PETA’s outreach mischaracterizes both the Global Animal Partnership program and our involvement. G.A.P.’s recent adoption of new standards for chickens used for meat production demonstrates why it’s critical for animal protection groups to stay involved in the effort. Here is the broader context for why the Humane Society family of organizations engages in this work. 

Our organization wrestles frequently with two terrible truths: Animals kept and killed for food can suffer tremendously while on farms, and yet the number of animals kept and killed globally has continued to rise. Today, over 92 billion terrestrial animals are kept and killed annually—about 20 billion more than just a decade ago. 

In spite of those discouraging numbers, we continue to make the case for changing how we eat. To address the root causes of the incredible suffering of billions of animals, it’s critical to remember that reducing consumption of animal products and choosing plant-based alternatives will directly reduce animal suffering. We encourage a shift to plant-based eating, which is a key pillar of our work, and around the world we successfully engage with institutions, municipalities, schools, companies, restaurants, food service and hospitality industries to transition millions of meals annually to plant-based options. The scale of that work is sparing millions of animals. Our goal is to continue this work on the ground to change demand, and to work at the highest levels of multi-national and national policy setting bodies to change our global food system to one that is plant-forward. 

We also take the position that while billions of animals continue to be consumed and used for their products, we cannot abandon them. These are animals suffering in production systems today, right this minute.  

This is why, alongside our plant-based advocacy work, we continue to strategize to improve the welfare standards for farmed animals, especially in regions of the world where industrial animal agriculture is increasing. Having input into the work of entities that set farmed animal welfare standards, including G.A.P., is an important part of the latter tactic. We cannot and will not ignore suffering when we can act to reduce it.  

G.A.P. and other meaningful farmed animal welfare certification programs assess conventional methods and mandate higher welfare improvements that push producers to go beyond standard industry practices. Working with animal welfare certifiers provides an avenue to begin to address the litany of cruel practices that farmed animals endure. By utilizing both approaches—the plant-based work and the direct engagement with producers—we move toward a world with fewer animals farmed, but with higher standards for those that remain.  

Meaningful animal welfare standards start with recognizing that the suffering of farmed animals must be addressed, and build off this understanding to replace intensive confinement systems with cage- and gestation crate-free housing as a baseline, but go beyond by adding dozens of additional requirements. Certification programs send auditors to the farms to check that they, at least, meet a basic set of standards. Among other requirements, certifications:

  • put limits on how early babies can be weaned from their mothers,

  • put restrictions around painful procedures such as castration and tail docking,

  • require bedding and more comfortable resting areas, environmental enrichment, animal health plans and natural light,

  • prohibit the use of poisons and traps to control predators, and

  • limit the distance animals can be transported to slaughter. 

In addition to the meaningful standards the program already has, G.A.P. has also been a leader in addressing one of the most intractable and pervasive farm animal welfare issues, one that impacts billions of animals globally: the rapid growth of chickens raised for meat. Conventional “broiler” chickens are bred to grow so fast that they reach “slaughter weight” in just six weeks, leaving them prone to painful and debilitating leg abnormalities and walking disorders.  

In 2017, G.A.P. initiated a research project with the University of Guelph to conduct one of the largest chicken welfare studies ever undertaken. They assessed 16 different breeds on “welfare outcomes,” which are measurable traits that impact, for example, the animals’ health and mobility. Together, the Guelph study along with many other independent breed trials, have demonstrated that chickens from genetic lines with slower growth rates suffer less from painful gait abnormalities.     

In December 2024, the Board of Directors at G.A.P. voted unanimously to adopt new requirements and set a timeline for the integration of breeds that grow more slowly and thus experience fewer painful walking disorders. Animal welfare scientists on the Board had long advocated for this change and worked hard to persuade fellow board members to address this issue. G.A.P.’s final decision to permit only approved chicken breeds illustrates the value of our participation.  

The focus of farmed animal welfare certifications is on addressing common agricultural practices that cause discomfort, pain and suffering to the animals. Meaningful certification programs have a zero-tolerance policy for abuses uncovered, and producers caught in these acts have been immediately removed from the program. However, auditors cannot be constantly present on farms. While imperfect, certifications markedly reduce animal suffering and are an important complement to plant-based advocacy. Through our influence, these standards improve and get better over time. Without animal advocates at the table to represent the animals impacted, this important tool will wither and weaken.  

Our work around the world with certifiers, including G.A.P. and Humane Farm Animal Care, allows us to provide technical assistance to poultry and pig producers who want to do better. In the developing world especially, where industrial animal agriculture forces seek to expand, producers can benefit from this guidance to realize the full welfare potential of cage- and crate-free systems. Certifications also have segregation protocols to ensure that cage eggs are not sold as cage-free, a vital component of our work with companies to implement their cage-free egg commitments. Our collaboration with certifiers helps us connect food companies to farms that are better to animals than the abysmal industry standard. 

Along with Compassion in World Farming and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, our organization holds a seat on the Board of Directors for G.A.P. and is a founding member. In our advisory capacity, we work to ensure the standards G.A.P. sets are as strong as they can possibly be, to develop new standards, and add our voice to make sure they hold certified farms accountable when systems fail.  

We are mindful of humane washing, and we do not allow our own logo or name to appear on any animal products. Our involvement in pushing for stronger standards is not an endorsement of any product. Through our collaborative work to ensure that G.A.P. standards improve welfare, we have also helped to ensure that G.A.P. is transparent, providing the full standards and requirements of the program online, freely available to the public and consumers.  G.A.P. is a tiered program with five step levels, delineating the welfare improvements at each step in its labels, on its website and in the in-store signage. We expect that some consumers who familiarize themselves with the requirements specific to each step may choose not to purchase animal products at all.   

G.A.P. is also an important ally in the policy arena. In 2022, G.A.P. submitted an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case challenging Proposition 12, the California law that now requires cage- and crate-free production throughout the state. G.A.P.’s brief helped make the critical argument that producers can (and do, in the G.A.P. program) use traceability and segregation through the supply chain back to the breeding farm, which was an important argument swaying the justices to uphold California’s historic law. 

PETA’s recent outreach mischaracterizes both the G.A.P. program and our role. G.A.P.’s standards reduce suffering of farm animals every day by setting the bar at a higher level than conventional production and our involvement has made the program stronger. We intend to stay focused on the course that will do the most good for the most animals.