and by leveraging the services offered by HSI. These services include 1) workshops on the technical aspects of cage-free egg production for companies’ suppliers in Asia; 2) an online forum for companies to share ideas and learn from each other as they work to improve animal welfare in their supply chains; and 3) continued identification and development of resources, including cage-free egg supplies, throughout Asia.

Roundtable participants, including Sodexo, Compass Group, Subway International, AccorHotels, Hilton Hotels, Six Senses Resorts & Spas, Marina Bay Sands, AsureQuality, and Freedom Range Farms, welcome other companies and stakeholders in the food industry to join in this shared commitment to improve farm animal welfare throughout Asia. IKEA has also since joined in this commitment.