Executive summary: Ahold Delhaize’s commitment to reducing supermarket meat sales in Europe is primarily driven by climate targets rather than animal welfare concerns, potentially exacerbating the shift towards small-bodied animals with higher welfare concerns.
Key points:
Ahold Delhaize aims for 50% of its protein sales to be plant-based by 2030, but the company’s messaging emphasizes emissions reduction rather than animal welfare.
The supermarket’s shift is driven by its net-zero climate pledge, as most of its emissions come from animal-based products, rather than explicit concern for animal suffering.
Simultaneously, Ahold Delhaize’s Czech brand is taking legal action against an animal welfare group, suggesting resistance to animal welfare-driven reforms.
The shift away from high-carbon meats may unintentionally increase the consumption of small-bodied animals (chickens, fish), which suffer under intensive farming conditions.
The widespread adoption of Scope 3 carbon commitments across European supermarkets means meat reduction is likely to continue, but without targeted welfare improvements, small-bodied animal farming could expand.
Future advocacy should focus on shaping corporate carbon reduction strategies to promote non-animal proteins while continuing welfare reforms for intensively farmed animals.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Ahold Delhaize’s commitment to reducing supermarket meat sales in Europe is primarily driven by climate targets rather than animal welfare concerns, potentially exacerbating the shift towards small-bodied animals with higher welfare concerns.
Key points:
Ahold Delhaize aims for 50% of its protein sales to be plant-based by 2030, but the company’s messaging emphasizes emissions reduction rather than animal welfare.
The supermarket’s shift is driven by its net-zero climate pledge, as most of its emissions come from animal-based products, rather than explicit concern for animal suffering.
Simultaneously, Ahold Delhaize’s Czech brand is taking legal action against an animal welfare group, suggesting resistance to animal welfare-driven reforms.
The shift away from high-carbon meats may unintentionally increase the consumption of small-bodied animals (chickens, fish), which suffer under intensive farming conditions.
The widespread adoption of Scope 3 carbon commitments across European supermarkets means meat reduction is likely to continue, but without targeted welfare improvements, small-bodied animal farming could expand.
Future advocacy should focus on shaping corporate carbon reduction strategies to promote non-animal proteins while continuing welfare reforms for intensively farmed animals.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.