UNFI Commitment: Animal Welfare
We believe everyone deserves access to healthy, ethical and sustainable food. This is why we have incorporated social responsibility into our business practices with initiatives that support the environment, community, food safety and animal welfare. Like our customers, we are concerned about the welfare of the animals used to produce the products we offer and recognize the necessity of healthy animals for food quality and safety.
For this reason, UNFI accepts in principle the internationally accepted “Five Freedoms” for animals.
- Freedom from hunger and thirst by ready access to fresh water and food that maintains full health and vigor
- Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area
- Freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment
- Freedom to express normal behavior by providing sufficient space, proper facilities, and company of the animal's own kind
- Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment that prevent mental suffering
We have identified the most pressing animal welfare issues and have established standards for our supply chain that meet or exceed those set forth by Global Animal Standards (GAP). We are working closely with our farmers, ranchers, suppliers and animal welfare experts to achieve ethical and humane practices.
As a result, on all purchases that UNFI controls, we commit to have our broiler chicken suppliers adhere to or exceed GAP animal welfare guidelines by 2024. Our guidelines will include providing cage-free and enhanced living spaces, transitioning strains of birds, multi-step controlled atmosphere processing and third party audits. Read our full commitment here.
In addition, on all purchases that UNFI controls, we will strive to source a 100% cage-free egg supply by December 30th 2018. Read our full commitment here.
We are a distributor bound to supply products demanded by our customers, and required to do what we can to ensure that there is adequate supply to meet consumer demand. We care deeply about the welfare of all animals that nourish us and we will continue to hold our suppliers to high standards, raising the bar for ourselves and the industry as a whole.