Social responsibility essential for Big Food to thrive, experts say

[LuckyTheDog]

Major food companies are increasingly making big moves aimed at proving their good corporate citizenship to consumers who demand more transparency, responsibility and benevolence from the firms that produce and sell their food, a shift experts say will only accelerate in coming years.

In August alone, the world’s largest food company by revenue, Nestle SA (VTX:NESN), imposed an extensive regime of strict new animal-welfare safeguards on its 7,300 meat, poultry, egg and dairy suppliers, as NPR noted, and the cereal giant Kellogg Co. (NYSE:K) announced plans to require its vast international network of suppliers to permanently reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions, as Reuters pointed out. Earlier, both Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and the Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) added extensive new lines of organic products to their stores’ shelves.

A decade ago, the moves this month would have been perceived as bold examples of forward-looking leadership by two of the world’s best-known food brands. But in 2014 hardly anyone batted an eye, as perceptions of corporate social responsibility have evolved: What was seen as progressive became first de rigueur and then almost commonplace.

MORE HERE: http://wonkynewsnerd.com/social-responsibility-essential-big-food-thrive-experts-say/

[msongs]

1. nestle aims to privatize the world's fresh water supplies. nt

[LuckyTheDog]

2. First... that's not actually true.

That is a kind of hair-on-fire interpretation of something their chairman said about water use that goes beyond what is needed for drinking and sanitation. And, he later later walked that back.

http://www.nestle.com/aboutus/ask-nestle/answers/nestle-chairman-peter-brabeck-letmathe-believes-water-is-a-human-right

Second, even if it was true, that does not mean Nestle has not "imposed an extensive regime of strict new animal-welfare safeguards on its 7,300 meat, poultry, egg and dairy suppliers."