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By April Soler 

The year is 1998 in Nipah, Malaysia, where dense smoke caused by forest fires has engulfed the region. The immediate environmental impact is a reduction of fruiting trees and a stable food supply for bats, who are forced to venture further from the tropical forest into cultivated orchards on local pig farms. Eventually, fruit bat excrement makes its way into pig feed, creating ground zero for the highly infectious Nipah Virus that initially spreads among animals and is rapidly transmitted to humans. 256 people are affected in the subsequent outbreak, and 105 people die.  

In countless other cases around the world, we see that human health and animal health are interdependent and inextricably tied to the well-being of the environment.

One Welfare, or the concept that the improvement of animal welfare often improves human welfare (and vice versa), was a focal point of the 4th Global Conference on Animal Welfare hosted by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in Guadalajara. The Paris-based intergovernmental body convened last week to promote and support the implementation of OIE animal welfare standards by the governments of its Member Countries, but in doing so also clearly communicated the major role of the private sector and multi-stakeholder partnerships in preserving a fragile ecosystem.

The new ISO specifications (ISO/TS 34700:2016) align with OIE standards, are rooted in scientific research findings, and send a powerful message that animal welfare is not exclusively an ethical concern but also a business concern impacting supply chains across sectors.

Businesses across industries are now charged with implementing a set of global norms for animal welfare through new specifications released in December by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). For many companies, the standards will provide not only a set of clearly defined metrics for industry-wide adoption, but also a welcomed leveling of the playing field.

Through a five-year multi-stakeholder process, ISO worked closely in partnership with the OIE, private industries, and academia to develop a welfare management tool with the minimal level of consideration towards the five freedoms associated with animal welfare — freedom from: hunger and thirst; discomfort; pain, injury, or disease; inability to express normal animal behavior; and distress.

The new ISO specifications (ISO/TS 34700:2016) align with OIE standards, are rooted in scientific research findings, and send a powerful message that animal welfare is not exclusively an ethical concern but also a business concern impacting supply chains across sectors.

Care for animal welfare is a key consideration for sustainable food practices around the world with proven economic benefits for suppliers. The negative handling of animals is linked to severe stress responses in animals and results in reduced growth, reproduction, and immune competence. According to World Animal Protection, a U.K.-based animal welfare organization, improvements in livestock welfare are better for productivity, disease control, yield of saleable meat, worker safety, as well as food safety. Animal welfare thereby benefits suppliers and consumers who are increasingly demanding ethically sourced food.

If we look at the bigger picture, the widespread adoption of new standards by the private sector could improve the living conditions of animals raised for consumption around the globe. By improving the welfare of livestock and minimizing the need for multiple audits, the new ISO standards also provide a strong international framework that could lead to better outcomes for small companies, smallholder farmers and their livelihoods.

New standards not only uphold the principle of One Welfare but are a step towards the achievement of a broader global agenda outlined in the 2030 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals relating to food security and sustainable food production systems.

Farming is no longer just seen as a means of food production, but rather one piece of an interconnected ecosystem. The integration of animal welfare into the raising, slaughtering, and transport of livestock will pave the way for more sustainable, ethical, and profitable systems, and will be prioritized through new tools like the ISO standards for animal welfare management. 

Concordia recently launched a Campaign for a Sustainable Global Food Supply to coalesce actors from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to collectively face these challenges and foster effective partnerships. To learn more about the Campaign or how to get involved, please contact Hanne Dalmut at hdalmut@concordia.net.