Animal Welfare

The welfare of the animals within our care aligns with our core value of integrity. Continuous advancements in the health, safety, comfort and care of the poultry and livestock within our supply chain remains one of our highest priorities. Animal welfare is relevant to two of our businesses currently, Bob Evans Farms and Michael Foods, and both of these organizations have long-standing commitments and policy statements ensuring the highest level of care for animals within their respective supply chains:

Bob Evans Farms Animal Well-Being Policy
Michael Foods Animal Health and Well-Being Position

Post has an established Animal Welfare Committee that covers our entire enterprise and is made up of recognized third-party experts and a cross-functional group of internal leaders. The Committee established the following mission statement:

The Mission of the Bob Evans Farms and Michael Foods Animal Welfare Committee is to maintain the highest ethical standards, provide council and feedback on policies, practices and procedures that impact animal care, health and welfare of animals in the Bob Evans and Michael Foods supply chain. We demonstrate we care for animals in a manner that embraces proven animal science, husbandry and welfare standards throughout our entire supply chain.

 

The primary responsibilities of the Animal Welfare Committee are to:

• Review Bob Evans Farms and Michael Foods policy and procedure documents to identify gaps and make recommendations for continuous improvements.
• Identify issues and opportunities related to animal welfare for both Bob Evans Farms and Michael Foods supply chains.
• Provide counsel, insights and feedback and the benefit of their broad experience to help elevate practices and anticipate potential issues.

Our Animal Welfare Committee includes the following recognized third-party experts:

Anna Johnson, Ph.D. – Dr. Johnson is a professor in animal behavior and welfare and Tyrone D. Artz, M.D. Chair for Faculty Excellence in Animal Science at Iowa State University (ISU). She completed her Ph.D. in Animal Science at Texas Tech University. Dr. Johnson serves multiple stakeholders in their efforts on animal welfare and prior to joining ISU was Director of Animal Welfare for the National Pork Board.

Janice Swanson, Ph.D. – Dr. Swanson is professor and the Director of Animal Welfare and Behavior at Michigan State University. She assumed her position in July 2007 after 15 years on the faculty at Kansas State University Department of Animal Sciences and Industry. Dr. Swanson serves on the animal welfare advisory committees of other food companies and is an internationally recognized expert in animal welfare and social responsibility in the food system.

Candace Croney, Ph.D. – Dr. Croney is Director of the Center for Animal Welfare Science at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine and a professor of animal behavior and well-being at Purdue University. Previously, Dr. Croney was associate professor of animal behavior and bioethics in the department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine at the Ohio State University. She has served as an animal welfare advisor to the National Pork Board, the Animal Agriculture Alliance, the Northwest Sustainable Dairy Program, and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

Post is committed to continuing to enhance and evolve our animal welfare policies and ensure our suppliers are accountable to our policies.

 

Our mission and commitments are aligned with The Five Domains, an internationally accepted framework, and advanced by:

• Guidance and oversight by outside experts
• Verification through audits to ensure compliance
• Living environments designed for comfort and care
• Breed selection for health, welfare and sustainability

The Five Domains provide a context for understanding and supporting responsible animal care and form the fundamental basis for our approach to animal welfare. This internationally accepted framework was originally developed in 1994 and has evolved to help establish standards and expectations for animal care that drive continuous improvement.

Bob Evans Farms participates in Protein PACT, which is the largest-ever collective action effort to strengthen animal protein’s contributions to healthy people, healthy animals, healthy communities and a healthy environment. To achieve this vision, Protein PACT members are working to establish transparent baselines and benchmarks for continuous improvement, setting ambitious targets for progress to align with global goals and committing to communicate our efforts proactively and transparently.