FOUR PAWS is asking companies to take responsibility for their impact on the planet and play a positive rather than destructive role. Companies are beginning to do this by diversifying the food they offer, reducing the quantities of meat and increasing plant-based food and innovative products. But for companies to have a truly positive impact, such steps need to happen at a much bigger scale.

We expect action and progress from the food industry within the following categories: 

• Diversifying their product range to decrease their meat and fish* offerings,
• Implementing marketing strategies that encourage increased consumption of plant-based foods and other innovative meat and fish substitutes
• Setting long-term strategies
• Setting concrete commitments towards reducing meat as part of their policy/Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), where the reduction of meat is not replaced with an increase of fish

Over 80 billion farm animals¹ and an estimated 300 to 770 billion fishes and crustaceans² are farmed for food each year which involves a massive amount of animal suffering and damage to the environment. By assessing the level of effort of industry players compared to their competitors, we would show companies where they stand and encourage them to reassess their policies.  

With meat production contributing to the climate and farmed animal crisis, industries hold a powerful key to deciding the fate of millions of farmed animals and the planet.

*fish = including all types of shellfish & marine animals

^Source: 

^{1 www.fao.org (Livestock Primary 2019)}

^{2 www.fishcount.org.uk}

^{3 www.Ourworldindata.org}

^{4 www.fao.org}

^{5 www.statista.com}

^{6 Twine, R. Emissions from Animal Agriculture; URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/6276}

^{7 www.biologicaldiversity.org}