Waitrose
At Waitrose, we place the highest value on animal welfare, environmental responsibility and food quality. That’s why you’ll see the Red Tractor logo on so much of our packaging – but that’s only the minimum standard we set.
For many decades, we’ve worked with our farmers to develop own-label products that go above and beyond minimum requirements in the UK.
We’re pleased to see that the government has now set up a trade and agriculture commission to advise ministers on the UK’s approach to future trade agreements. This will hopefully mean that the world-leading standards British farmers can achieve will be preserved into the future – which would be good for British farmers, good for British consumers and good for our customers.
But regardless of what happens, we have pledged that we will never lower the high standards you have come to expect from us across all our own-label products. We also pledge to continue demonstrating to you why our difference counts for more when it comes to quality food.
We believe that animal welfare and good business go hand in hand. That’s why we ensure that high welfare standards apply throughout the animal’s life. Not only is this the right thing to do, it enhances the quality of the meat we sell.We are committed to providing the animals in our supply chain with an enriched environment so they can display their natural behaviours. This has led animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) to consistently judge our overall standards to be better than those of 27 other retailers in Europe, including 10 in the UK.
Higher welfare chickens across all ranges
All our chickens come from dedicated farmers in Northern Ireland. The birds reared for our animal welfare award-winning Essential Waitrose chicken has more space, natural daylight and plenty of environmental enrichment to encourage natural behaviours such as perching and dust bathing. The chickens do not require washing with chlorine because of the high standards they are reared to on the farm. That will never change. We stipulate a maximum stocking density for poultry of 30kg/m2 – 20% more space than the UK industry standard.
We are one of only two UK food retailers to have signed the European Chicken Commitment, which pledges to only sell chicken meat from slower grown breeds by 2026.
It’s not just our fresh chicken that is farmed to high standards. All chicken used as an ingredient in our ready-meals – from our chicken tikka masala to our chicken and mayo sandwiches – is higher welfare from our dedicated farmers in Northern Ireland.
All our certified growers use responsible farming techniques, including sustainable crop rotation where appropriate, wildlife habitat creation and the sustainable use of pesticides. All our UK fresh fruit and vegetables are grown to LEAF Marque Standards – we are the only British supermarket that makes this a requirement.
Waitrose was the first British supermarket to sell organic food in 1983. More than 30 years later, we continue to lead the field with Waitrose Duchy Organic – the UK’s largest own-label organic food and drink brand.