BIG supermarket chains are failing to fully understand and embrace the principles of farm animal welfare, according to the University of Huddersfield’s Dr John Lever.

Investigating the extent to which farm animal welfare (FAW) is part of the corporate social responsibility strategies adopted by large food companies, Dr Lever argued that welfare is currently “unfocussed and separate” from the core agendas of most companies, which had little understanding of why they had engaged with FAW in the first place.

This 'greenwash' was failing to make connections with broader issues of sustainability and was, he suggested, ultimately costing the companies and society dearly.

“There is mounting evidence that improvements in FAW can be linked to the three pillars of sustainable development – environment, society and economy,” Dr Lever wrote in his contribution to the new book 'Stages of Corporate Social Responsibility'.

“Keeping animals under less intensive conditions, with better welfare, can clearly have an impact in these areas by reducing stress, pollution and environmental damage,” he said, adding that “the poor treatment of animals can impact human health through the spread of pathogens”.

Increasing numbers of consumers view animal welfare as an important issue in its own right, but “it seems clear that many companies use FAW simply to communicate brand awareness through differentiated product ranges" – there should, he suggested, be no 'low welfare' products on shop shelves.

His conclusion was that “by damaging the environment and undermining social and economic development, supermarkets and corporate retailers are hindering their own ability and capacity to produce and sell food in the future”.

Dr Lever's forthcoming publications include a book on halal and kosher meat markets, and he has developed links with The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, which is designed to help drive higher farm animal welfare standards through an annual review of how the world’s top food businesses are managing and reporting their policies and practices.