Fast-food

FOUR PAWS convinces German fast-food chain dean&david to reduce meat

dean&david is rated the highest in the FOUR PAWS Atlas challenge ranking and are the first to sign the commitment which has kick-started the race for the rest to follow suit

3/1/2021

March 1, 2021 - After the successful launch of the Atlas Challenge ranking on the Food Delivery services and the food producers in 2020, global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS continues to benchmark businesses in the food industry on their strategies of meat reduction. 

With its recent publication, the “One Welfare driven” campaigners published its latest ranking on fast-food chains within the quick-service sector at www.four-paws.org/fast-food-chains. The overall results of the big players were sobering: The likes of McDonald's, Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, and Subway- amongst others- show strong development potential with areas of improvement needed. dean&david not only scored the highest but are the first to jump on board committing to sustainable business practices, which promote meat and fish reduction and an increase of plant-based food. This not only contributes to a reduction of animals being exploited in many current agricultural systems, but also helps decrease the negative impact on climate change. 

The FOUR PAWS Atlas challenge ranking targeted a total of 43 fast-food chains in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom and evaluated the publicly available CSR reports, product portfolio, marketing and promotional tactics towards plant-based food and meat and fish offerings, as well as their future progress and commitment. The majority of the assessed fast-food chains ended up in the ‘Average’ category, and only 5 received a rating of ‘good’; KFC (UK), LEON (UK), Pret A Manger (UK), Pizza Hut (UK) and dean&david (DACH region). 8 fell into the ‘low’ category; Domino’s Pizza (Austria), Call a pizza (Germany), Burgerista (Austria), Pizza Mann (Austria), Türkis (Austria), Telepizza (Switzerland), Sam’s Pizza Land (Switzerland) and Wienerwald (Austria).

"Animal and environmentally friendly foods are becoming more popular around the world, and consumers are demanding greater transparency on the animal welfare, environmental and health implications of the food they buy. When chains like dean&david not only expand their plant-based food offering but also commit towards strategies on meat reduction, it sets a positive example to the rest of the food sector that change is not only possible, measurable, and profitable, but very much needed at a time when animal welfare, the climate crisis and the global pandemic are a top focus of current affairs."

-Sonja Svensek, International Head of Nutrition Department at FOUR PAWS, is pleased with the commitment made by dean&david and urges the rest to take responsibility too.

The FOUR PAWS Atlas Challenge

As part of the FOUR PAWS Atlas Challenge, the food industry is urged to commit to reducing their offering of meat and fish products and increasing their plant-based portfolio as part of the animal welfare and environmental protection in their CSR strategies. This is intended to reduce the excessive production and consumption of animal-based foods and to stand up against the industrial farming of animals. FOUR PAWS acknowledges that animal welfare, human health and environmental protection are deeply connected (One Welfare concept).

FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need, and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy, and understanding. FOUR PAWS’ sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam, as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.fourpawsusa.org 

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