Open Farm was founded on rigorous ethical sourcing principles in 2014 when we realized through our own search for sustainable and ethically sourced pet food that this was a major gap in the pet food industry. Since then, we have sourced all our meat in a way that is consistent with our belief that animals deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. To do this we partner with progressive farmers who practice the highest standards of farm animal welfare, and with NGOs and certifications to audit our supply chain and ensure we’re sourcing the most ethically raised meat. This means healthier and happier animals and more nutritious beef, pork, and poultry for your pet. For all farm animals, we work to ensure that they are treated with kindness, compassion, and respect at every stage of their lives and experience the following conditions:
Better Chicken Commitment
As the leading brand in ethically sourced pet food that has always sourced meat according to stringent farm animal welfare standards, we are proud to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment policy, which unites producers, brands, and NGOs that are working to improve chicken welfare. As such, we are committed to Version 2 of the Better Chicken Commitment. The Better Chicken Commitment focuses on addressing issues in broiler chickens1 related to breeding for fast-growth, housing conditions, stocking density, and slaughter. Specifically, the framework requires:
- Ample room to roam inside chicken houses
- Environmental enrichments to encourage natural behavior
- Lighting program including continuous hours of darkness for rest
- Flooring substrate to enhance animal comfort and hygiene
- Slower growing breeds
- Utilizing a multi-step controlled-atmosphere processing system
- Third-party auditing to demonstrate compliance
We’re always working to raise the bar at Open Farm, but we also think it is important to recognize the progress that our farmers have made along the way. Since our founding, 100% of our farmers have been third-party audited to the rigorous animal welfare standards of Certified Humane and Global Animal Partnership, which include ample room to roam inside chicken houses, environmental enrichments to encourage natural behavior, continuous hours of darkness for rest, and many more robust animal welfare protocols.
We still have work to do to transition to slower-growing breeds by 2026 and to controlled atmosphere processing for 100% of our supply by 2024. The foundation of our brand was built on sourcing meat with the highest animal welfare standards available and we are proud to take the next step in that aspiration by formally signing on to the Better Chicken Commitment.
"Tangible progress is desperately needed in the way farmed animals are raised for food and it is encouraging when food companies use their power to support positive change,“ said Nancy Roulston, senior director of corporate policy and animal science, ASPCA Farm Animal Welfare. “We commend Open Farm for signing on to the Better Chicken Commitment and continuing to source welfare-certified ingredients for a wide range of their products, which are recognized as more humane by the ASPCA’s Shop With Your Heart program”.
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