Animal Welfare
Meat, dairy and eggs are some of the core products sold by the ALDI SOUTH Group, which is why we are committed to delivering better Animal Welfare standards across our markets.
Why Animal Welfare is important
The global challenges in food production are connected to almost every threat that our planet, its ecosystems and people currently face. These food systems have become highly industrialised, with the farm animal sector being the largest user of agricultural land. The number of land animals slaughtered for food each year has increased eightfold since the 1960s and most farmed animals are reared intensively in systems that impact their welfare.
While we don’t raise animals, or own and operate any processing facilities, the ALDI SOUTH Group is committed to better animal welfare. Our goal is to mitigate the suffering of farm-reared animals, and to ensure a minimum standard of living conditions and treatment for all farm-reared animals. Almost one third of our product range is comprised of fresh and frozen meat, dairy products, and eggs, which is why we are working to raise the standards for animal welfare across our global supply chains.
How does ALDI ensure Animal Welfare?
The demand for animal products is high and so are the expectations of our customers. Challenges with food production and its supply chains are wide-ranging and complex, but that does not stop us from delivering sustainable products that everyone can afford.
Our focus on specific animal welfare topics depends on the perception of animal welfare and legal requirements within each of our national markets. However, shared challenges in animal farming allow us to set global minimum standards for core species including laying hens, broilers, cattle, dairy cows, and pigs.
The ALDI SOUTH Group is committed to:
- None of our products contain any raw materials derived from exotic or endangered animal species. Our health and beauty products, detergents and cleaners are free from animal testing.
- We prohibit our suppliers from live-plucking and force-feeding ducks and geese. We have strict requirements for fresh meat and poultry suppliers to apply appropriate stunning methods when slaughtering.
- We do not offer any products containing angora wool or real fur. We also prohibit mulesing during merino wool production.
Our goal:
Our long-term aspiration is to make animal welfare an integral part of our global business strategy and achieve tier 2 (out of 6) in the Business Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) ranking.
Setting the standards for better animal rearing
ALDI SÜD Germany has become a driving force, pioneering better animal husbandry in Germany. Since 2019, we have voluntarily labelled our meat products – and since 2022 also some dairy products – so that German customers can see the conditions under which the animals were kept. The animal husbandry system is a four-stage rating system which classifies the husbandry type from minimum (1) to premium (4) husbandry conditions.
- 100% of our drinking milk in Germany comes from husbandry levels 3 and 4.
- 50% of fresh meat sold in Germany comes from husbandry levels 3 and 4
ALDI SÜD Germany aims to achieve 100% fresh and processed meat sourced from suppliers with husbandry levels 3 and 4 by 2030.
Read more about ALDI SÜD Germany’s animal welfare initiatives here.
Award-winning dairy farming in the UK
The ALDI Dairy Farm Partnership is a partnership between ALDI UK and Arla Foods, a farmer owned cooperative, designed to create best practice animal welfare and farm management knowledge for the betterment of the UK dairy industry.
Read more: ALDI Dairy Farm Partnership - ALDI UK
Increasing welfare for laying hens and broiler chicken
Nearly 85% of the 8.3 billion egg-laying hens worldwide are kept in cage systems. The welfare of laying hens has been an important, global topic for nearly four decades and “cage-free” remains a big challenge across industries. Our efforts have ensured that 59% of shell eggs sold by the ALDI SOUTH Group are cage-free.
- ALDI SÜD Germany was the first ALDI market to commit to The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), a set of standards for broiler welfare that is leading the global food industry towards higher welfare practices. It is a science-based, welfare policy that addresses issues relating to breeding, housing, stocking density and slaughter systems.
- Fast growth rates result in significant pain and suffering for chickens. HOFER Austria has been introducing slower-growing breeds for a range of products in 2023. By selecting slower-growing breeds, ALDI is committed to more humane welfare practices for broilers.
Making a difference: animal fibres and materials
Our commitment to a more humane, environmentally sound world goes beyond food systems. Addressing animal fibers allows us to foster better animal standards within our non-food products.
Our goal:
Our target is to reach 100% of animal fibers for textiles such as wool or down will be certified according to an accepted standard by 2026.
The ALDI SOUTH Group already adheres to the following certifications:
- Downpass 2017
- Leather Working Group (LWG)
- Responsible Down (RDS)
- Good Cashmere Standard (GCS)
- Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)