Italian food group Barilla, the world’s largest pasta manufacturer, is the recipient of this year’s Henry Spira Humane Corporate Progress Award, a recognition given by the Humane Society of the United States to companies that adopt policies which have a significant positive impact on animals.
Humane Society International, which is the international arm of the Humane Society of the United States, joins in celebrating Barilla’s transition to responsible sourcing of cage-free eggs in its global supply chain. Barilla is one of only a handful of companies in the world to achieve a 100% cage-free egg supply chain ahead of schedule.
HSI’s first contact with Barilla was in late 2016, and in just a matter of months the Italian company committed to this animal welfare goal and achieved it in 2019, one year before the publicly announced 2020 deadline.
Barilla provides yearly progress updates and egg sourcing statistics in its annual sustainability report. Barilla’s global policy applies to each of the six countries where the group operates. Barilla’s operations require 23.000 tons of eggs per year. The implementation of this animal welfare policy is changing the lives of an estimated two million laying hens worldwide each year.
The Henry Spira Awards recognize significant corporate animal welfare commitments in the memory of Henry Spira (1927-1998), a legendary Belgian-American humane advocate who specialized in constructive engagement with corporations committed to an animal welfare mandate as part of their corporate social responsibility missions. He is considered one of the most effective animal advocates of the 20th century.
Read more via The Humane Society International
