Supermarkets applauded for animal welfare

The award for Compassionate Supermarket of the Year (2007) was awarded to Marks & Spencer this weekend.

Earlier this year, the supermarket announced it would no longer sell white veal – and would only offer rose veal to customers beginning in 2008.

Free-range eggs have been the baseline option at the store for the last 10 years.

The accolades were based on a biannual survey on welfare policies and practices from the animal rights group Compassion in World Farming.

Sainsburys received two awards – Best Volume Retailer and Most Improved Supermarket. The latter distinction highlighted a 28% improvement from the 2005 survey on the supermarket’s part.

The full results of the survey are available here.

Supermarkets applauded for animal welfare

The award for Compassionate Supermarket of the Year (2007) was awarded to Marks & Spencer this weekend.

Earlier this year, the supermarket announced it would no longer sell white veal – and would only offer rose veal to customers beginning in 2008.

Free-range eggs have been the baseline option at the store for the last 10 years.

The accolades were based on a biannual survey on welfare policies and practices from the animal rights group Compassion in World Farming.

Sainsburys received two awards – Best Volume Retailer and Most Improved Supermarket. The latter distinction highlighted a 28% improvement from the 2005 survey on the supermarket’s part.

The full results of the survey are available here.

Marks and Spencer says no to white veal and calves liver

For animal welfare reasons, M&S says as of tomorrow it will no longer sell imported white veal, and calves liver will be banned not long after, as it is produced from animals reared for white veal.

Beginning in January 2008, the supermarket will only sell “high-welfare UK rose veal”. It says that calves reared for UK-produced rose veal have a natural diet, drink whole milk, and live together in well-lit barns with straw bedding.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Compassion in World Farming support these living conditions for the calves.

According to Vegetarians’ International Voice for Animals (VIVA), all veal raised for consumption are male “cast-offs” from the dairy industry, since the they do not produce milk. In order to produce the milky-white coloured meat that M&S is banning, the calves are fed an iron-deficient diet and kept in small crates, which VIVA says leads to a high occurrence of infectious diseases and strange behaviour patterns.

Marks and Spencer says no to white veal and calves liver

For animal welfare reasons, M&S says as of tomorrow it will no longer sell imported white veal, and calves liver will be banned not long after, as it is produced from animals reared for white veal.

Beginning in January 2008, the supermarket will only sell “high-welfare UK rose veal”. It says that calves reared for UK-produced rose veal have a natural diet, drink whole milk, and live together in well-lit barns with straw bedding.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Compassion in World Farming support these living conditions for the calves.

According to Vegetarians’ International Voice for Animals (VIVA), all veal raised for consumption are male “cast-offs” from the dairy industry, since the they do not produce milk. In order to produce the milky-white coloured meat that M&S is banning, the calves are fed an iron-deficient diet and kept in small crates, which VIVA says leads to a high occurrence of infectious diseases and strange behaviour patterns.