TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The 2023 Animal Welfare and Food Transition Forum is scheduled to be held in Taipei on Wednesday (29 March).
The annual forum is a valuable opportunity to understand the link between ESG and animal welfare, especially topical given the reports of egg shortages in Taiwan and the need for international imports.
The lead organizers of this year’s forum are Carrefour Culture and Education Foundation, Environmental & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST), and the Jane Goodall Institute Taiwan. Supporting partners include the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan Low Carbon Initiative, the Taiwan National University of the Arts, Howsfood, The Advocate, The Match Kitchen Lab, Matcha Prince, Talent Field, and the Taiwan Experience Map.
The forum particularly welcomes personnel from food retail, hospitality, and food manufacturing companies, the agricultural sector, policymakers, academics, the media, and other interested parties.
The forum runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on March 29 and will be held at the Multifunctional Hall, Taipei New Horizon Building (6th floor, No. 88 Yanchang Road, Xinyi District, Taipei). Attendance is free of charge and attendees can register at https://reurl.cc/qkO7jR.
The forum will be held in Mandarin. Interested parties can also contact the International Liaison, Jonathon Tree, at [email protected].
In 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly passed a resolution acknowledging the role of animal welfare in addressing environmental challenges, promoting the “One Health” approach, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
In the EU, animals are recognized as sentient beings in the EU's foundational treaties. The EU has announced plans to phase out all cage farming by 2027 as part of its Farm to Fork strategy to create a sustainable food system, with Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, declaring “A sustainable food system cannot exist without high animal welfare standards.”
In 2021, the EU added animal welfare to its Code of Conduct for responsible food businesses and its sustainability reporting requirements which apply to more than 49,000 European businesses. The EU has also begun requiring exporters to match EU standards to qualify for favored tax treatment as part of EU trade negotiations. To date, agreements have been reached with the Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, in addition to Mexico and New Zealand.
The International Standards Organisation (ISO) published technical specifications for the management of animal welfare (ISO/TS 34700:2016), providing a roadmap for food industry actors to implement animal welfare standards throughout their supply chain.
Globally, more than 2000 food companies have pledged to eradicate cage eggs from their supply chains, with tracking by the Open Wing Alliance showing 88% of companies are currently fulfilling their cage-free commitments.
The 2021 Business Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare, arguably the most authoritative guide to corporate performance, found that 89% of 150 multinational companies in the rankings now acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue. The benchmark shows 81% of companies have published policies on close confinement, 65% on prophylactic use of antibiotics, and 59% on pre-slaughter stunning.
In Taiwan, large companies are required to conduct annual sustainability reporting under rules set by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC). Since 2019, companies have been obliged to submit reports in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards. The GRI standards for the agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing sectors seek disclosure of animal welfare policies relating to housing, transport, and slaughter. The GRI is currently devising similar sector standards for food businesses.
In Taiwan, positive examples of corporate leaders come from Carrefour, the first major retailer in Asia, which has committed to phasing out sales of eggs from hens confined in cages by 2025, and Taiwan's largest pork producer, TaiSugar, which has committed to ending its use of sow stalls.