We don’t always think about where the food we eat comes from, or the work that happens behind the scenes with raising animals and tending to the crops. Those are hard jobs for farmers, and so is being accountable to the consumers. When choosing the food we buy, we are faced with so many decisions, and many of the labels can be confusing and difficult to understand.
Today, I am happy to welcome Anne Malleau as my guest for the podcast. Anne is the Executive Director for Global Animal Partnerships, the leading farm animal welfare standards and labeling organization in North America. She is an animal scientist with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture, a Master of Science in Poultry Behaviour and Welfare, and an MBA in Agribusiness. Be sure to listen in today to learn about animal welfare, sustainability, and the science behind the decisions made when raising animals for food.
Show highlights:
Anne talks about how she got started in her field.
Anne discusses the science behind the decisions made for whole foods and G.A.P.
Anne explains the difference between animal welfare and animal rights.
There are different sections on Anne’s website, depending on whether you are a consumer, looking for pet food, or business. She explains what that is all about.
Anne discusses the three pillars that form the backbone of the G.A.P. standard.
It is vital to pay attention to the emotional lives of animals.
Anne explains how G.A.P. follows up on the standards.
Anne discusses the different labels, which can be confusing.
What consumers need to know about organic produce, and how it is labeled.
You can find G.A.P. in more than 5000 places. Anne talks about the number of animals they certify annually.
The effects that Covid has had on what Anne is doing.
There are has blog articles and recipes on the G.A.P. website.
Anne talks about the changes that she would like to see in the future.
Bio:
Anne Malleau is the Executive Director for Global Animal Partnership (G.A.P.), the leading farm animal welfare standards and labeling organization in North America. In addition to G.A.P.’s commitment to continuous improvement in improving the lives of farm animals, G.A.P. has pioneered ‘farm to fork’ support for their partners - designed to provide additional business support and opportunities for partners where possible.
Established in 2008, G.A.P. impacts the welfare of over 416MM animals annually through third-party certification of more than 3,900 farms across 11 countries, with labeled products in over 5,000 outlets. G.A.P. believes that meaningful label claims, validated by third-party audits on every farm, are key to influencing the industry, raising consumer expectations, and creating long-lasting change for animals.
Anne is also an Executive Leader of Meat and Poultry – Live Production at Whole Foods Market – the leading grocer of natural and organic food in the US - where she provides farm animal production compliance support to the meat teams.
Anne is an animal scientist with a BSc in agriculture, an MSc in poultry behavior and welfare, and an MBA in agribusiness. She has studied and worked in animal agriculture for more than 20 years.
Anne currently lives and works from her farm outside of Toronto, Canada traveling often. She has two young children and enjoys crafting, cooking, gardening, and helping her husband renovate their home.
Links and resources:
https://globalanimalpartnership.org/ (Global Animal Partnership )
G.A.P. on https://www.linkedin.com/company/certifiedgap/ (LinkedIn), https://twitter.com/CertifiedGAP (Twitter), https://www.facebook.com/G.A.P.Certified (Facebook), andhttps://www.instagram.com/g.a.p.certified/ ( Instagram)