Hello FAST members I hope these lines find you very well.. We wanted to tell you about the progress of the egg labeling bill in Peru. It's a very important moment, with daily updates from the Congress of the Republic. In November 2023, with the support of Fundación Veg (Chile), we succeeded in getting Congresswoman Sigrid Bazán to submit Bill No. 6448/2023-CR (hereinafter PL) to the Congress of the Republic of Peru. This Bill is titled "Law that Promotes Consumer Rights in Egg Labeling." This PL is based on three pillars: i) Transparency for consumers to know the origin of their food. ii) Animal welfare in laying hen farming systems. iii) Public health in the face of the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) given the antibiotics that caged hens receive as a preventive measure, which leave traces in their eggs. This PL is the first of its kind in Peru and is assigned to both the Agrarian Commission and the Consumer Defense Commission (CoDeCo), allowing us to work on its impact in two instances in parallel. It is undoubtedly in CoDeCo where the PL has made the most positive progress and where a substitute text was presented to reflect an observation from the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI), which welcomed the transparency proposed by the PL, which aims to distinguish on egg labeling between "cage" farming, "shed" farming (or corrals), and "pasture" farming (or free-range farming), so that each consumer can choose between these three systems and make an informed decision. The PL has also received 12 favorable technical opinions, including those from the main consumer associations (ASPEC and APU), animal welfare certifiers (Certified Humane), cage-free chicken producers (Murlota), animal protection associations (Sinergia Animal, Fórum Animal, TerraAnimal, ARBA), the Center for Welfare Metrics, among others. On April 15, the CoDeCo presidency issued a favorable opinion on the PL (the first fav

Hi Fast, We are pleased to share that Fundación Derecho y Defensa Animal has secured three new cage-free commitments, with the support of the Open Wing Alliance. These include La Subida, a restaurant located at the foot of Cerro San Cristóbal, a site of great historical significance; Rincón de Las Brujas, a restaurant serving in Pomaire, one of the most popular rural tourist destinations near the capital; and Madeline Panadería, a renowned bakery known for its high-volume production of cakes that use eggs as a key ingredient. We are very excited about the progress of this alliance and highly motivated to continue working for animal welfare. Best regards, Kiara Espinoza Corporate Relations Manager Desafío sin Jaulas (Cage-Free Challenge) – Fundación DyDAnimal 

Hello, everyone! Good news from Brazil! As an outcome of corporate relations efforts from Fórum Animal and Mercy for Animals, as well as public pressure by MFA's accountability campaign 'Cadê O Avanço?', M. Dias Branco just announced that in December 2024, they concluded their transition and are now 100% cage-free. M. Dias Branco is a leading producer of pasta and cookies in Brazil, holding a significant market share. They are also present in other countries and are currently working to expand internationally. The company’s main product line is egg pasta, formulated with processed eggs and egg by-products. These ingredients are featured across nearly the entire range of the company’s portfolio. As part of the company's media strategy to announce the accomplishment, they asked Mercy For Animals do Brasil to provide statements for the articles published in the press. You can read more about it in Investe SP, FoodBiz and on M. Dias Branco website. Scale: National Timeline: Asks for implementation rates started in 2019 by MFA and in 2021 by Fórum Animal and their accountability annual report Egglab. Since then, MFA and Fórum Animal have consistently followed up with M. Dias Branco to monitor their progress. As the company had not reported any progress by 2023, it was selected as a target for Mercy For Animals' public awareness campaign, 'Cadê O Avanço?', launched on July 24, 2023. As an outcome, not only did M. Dias Branco fulfilled their transition to a cage-free supply-chain, but also started reporting progress. Who: Mercy For Animals and Fórum Animal. Failed tactics: none Successful tactics:  Corporate Relations engagement and Campaign pressure asking for transparency in progress reporting. In 2025, M. Dias Branco shared with MFA and Fórum Animal that they had completed their implementation. Soon, the company will also update their website to announce this conclusion as part of their communication strategy. Scalability: National. Thank you!  

The IP28 campaign in Oregon—seeking to place a ban on slaughter, hunting, fishing, experimentations, and forced breeding on the 2026 statewide ballot—passed our 50,000 signatures collected milestone!  We also ended the month of April collecting over 5,000 signatures thanks to some of the new petitioners we onboarded earlier this Spring. After a slower winter season, we're excited by the renewed activity. 

The Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare (VAFAW) is hosting a webinar that may interest you and your colleagues.  The webinar, Essential Elements for Successful Group Housing of Sows, will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2025 by renowed animal welfare scientist, Dr. Jeremy Marchant. He will walk through the challenges and benefits of housing sows in groups instead of gestation crates, with special emphasis on the Five Domains Model of animal welfare. This is the first webinar in our series “Promoting Living Environments That Meet the Animal's Physical and Psychological Needs,” and we are inviting others to help build awareness about the event.  We sincerely appreciate any efforts you can undertake to bring awareness to this important event. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.   Sincerely,  The VAFAW Operations Team

Hello FAST community! Leading wholesaler in the Horeca sector, METRO Italy has published a policy on the welfare of farmed fish, thus becoming the first company to sign up to our campaign Anche i Pesci (Fish Too), which calls on food companies to phase out the main causes of suffering for these animals. The policy outlines a set of criteria to improve the living conditions of farmed fish – starting with sea bass and sea bream – and primarily focuses on two key areas, in line with the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and EFSA’s scientific opinions: * Effective stunning: As a current policy, all METRO’s own-brand fresh sea bass, sea bream and salmon products come from animals that have been effectively stunned (specifically, sea bass and sea bream by electrical methods, and salmon by either electrical or percussive methods). * Reduced stocking densities: All farms supplying METRO’s own-brand fresh sea bass and sea bream currently apply a stocking density of ≤ 15 kg/m³. We estimate that this commitment will impact an average of 805,000 fishes per year. Conversations with METRO began two years ago, when we first presented our corporate fish ask, and have continued with a collaborative approach since then. We will continue working with METRO to ensure the policy is extended to cover an increasing number of fish product categories under the company’s own brand. We will also leverage this significant step forward to promote further farmed fish welfare commitments from other food companies in Italy.