Pork and other animal welfare at Sodexo

Beyond eggs and broiler chicken, Sodexo’s welfare commitments on pork, rabbit and dairy are set at country level and reported each year in our Animal Welfare Performance Report. In Belgium, all of the pork we source has complied with the Better Living (Beter Leven) 1 Star standard since October 2024 and comes from non-castrated piglets, and the rabbit meat we source there comes exclusively from cage-free systems. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, we are moving our pork sourcing away from systems that restrict freedom of movement and working to increase the proportion of dairy we source through welfare assurance schemes.*

  • Pork welfare standards

    In Belgium, we had already implemented sourcing of pork from non-castrated piglets across our supply before 2024, in line with long-standing national production practice. Since October 2024 we have sourced pork there exclusively under the Better Living (Beter Leven) 1 Star certification, a third-party verified scheme that sets a structured set of farm-level requirements for living conditions and animal care. As a result, 100% of the pork we source in Belgium complies with the Better Living 1 Star standard. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, we are moving our pork sourcing away from systems that restrict animals’ freedom of movement and natural behaviors, towards more open, welfare-focused rearing conditions.

  • Rabbit welfare standards

    In Belgium, we source rabbit meat exclusively from cage-free systems. This has been established practice in the market for many years and is fully implemented across our business there.

  • Dairy welfare standards

    In the United Kingdom and Ireland, we are working to increase the proportion of cheese, butter, milk and cream we source through assurance schemes that address animal welfare and responsible farming practices.

  • Supplier welfare assessment across species

    In France, we have developed an animal welfare supplier evaluation and we offer our suppliers an animal welfare diagnosis carried out by Bureau Etre, an external firm specializing in ethology. We use the audits to strengthen links with the sectors, to inform stakeholders and to support our suppliers in raising standards.

Frequently asked questions