Animal Welfare and Major European Food Retailers

Animal welfare has become an important element in food marketing, and large food retailers, who have a pivotal role in food supply chains and can thus influence patterns of both food production and consumption, have been increasingly emphasising their animal welfare policies in their retail offers. However, food retailers’ approaches to animal welfare have received relatively little attention in the academic literature, and this chapter looks to further contribute to this work by reviewing and reflecting on how some of the European Union’s leading food retailers have addressed animal welfare. The findings suggest that six themes, namely, strategic corporate commitments, general and specific policies on animals and animal food products, supply chains, labelling, inspections and audits, and cross-industry initiatives collectively captured and illustrated the food retailers’ approach to animal welfare. Further, a number of other issues regarding the food retailers’ approach to animal welfare, including the aspirational nature of their commitments, the efficacy of audits and labelling, the role of animal welfare pressure groups and campaigns, and the impact of COVID-19, are also discussed.