Blue Apron’s Animal Welfare Policy

Inflation, covid-19, high prices at the grocery store – 2024 was not been an easy start for the food industry, food lovers or home cooks. At Blue Apron, we proudly navigate these challenges, without compromising on the quality of the ingredients in our box or our standards.

Throughout the past decade, we built a network of suppliers where we source approximately 80% of what goes into our meal kits directly from producers and farms. These relationships allow us to select ingredients that meet our standards, while maintaining a good value in the box along with the right variety of recipes to meet our customers’ needs. 

As we continue to select quality ingredients, we regularly review and assess our animal welfare and sourcing policies to make sure they are in line with industry standards. We made some updates and wanted to share what the next steps look like at Blue Apron. 

Animal Welfare – Core Principles 

Blue Apron continues to be committed to the humane treatment of animals raised for consumption and providing our customers with quality ingredients that they can feel good about.

In 2018, we adopted the Five Freedoms, a set of principles adopted by the World Organization for Animal Health and in 2024, we are moving towards adopting the Five Domains, created by Professor Emeritus D.J. Mellor (read more about this framework here). Both methodologies seek to ensure the physical and mental well-being of animals under human control, but some consider the Five Freedoms to focus on the absence (or freedom) from a negative state, whereas the Five Domains considers nutrition, environment, health, and behavior as governing inputs that result in a range of mental states from negative to positive: 

Where We Stand Today and Looking Forward

Growth Promoters and Antibiotics 

All of our beef, poultry, and pork comes from animals not treated with added hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics, and we prioritize the purchase of Certified Humane Raised and Handled® pasture raised eggs. All animals raised for meat are fed vegetarian diets free from animal byproducts, except our chickens and the laying hens producing our shell eggs — some of the broiler chickens are receiving a fortified feed and our shell eggs come from pasture-raised hens who eat plenty of bugs and grubs. 

Cattle (Beef)

All of our beef comes from cattle that spend at minimum 80% of their life span on pasture and over 10% is Global Animal Partnership (GAP) 4 certified*. By 2025, our goal is to have 100% of our beef come from Certified Humane Raised and Handled® or GAP 4 certified cattle.

Pigs (Pork)

All of our pork comes from pigs raised in group housing systems or in systems that do not use gestation crates. By 2025, our goal is to have 100% Certified Humane Raised and Handled® or GAP 4 certified pork.

Dairy

All of our dairy and cheese comes from dairy cows that have not received rBST and all dairy cows must be fed a strictly vegetarian diet free from animal byproducts.

Broiler Chickens

In 2020, Blue Apron signed on to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), a set of science-based standards for chicken welfare across the food industry agreed upon by leading animal welfare organizations. Blue Apron aligned with Version 2 and are making adjustments to our supply chain to assist us in achieving our goals. Below outlines our journey and our roadmap:

Laying Hens (Shell Eggs)

We prioritize the purchase of shell eggs from laying hens that are Certified Humane Raised & Handled ® pasture-raised.

Seafood

We seek to source fish and seafood rated either ‘Best Choice’ or ‘Good Alternative’ by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch at the time of its onboarding or that have recognized sustainability certifications (e.g. Marine Stewardship Council, Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Best Aquaculture Practices). In some instances we will consider smaller fisheries who are involved in fishery improvement projects (FIPs).

For information about our fish and seafood sustainability program, please see our public profile at The Ocean Disclosure Project. 

Our Commitment to Transparency and Accountability

Our commitment to animal welfare guides the sourcing decisions we make for all meat and poultry products in our supply chain. This commitment is shared across our organization, with oversight from our Senior Vice President of Procurement and Supply Chain and Protein Category Directors and Managers, and its implementation is the responsibility of our Head of Sustainability and Social Impact, Vice President of Food Safety & Quality, and Director of Regulatory Affairs.

In 2022, we launched a Responsible Sourcing Council and we continue to maintain processes to ensure that all of our meat, poultry and egg suppliers live up to the standards described above and are committed to providing our customers with transparent information. We look forward to providing updates on our work, including specific progress toward implementing our goals, in the future