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Compass Group adopts Five Freedoms for animal welfare

Compass Group joins Wal-Mart and General Mills in embracing Five Freedom’s procurement practices.

August 6, 2015

Compass Group USA, which runs dining operations at more than ten thousand schools, hospitals, stadiums, museums, event centers and other institutions, has upgraded its animal welfare policy. It’s switching to cage-free for all of its eggs (350 million per year) and eliminating gestation crates from its supply chain, with deadlines for supplier compliance on both issues, according to a blog on the Humane Society’s website.

The company is embracing the Five Freedoms for Animal Welfare for its procurement practices, building on similar declarations made earlier this year by Wal-Mart, Aramark, and General Mills.

Specifically, the company is eliminating veal from operations using crates by 2017, and is working with its suppliers to address issues with "dehorning and tail docking of dairy cows, castration and tail docking of piglets, castration and disbudding of beef cattle, and the issues surrounding fast growth and poor living conditions for broiler chickens and turkeys," according to the blog.

Compass will also publicly report its progress on its animal welfare commitments and is offering more meat-free foods through the creation of a dining station focusing on plant-based meals for its education and business accounts.