Gelita joins Animal Welfare Initiative as sponsoring member

17 Jul 2018 --- Gelita AG is joining the Animal Welfare Initiative as a sponsoring member. As of August 1, 2018, the company will support the Animal Welfare Initiative with a financial contribution. By becoming sponsoring members, companies that do not directly sell meat and meat products can help improve animal welfare in livestock farming.

“For us, as processors of animal by-products for the production of collagen proteins like gelatins, collagen peptides and collagen, the topic of animal welfare is particularly relevant. Even though the public discussion is primarily focused on the production of meat, due consideration must also be given to animal by-products. Ethical and fair livestock farming is a fundamental building block for the general acceptance of animal products. We firmly believe that the Animal Welfare Initiative is taking the right approach by consciously tackling the topic across the supply chain with large-scale involvement from the industry,” says Reinhard Zehetner, Global VP of Quality and Regulatory Affairs at Gelita.

“With Gelita, we’ve gained a partner that we are pleased with. That’s because Gelita proves that the topic of animal welfare is a relevant issue for more and more companies,” says Dr. Alexander Hinrichs, Managing Director of the Animal Welfare Initiative.

“Gelita is making a statement with its sponsoring membership. The time has come to take responsibility at all stages of the meat supply chain, and the Animal Welfare Initiative offers the possibility of doing this,” he says.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, Oliver Wolf, Head of B2B Marketing, Global Marketing & Communication at Gelita says: “We are convinced the initiative will contribute considerably to improve the conditions of livestock farming and meat production in favor of the welfare of the animals. The whole food industry and the consumer will benefit.”

“The market for collagen is increasing, especially for collagen peptides. These collagen peptides comprise considerable bioactivity, meaning they actively influence our health and wellbeing,” he explains. “Specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides improve our mobility by stimulation of joint cartilage recovery, others show clear anti-aging effects as they increase bone density while others again make for beautiful skin with fewer wrinkles.”

“We are sure consumers pay more and more attention about the conditions their food – not only animal-based – is produced and they will increasingly choose the ethical, sustainable and environmentally friendly option when having the choice. Animal welfare is one important part of this,” he notes. 

We hope the Animal Welfare Initiative will raise the importance and the majority of companies manufacturing food in any way concerning livestock farming will follow the terms of the initiative,” Wolf concludes. 

As sponsoring members, companies contribute to creating a more ethical and sustainable meat industry. Companies that are interested in becoming sponsoring members should contact the Animal Welfare Initiative’s office in Bonn, Germany.

By Elizabeth Green

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