Animal Welfare

Post Holdings and our subsidiaries recognize our responsibility to provide health, safety and comfort of all animals that provide products for our company and our responsibility to produce products that facilitate the nutritional health and welfare of the domestic animals who consume them. We expect all employees, suppliers and business partners to treat the animals they interact with using evidence-based best practices and compassion at all times.

Our commitment to animal welfare is maintained through:

1. An established Animal Welfare Committee, consisting of a multi-disciplinary group of internal leaders and recognized third-party experts whose collective insights are used to guide our policies and practices.

The Mission of the Animal Welfare Committee is to maintain the highest ethical standards, provide council and feedback on policies, practices and procedures that impact animal care, health and welfare of animals in the supply chain. We demonstrate we care for animals in a manner that embraces proven animal science, husbandry and welfare standards throughout our entire supply chain.

 

The primary responsibilities of the Animal Welfare Committee are to:

• Review policy and procedure documents to identify gaps and make recommendations for continuous improvements.
• Identify issues and opportunities related to animal welfare as relevant to our businesses.
• Provide counsel, insights and feedback and the benefit of their broad experience to help elevate practices and anticipate potential issues.

Our Animal Welfare Committee includes the following recognized third-party experts:

Anna Johnson, Ph.D. – Dr. Johnson is a professor in animal behavior and welfare and Tyrone D. Artz, M.D. Chair for Faculty Excellence in Animal Science at Iowa State University (ISU). She completed her Ph.D. in Animal Science at Texas Tech University. Dr. Johnson serves multiple stakeholders in their efforts on animal welfare and prior to joining ISU was Director of Animal Welfare for the National Pork Board.

Janice Swanson, Ph.D. – Dr. Swanson is professor and the Director of Animal Welfare and Behavior at Michigan State University. She assumed her position in July 2007 after 15 years on the faculty at Kansas State University Department of Animal Sciences and Industry. Dr. Swanson serves on the animal welfare advisory committees of other food companies and is an internationally recognized expert in animal welfare and social responsibility in the food system.

Candace Croney, Ph.D. – Dr. Croney is Director of the Center for Animal Welfare Science at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine and a professor of animal behavior and well-being at Purdue University. Previously, Dr. Croney was associate professor of animal behavior and bioethics in the department of Veterinary Preventative Medicine at the Ohio State University. She has served as an animal welfare advisor to the National Pork Board, the Animal Agriculture Alliance, the Northwest Sustainable Dairy Program, and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

2. Promoting adherence to our animal welfare principles and regulatory compliance by employees, suppliers and business partners through standard operating procedures, training, assessment and certification programs, routine internal and third-party audits, and other continuous improvement processes.

Animal Welfare Principles

Our commitment to animal welfare is based on the following shared principles:

• Conduct business ethically, responsibly and in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
• Demonstrate a genuine commitment to implementing animal welfare standards, professional skill development and industry-established best practices, which are ethically grounded, scientifically verified and economically viable to protect the health and welfare of all animals and personnel during transportation, unloading, handling and processing.
• Provide all animals with living environments and nutrition that are in line with science-based industry standards and are designed for animal comfort, care and health.
• Provide all animals with appropriate preventative and, as necessary, medical treatment, including responsible therapeutic use of antibiotics.
• Do not conduct, sponsor or otherwise support animal testing for food safety and quality or applicable regulations without due diligence to avoiding, minimizing and alleviating discomfort, distress and pain.
• Take immediate and corrective measures for any identified actions which are contrary to our principles and which violate our code of conduct.
• Effectively communicate progress to stakeholders on the adherence to and maintenance of our animal welfare commitment at least annually.

Industry Participation

How we do business matters. For that reason, Post Holdings is committed to work diligently with our subsidiaries to actively participate in recognized industry associations and quality certification programs related to animal welfare as an important means of staying current with regulations, stakeholder perspectives and industry best practices. Each member of the Post community has an obligation and responsibility to follow our commitment to animal welfare and meet expectations of associations and certifications that our company aligns with.

Our diversified companies encompass a broad mix of product types and therefore maintain business-specific programs for managing animal welfare and delivering upon Post Holdings’ commitment.

For instance, Bob Evans Farms participates in Protein PACT, which is the largest-ever collective action effort to strengthen animal protein’s contributions to healthy people, healthy animals, healthy communities and a healthy environment. To achieve this vision, Protein PACT members are working to establish transparent baselines and benchmarks for continuous improvement, setting ambitious targets for progress to align with global goals and committing to communicate our efforts proactively and transparently.

To learn more, visit our relevant operating company websites.

Reporting Concerns

Mechanisms for reporting ethics and compliance concerns involving our global employees and operations are identified in our Code of Conduct and related to our supply chain are identified in our Supplier Code of Conduct.