Compassion a key player in Asia Farm Animal Day

Last week, our China team took part in the first face-to-face Asia Farm Animal Day (AFAD) conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

CIWF China Director Jeff Zhou poses at the Asia for Farm Animals Day conference after moderating the session "Emerging Topics in China." Pictured here (on the left) with speakers (L-R): Melinda Hou, Executive director of Good Food Fund; Monica Wong, Founder of Xiaobu Vegan; and Maria Chen, Co-founder of IFAWF.

AFAD – which is a collaboration between the Animal & Vegan Advocacy (AVA) Summit and Asia for Animals Farm Animal Coalition – brought together over 250 animal and environmental professionals to discuss critical issues related to farmed animals, social justice, and environmental sustainability. This in person event followed three years of virtual conferences.

It saw our China Chief Representative Jeff Zhou and China Research Manager, Dr Emma Tivey, make a significant impact as featured speakers.

The conference also provided an opportunity for like-minded advocates to connect and learn from one another in order to collectively create systemic change for farmed animals in Asia and beyond.

Introducing ‘Intersectionality’ in animal welfare

Jeff Zhou spoke on "Intersectionality: Integrating animal welfare with other aspects of life’" highlighting the need for issues relating to farmed animals to be addressed by people in varied industries and roles. This is all with the common goal of benefiting animals and promoting a more equitable world for all beings.

Jeff Zhou said: “China's role in the farmed animal protection movement in Asia is significant, given the scale and expansion of factory farming. It is, therefore, absolutely crucial to have conferences like AFAD, as it offers an opportunity to come together with likeminded advocates to increase the impact of our work and create systemic change for farm animals in Asia and beyond.

“Together, we can work towards a future where animals, humans, and the environment thrive in harmony.”

EggTrack - a vital tool for transparency in Asian food businesses

Dr Emma Tivey was a key speaker in a panel session on ‘Working with Corporates, Government and Institutions: Experiences from the Field’.

Emma Tivey Speaking At Asia Farm Animal Day — Dr Emma Tivey presents EggTrack at AFAD

This session focused on how fostering partnerships with corporates, governments and institutions are crucial in gaining commitments to improve farm animal welfare and reduce animal products by replacing them with more plant-based options.

Dr Tivey introduced delegates to our global EggTrack, our annual tracker to show the progress companies are making towards their cage-free commitments across different regions, including Asia-Pacific.

Awards encourage progress

Dr Tivey also spoke at a conference held in Malaysia - the Asia for Animals Coalition Conference – Education & Engagement Bring Change hosted by Sarawak SPCA in Kuching.

Dr Tivey gave a presentation on how our Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards are key to engaging positively with food businesses in China – and launched our new Sow Stall Free Award to encourage and inspire the pig industry to move to cage-free systems.