At Eating Better, this framework has long been a cornerstone of our work with food businesses, providing a practical roadmap to support progress towards the highest levels of animal welfare and nature friendly farming. Today, we’re launching Sourcing Better 2.0: a strengthened, more detailed version designed to unlock faster, more meaningful change across meat and dairy supply chains.
Drawing on the Eating Better’s principles for more sustainable meat and dairy, developed in consultation with our members, Sourcing Better recognises that a just, holistic approach is necessary to raise standards across production. To this end, the plan identifies eight key impact areas that need to be addressed in sourcing policies: from improving animal welfare and limiting the use of antibiotics, to tackling GHG emissions, reversing nature loss, minimising pollution, water scarcity and run-off, and improving soil health.
This is the second iteration of Sourcing Better; this edition builds on the original framework by adding greater detail and granularity. Our level of ambition remains the same but we have strengthened the framework to provide clearer pathways for progress.
Sourcing Better 2.0 moves beyond a certification-based approach used in the original framework, to a combined certification and practice-based model. This updated framework defines three tiers of ambition – Basic, Better, and Best – through specific on-farm practices, while also providing a comprehensive list of all relevant certifications and commitments that can be used to verify whether these practices are being met. This ensures that food businesses can assess progress not just on the volume of product certified under schemes, but also on the tangible production methods permitted in their sourcing policies.
“To unlock meaningful change, markets for nature-friendly, higher-welfare meat and dairy need sustained investment, and food businesses are well placed to break down the barriers farmers face by designing sourcing policies that genuinely incentivise and reward transition. Sourcing Better is a practical tool to do just that, and I look forward to working with NGO and food business colleagues to put Sourcing Better 2.0 into action.” Myrtle Gregory, Research and Policy Officer
Read and download Sourcing Better 2.0 here.
