Press Release

Terrebonet, OR (JANUARY 26, 2017) After months of constituent feedback, market research and design work, A Greener World (AGW)--North America’s most trusted and transparent farm certifier–has released a brand new logo for its market-leading third-party certification, Animal Welfare Approved.

One of AGW’s growing family of leading food labels, Animal Welfare Approved was launched in 2006 as a market-based solution to growing consumer demand for high-welfare, environmentally sustainable meat, eggs and dairy products. In late 2016, AGW learned that the license for its former Animal Welfare Approved logo would not be renewed, and embarked upon a strategic campaign to launch a new logo to effectively communicate the wider benefits of Animal Welfare Approved farming and ranching.

The rise in misleading label claims, the continued weakness of organic livestock and poultry standards, and an anticipated trend of deregulation underscores the important role of independent third-party certifications like Animal Welfare Approved in ensuring high-welfare, pasture-based management.

More than a welfare certification, Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) remains the only label in the marketplace to ensure the following:

• Meaningful, verified, outdoor pasture- and range-based systems–not just a door at the end of a building or an outdoor concrete run
• No cages, crates or feedlots–ever
• Verified environmentally sustainable farming and ranching
• Responsible stewardship of public resources like air, water, soil and antibiotics
• Independent farms/farmers meeting the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S. and Canada
• Prohibit the use of hormones (like rBST), animal byproducts or routine antibiotics
• Industry-leading high welfare handling and management from birth through slaughter
• Independent standards for the inspection of slaughter plants
• No conflicts of interest: the AWA program relies on public donations
• Excellence in auditing and certifying according to AWA’s ISO 17065 accreditation

“When we take care of our people, our animals and our land, we achieve true sustainability. As the only completely pasture-based program in North America, we kept hearing loud and clear that there was a need for our logo to reflect the full, holistic picture of AWA, animal-centered farms and their benefits to the wider community and society as a whole. This was the perfect opportunity to launch a new logo that better reflects our program’s ethos of transparency and true sustainability. With Animal Welfare Approved, what you see is what you get–and what you get is pretty amazing.”
~AGW Director of Outreach Emily Moose

As part of the strategic campaign centered on the debut of the new logo, Animal Welfare Approved is re-launching its websites as animalwelfareapproved.us and animalwelfareapproved.ca to reflect the global nature of this growing brand, with animalwelfareapproved.sa coming soon with the launch of Animal Welfare Approved in South Africa.

The new logo will be available in French and Spanish, with plans to translate AWA standards accordingly. Certified parties will transition to the new logo in the coming months, and A Greener World is offering a professional labeling support service to maximize the benefits of the new logo.

For more information about Animal Welfare Approved–and A Greener World’s other leading third-party certifications–visit agreenerworld.org.