Meaningful Milestones: Our Impact Timeline

In June, Mercy For Animals and Humane World for Animals trained more than 160 school principals, cooks, and nutritionists in Sobral, Brazil. Running since 2022, our program in Sobral supporters schools in serving fully plant-based meals one day a week, reducing reliance on animal products while promoting nutritious, sustainable school meals. The program operates across 138 public schools in the city.

Maple Leaf Foods, Canada’s largest chicken producer, has reported new progress on its Better Chicken Commitment. The company’s stocking density compliance rose to 73%, up from 61% the previous year — a meaningful step toward giving birds more space. The 12% jump translates to around 12 million chickens with more space to move, stretch their wings, and reach feeders without being trampled or blocked by other birds.

This progress reflects the impact of sustained pressure from Mercy For Animals, including dozens of meetings and ongoing engagement with the company since our first contact.

Couche-Tard, the parent company of Circle K, has confirmed in its 2026 Sustainability Report that it has fulfilled its global cage-free egg commitment, reaching 100% cage-free across both grocery shell eggs and hard-boiled eggs by its 2025 deadline. Mercy For Animals has pressured the company for accountability on this commitment over several years, and this milestone marks the full realization of that campaign’s goal.

After years of engagement by Mercy For Animals, Sprouts Farmers Market has announced meaningful progress toward its Better Chicken Commitment. The company’s latest report shows that a growing share of the chicken sold under the Sprouts Brand is being sourced from farms with stronger animal welfare standards. Mercy For Animals has worked with Sprouts to help secure the commitment and support its implementation through ongoing collaboration.

Tesco reported increasing its cage-free egg supply from 83% to 97% overall and achieving 100% cage-free shell eggs and egg ingredients in the UK and Ireland. Despite remaining challenges in Central Europe, this progress removes millions of hens from cages in Tesco’s global supply chain.

Thanks to your support, Mercy For Animals continues to press Restaurant Brands International (RBI)—the parent company of Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes, and Firehouse Subs—to fulfill its cage-free commitments. RBI reported meaningful progress in 2025, increasing its global cage-free egg sourcing from around 14% to 40% and remaining on track to reach 100% cage-free globally by 2030 or sooner. The company’s largest gains came in North America and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Following years of engagement by Mercy For Animals, Restaurant Brands International (RBI) publicly reported progress toward its Better Chicken Commitment in the United States for the first time. In its 2024 Restaurant Brands For Good report, the company disclosed new data showing that many of its Popeyes chicken suppliers are giving chickens more room to move—a key animal welfare requirement of the Better Chicken Commitment.

While RBI noted it is still building the systems needed to report on all aspects of the commitment, publishing this information marks an important step toward greater transparency.

Aramark has reported continued progress toward meeting its Better Chicken Commitment. In its latest annual update, the company disclosed improvements across nearly every animal welfare standard, including giving chickens more space, providing better litter, lighting, enrichments, and ending the use of high speed slaughter. While Aramark has not yet met the milestones outlined in its public roadmap and reported no additional progress on transitioning to higher-welfare chicken breeds, the company continues to publish transparent annual updates. Mercy For Animals has worked closely with Aramark since helping develop its Better Chicken Commitment roadmap in 2023, and we will continue engaging the company to accelerate progress toward fully implementing its commitment.

Arcos Dorados, the world’s largest McDonald’s franchisee, reported one of its biggest animal welfare advances to date, increasing its cage-free egg supply from 37.9% to 95.3% across 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The company also achieved 100% cage-free shell eggs in 11 countries, representing a substantial improvement in the lives of millions of hens. Mercy For Animals has maintained ongoing engagement with the company and tracked its progress through our corporate accountability rankings.

Mercy For Animals’ long-term engagement with Jerónimo Martins helped secure the company’s cage-free commitment and continues to support its implementation. The retailer now reports that approximately 69% of its egg supply is cage-free—including 98% of its own-brand eggs in Portugal—representing improved living conditions for an estimated 3 million hens.

Mercy For Animals, alongside partner organizations, successfully influenced a major government policy win in Brazil. In April, the Brazilian government released its National Bioeconomy Development Plan — a 10-year roadmap (2026–2035) for sustainable economic growth — and officially recognized alternative proteins as a priority innovation area within Brazil’s national science and technology system. The plan incorporated a joint recommendation submitted by the three organizations, including Mercy For Animals, following a period of nonprofit and advocacy input in late 2025. This is a significant milestone: it positions alternative proteins alongside other strategic national investments, opening the door to government research funding, institutional support, and long-term mainstreaming of these foods in Brazil.

After two years of sustained engagement with NGOs and the business and scientific communities, the Brazilian government has released its National Climate Plan — marking a major milestone for climate and food system reform in the country. Key recommendations advanced by Mercy For Animals and partner organizations were incorporated into the plan’s two central strategies, representing MFA’s most significant climate policy win in Brazil to date.

Within the National Mitigation Strategy, the government adopted the recommendation to support expansion of Brazil’s alternative protein sector, committing 50 million to 1 billion Brazilian reais in staged funding over the next decade. This investment — equivalent to approximately $10 million to $200 million USD — is designed to strengthen the alternative proteins industry and accelerate the development and adoption of more sustainable food options.

MFA’s coalition also successfully influenced the National Adaptation Strategy, which includes the creation of a Food System and Climate Framework for Public Policy. MFA not only recommended that this framework be included as a core component of the Climate Plan but helped shape its direction and content, ensuring that food system transformation is recognized as a critical climate solution.

The Climate Plan runs through 2035, positioning Brazil to make long-term progress toward climate resilience and sustainable food production. This achievement represents MFA’s largest climate-related policy win in Brazil to date, and demonstrates how sustained, strategic advocacy can embed plant-forward reforms into national climate policy.