Animal Welfare Certification

I was speaking in PEI a couple of weeks ago and someone asked me about animal welfare certification.  The question is an interesting one.  Certification has been important in organics although there are increasingly questions about the value in third party certification if respected brands are claiming organic.  This will be an interesting evolution.  There are a couple of points worth noting that are likely to influence the development in this area:

1 – the importance of brands.  Many food service companies and retailers are making commitments with respect to animal welfare standards.  It is important to them to protect their brands so they have a strong incentive to “certify” and audit that their suppliers are meeting those commitments.  I really wonder if additional third party certification will add value or enforcement to this process.  A&W is making commitments on a number of attributes including animal welfare.  If it is…