Abstract:

This study sets out to explain differing company positions on animal ethics, using a qualitative study of drivers (stimulatory factors) and challenges (obstructive factors) of animal ethics in large Western-Europe-based food companies. This is done through in-depth interviews with employees who are responsible for animal welfare policy, in which they talk about how the topic of animal welfare entered the company’s responsibility agenda, how it evolved, and is still evolving. We identified ten types of drivers and challenges for taking animals into account (from emotional to economic), which occur in ten different levels (from the interviewee as a manager to the government). This paper presents the preliminary results of this study and our first attempts to infer a model for explaining differences between companies. By strengthening drivers and minimising challenges, all parties (companies, nongovernmental organisations, governments, business partners, etc.) will be able to use our findings to accelerate the change toward a more widely felt responsibility towards animals.