Plant-based pays off: Through our new Plant Potential program, we will intensify our support for companies in the food industry to use fewer animal products. Our goal is clear: To sustainably reduce factory farming and, in turn, animal suffering. Companies play a crucial role in transforming animal agriculture, and here we explain how we plan to support them in this process.
Climate catastrophe, animal suffering, pandemics and diseases—there are so many reasons to consume fewer animal products. And just as the demand for animal-free foods is growing, so too is corporate interest in vegan products. But this is not nearly enough to significantly drive the transformation of animal agriculture or reduce the number of animals in the agricultural industry, which is why we have to simultaneously encourage companies to also use and sell fewer animal products. And this is where our work begins: in encouraging companies to use fewer animal products throughout their supply chains while, at the same time, optimizing their plant-based products.
How does Plant Potential help reduce animal suffering?
Companies in the food industry (e.g. retailers, the food service sector, suppliers) have a major influence on how »farmed animals« are kept and, even more so, on their numbers. Through our work, therefore, we make a significant contribution toward encouraging companies to adopt higher animal welfare standards and use fewer animal products. While the European Chicken Commitment and the Cage-Free Initiative directly address animal welfare, Plant Potential focuses on reducing the use of animal products.
To make the food industry more sustainable and more animal-friendly, companies need to rethink their old ways and dare to break new ground. We want to support them on their path toward using fewer animal products and so use a crucial lever to reduce animal suffering. With our support, we expect companies to develop concepts designed to ensure that, in the future, fewer animals will be forced to suffer and die for human consumption.
Luisa Kucz, Director of Corporate Outreach Germany, is optimistic that companies will act: »Initial talks with companies revealed great interest in the topic. We are excited about these forthcoming partnerships and the long-term impact of our measures. The fact that plant-based products are becoming increasingly popular and the consumption of meat and dairy has been falling for several years is a clear sign that the time has come for ambitious goals in our corporate partnerships!«
Effective measures
Companies who want to cooperate with us as part of Plant Potential sign a target agreement containing details of their reduction goals. Our job is then to provide them with information, offer our expertise and tools for measuring impact and act as a contact for any questions they may have about making the transition. To help them with this, we have developed various measures aimed at achieving a permanent reduction in animal products.
One approach, for example, is to optimize the taste and price of animal-free products. Other measures, however, focus directly on the animal products themselves and involve helping companies to waste fewer animal products, work with smaller portions and test »blended meats«—i.e. half-meat, half-plant products. This enables companies to also reach consumers who might otherwise not be prepared to buy plant-based substitutes. Although our focus is on vegan nutrition, measures such as these can play a key role in ensuring that fewer animals suffer and are killed. The companies themselves decide upon which of our proposed measures they will eventually implement to reduce animal products and achieve the agreed goals.
We are launching our new program with a pilot phase during which, over the coming months, we will evaluate which measures are achieving the greatest impact and think about how we can most effectively convince companies to permanently reduce the amount of animal products they use. We will keep you updated with all the latest news and developments.