Press release: 11th August 2008
From boozer to country house hotel – via the chippy and a fast food emporium
The RSPCA reveals restaurant finalists for the 2008 Good Business Awards
McDonald's has today been named one of the finalists in the restaurant chain category of the RSPCA Good Business Awards, alongside other animal welfare minded establishments including Leon and Loch Fyn
The three restaurant chains were selected by independent judges as finalists alongside five independent restaurants - Harbour Lights Fish & Chip Restaurant, Falmouth; Percy's Country Hotel & Restaurant, Virginstow, Devon; Restaurant Alimentum, Cambridge; The Norway Inn, Truro; and The Swan Inn, Hungerford. All have been selected for their outstanding commitment and innovative approach towards achieving high standards of animal welfare in all or part of their businesses.
Journalist and judge Richard Johnson, said: "There was a strong representation in the restaurant category of the RSPCA Good Business Awards this year - with everything from a chip shop to a West Country boozer, a multinational fast food chain and a high-end country house.
"Compiling the shortlist was a daunting task given the calibre of contenders and the varied but solid commitments to animal welfare they each demonstrated.”
Finalists for the Restaurant Chain category are:
- Leon (London) for placing animal welfare at the heart of its ethos and marketing strategy, through serving well sourced food and using high welfare meat, eggs and dairy produce, Freedom Food accredited farmed salmon, and other sustainable fish.
- Loch Fyne Restaurants for extending its high welfare and sustainability approach from fish through to its use of eggs and dairy produce.
- McDonald's Restaurants for its improvements in humane poultry slaughter and its 'healthy feet' project for improved welfare of its dairy herds.
Finalists for the Restaurant Chain category are:
- Harbour Lights Fish & Chip Restaurant, Falmouth, Cornwall for its commitment to selling fish from sustainable stocks, and its work in encouraging others in the industry to look at their own ethical policies.
- Percy's Country Hotel & Restaurant, Virginstow, Devon for promoting animal welfare on its website, initiating inspections of suppliers' farms, stopping using fish it was concerned had been caught when gravid, and the use of eggs from its own well reared hens.
- Restaurant Alimentum, Cambridge for its use of free range bones in all stock, as well as use of organic meat that has been reared to high welfare standards.
- The Norway Inn, Truro, Cornwall for its commitment to high welfare and strong traceability policy - the farmers who supply the animal produce are highlighted on the menu.
- The Swan Inn, Inkpen, Hungerford, Berkshire for its impressive welfare credentials - beef is supplied by its own organic farm, and all cattle are reared and killed humanely.
Richard Johnson continued: “In Leon, Loch Fyne and McDonald's we found awareness and enterprise when it comes to animal welfare in multiple eateries. And at Alimentum, Harbour Lights, Norway Inn, Percy's Country Hotel and the Swan Inn, we saw individual businesses making real strides to ensure the animal derived produce they serve can be traced back to a humane source."
David Bowles, Head of External Affairs for the RSPCA said: “It has been great to see substantial growth in the quality and quantity of entries to the restaurant category of the Good Business Awards over the last four years.
“This year, our finalists have demonstrated resolute welfare standards and we would now like to see other restaurants follow suit, and go the extra mile to include animal welfare as part of their ethical business policy.”
The RSPCA Good Business Awards gala ceremony will be held at the Natural History Museum, London on Thursday 9 October 2008. Tickets for the awards ceremony are available by contacting the RSPCA Good Business Awards team on 0300 123 0488 or awards@rspca.org.uk or online: www.rspcagoodbusinessawards.com.
Note to editors
- The fashion category is in association with Drapers. The other categories in the RSPCA Good Business Awards are Cosmetics, Food Retailers and Restaurants.
- The independent panel of judges for the fashion category of the RSPCA Good Business Awards 2008 comprises: Lisa Armstrong, Fashion Editor of the Times; Wayne Hemingway, designer and co-founder of Red or Dead; and Shelly Vella, Fashion Director of Cosmopolitan magazine.
- Entrants to the fashion category are judged on the basis of their practices in the following areas:
- Selling, sourcing and labelling of fur (including Karakul lambskin or astrakhan)..
- Sourcing of leather and other animal skin (cow or sheep hide, snake, crocodile, ostrich).
- Innovation over the past 12 months in relation to animal welfare .
- Company aspirations regarding animal welfare
For media enquiries, please contact Amanda Mills or Nicki Akers at 77PR on 0207 492 0977. Email amanda.mills@77pr.co.uk or nicki.akers@77pr.co.uk or the RSPCA press office on 0300 123 0244 or press@rspca.org.uk.
Find out more about this year's winners.
Find out how your company can be part of the RSPCA Good Business Awards 2009
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UK supermarkets set their sights on improving animal welfare
From boozer to country house hotel – via the chippy and a fast food emporium
