WAV Comment – Sounds better than it has been, but we want more than words; like actions ! – we will be watching and reporting any issues that do not take animal welfare to ‘the next level’. Do things right – stay out of the news; do them wrong, make headlines for all the wrong reasons – simple really.

Tyson takes animal welfare to next level with its ‘Five Domains’ platform

SPRINGDALE, ARK. – After making the decision to take the next step in its animal welfare approach from the industrywide adoption of the “Five Freedoms” framework, Tyson Foods Inc.’s Office of Animal Welfare team is leading the company’s global transition to adopting the “Five Domains” science model, which focuses on assessing the mental state of animals to determine their needs and improve animal welfare practices.      

By implementing the Five Freedoms across the company’s global operations officials from Tyson’s Office of Animal Welfare said the company can realize its vision to lead the industry in animal welfare by combining compassion with science.   

“Part of being a leader means being open to creative thinking, innovation, and evolving knowledge and practices,” Tyson said.

While the Five Freedoms focused on avoiding the negative aspects of animal care, the Five Domains focus on how nutrition, physical environment, health and behavioral opportunities ultimately play a role in the mental state of animals.

“For decades, the Five Freedoms have provided an essential foundation for conceptualizing animals’ welfare needs,” said Candace Croney, PhD, professor of animal behavior and well-being and director of The Center for Animal Welfare Science at Purdue University. “As animal welfare science has advanced, however, the importance of promoting positive (physical, behavioral, and mental) states of welfare in addition to minimizing negative states is increasingly recognized. Incorporation of the Five Domains reflects the leadership mindset needed to facilitate thought processes, actions, and outcome measurements aligned with achieving these goals.”

According to Tyson, research-based learning and the evolution of ideas is part of continuous improvement, and the Five Domain program facilitates a better understanding of assessing how a range of factors effect animals’ mental state and how they influence anima welfare outcomes.

“Incorporating the Five Domains into our daily conversations and actions is essential for Tyson Foods to drive continuous improvement in our welfare program and culture throughout our global operations,” said Ken Opengart, DVM, vice president of global animal welfare at Tyson Foods.

The Five Domains spotlight positive opportunities versus the emphasis on the negative experiences of animals that have been the hallmark of the Five Freedoms for the past 25 years. The new approach focuses on the components effecting the mental welfare of the animal to assess its overall welfare and apply the knowledge-based science to each species’ behavior, biology and ecology.      

“Tyson’s adoption of the Five Domains represents an admirable commitment to embrace animal welfare improvements in a scientifically sound, evidence-based way,” said Dorothy McKeegan, PhD, senior lecturer in animal welfare and ethics at the University of Glasgow. “The Five Domains model represents the forefront of current efforts to conceptualize and assess animal welfare.”

For more information on Tyson Foods’ animal welfare and sustainability practices, please visit tysonsustainability.com.

Tyson takes animal welfare to next level with its ‘Five Domains’ platform | MEAT+POULTRY

Regards Mark

WAV Comment. The UK has high animal welfare standards and should be proud of that. Most people dont want antibiotic ridden meat on their plates and produce that comes from nations which employ lower welfare standards. In the end cost is probably one driving factor, but another issue is that all meat products should be clearly labelled to inform the buyer of the standards that ‘their’ chunk of meat was produced around – was it UK or overseas produced ? – if overseas, then where from ? – was it from a non EU caged system ? – was it ritually slaughtered or stunned (properly) at the time of slaughter ?

Thus, clear labelling on food products thus gives the consumer a clear choice about what they purchase. If it bad welfare and cheap, from the far east then the consumer will know. If it is more expensive, but from cage free systems, and with less antibiotics and water in the meat, and killed to an acceptable standard, then the consumer still has the knowledge to buy a product which will cost more. In the UK, research shows that consumers are prepared to pay more for meat which is produced to better welfare standards.

If lower welfare US produced meat does not sell well in the UK, then the British customer has sent a message to the US – simple.

At the end of the day, it should be down to the well informed (clear labelling) consumer to decide. Personally, I think the UK consumer will pay more for higher welfare standards – it has been shown. Farmers, supermarlets, the government, get a grip and tell people the reality about products.

Regards Mark

Saving the bacon: will British pig farmers ​survive a ban on cages?

An end to UK pig confinement is in sight, but producers fear they will be left carrying the cost of high-welfare options in the face of cheap imports

After more than a decade trialling the removal of pig cages on her Yorkshire farm, Vicky Scott has lost confidence in being able to make it permanent.

Doing so would require building a new shed to create enough space to freely house all her pigs, she says. “No one will pay for this. They [the retailers] want products as cheap as chips and consumers want cheap meat.”

Yet, the UK and EU are expected to ban all forms of confinement in pig rearing.

In June, the European Commission confirmed it would table a proposal to phase out the use of farrowing crates, which are used to confine sows before and after birth, by the end of 2023. The UK – and Boris Johnson himself – have made clear that the long-term aim is to do the same.

Crates are used to confine expectant sows until their piglets are weaned after four weeks. They restrict the sows’ movement, reducing the risk of crushing the piglets.

However, as well as restricting sows’ natural behaviour and movement, including nest-building and interacting with her piglets, there is also evidence the crates increase the risk of stillbirth.

The pig whisperer: the Dutch farmer who wants to end factory farming

Read more

Piglets are vulnerable to being crushed by sows if they are not in a crate, but the overall mortality rates can be managed, says pig specialist Emma Baxter, from Scotland’s Rural College. Outdoor pig systems, where pigs are not confined, consistently return average piglet mortality rates similar to indoor ones where the pigs are confined, she says.

Given the majority of pigs in the UK are reared indoors because outdoor rearing is limited by soil type, producers will need to be able to adopt high-welfare indoor alternatives to farrowing crates, says Baxter.

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Learn about the science of plant-based meat. Discover resources and research projects on the latest technological developments and key scientific questions.

Introduction to plant-based meat

What is plant-based meat? 

GFI uses the term “plant-based” to refer to products made from plants that are alternatives to animal-based products. This includes plant-based meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy. This overview focuses primarily on the science of plant-based meat and seafood. 

The concept of plant-based meat is not a modern development. The prevalence and variety of plant-based meat has steadily increased for centuries. However, many of the early plant-based meat products were designed with vegetarian consumers in mind. Early plant-based meats did not try to exactly replicate, or biomimic, conventional meat.

Recent concerns about sustainability, food security, and the environmental and public health impacts of industrial animal agriculture have spurred a sense of urgency to develop plant-based meats that appeal to mainstream consumers rather than niche markets. This has led to an explosion of innovation during the last decade. Today’s plant-based meat options appeal to the fast-growing segment of “flexitarian” consumers. 

What is the market for plant-based meat? 

Flexitarian consumers are looking for plant-based meat options that create the same sensory experience as animal-based meat. These consumers deliberately reduce their meat consumption but do not completely give up animal-based products. This decision to eat more plants is often due to concerns about health, the environment, or animal protection. It may also simply be a way of obtaining novelty and variety with flavorful and affordable meals. The rise in flexitarianism is creating considerable market growth for plant-based foods.

Despite the market growth in plant-based foods, plant-based meat is currently only about 1% of the US retail meat market. For plant-based meat to become a significant part of the global meat market in the coming decades, there remains tremendous need for additional R&D. This innovation and subsequent growth of the plant-based meat industry will only be realized through a concerted and collaborative effort to direct resources (financial, human, and technological) to this area.