Julian Omidi discusses recent pushes by large food conglomerates to use more ethical means to produce food for the masses.
It takes a lot to feed a nation. Especially when that nation is largely made up of those who consume foods made from animal byproducts. Recently, more companies have made headlines for stating they will make adjustments to their treatment of animals when making their products. Will this have a bigger impact? And will more companies follow suit?
Most recently, General Mills made a move to use cage-free eggs in their products. The company is a large producer of cereal, soups and other food products. The company announced that it supports “five freedom” for animals used in their foods. This includes the freedom from hunger, discomfort, pain, fear and the freedom to engage in normal behavior.
Other companies that have previously made this commitment were Starbucks, Nestle, Kellogg as well as other major food distributors. The FDA has been also trying to make broader changes in the cattle industry. They have changed their animal feed safety regulations, which offers guidelines on how animals should be fed on farms. With these changes, what will that mean for animals and industry?
It seems the increasing transparency created by social media and other communication outlets, companies have more pressure to manage their image in regards to the ethical treatment of animals used to create their products. The more companies that pledge to change their policy to go cage-free or offer animal free alternatives, the more the production of food will change. This then could make the lives of animals less cruel as they have in the past.
In an ideal society, we would push more towards non-animal food sources to ensure the survival of animals. However, industry and private interest will make this too difficult. Private citizens can make an effort on their own to limit or eliminate animal byproducts from their diet to help, but this can only go so far. Only time will see how other companies change their policies in the treatment of animals.
Be good to each other,
Julian Omidi
Julian Omidi is the co-founder of Animal Support, a nonprofit that advocates for animals throughout the world.