Farmers support Tim Hortons farm animal welfare commitment

Guelph, ON (May 4, 2012) –  Ontario’s farmers and agri-food industry partners applaud Tim Hortons for its leadership and responsible approach to farm animal welfare in Canada as indicated in its announcement today.   

 “We appreciate that Tim Hortons is proactively working with farmers and suppliers to develop plans for the future,” said John Maaskant, chicken farmer and Farm & Food Care board member.  “Animal welfare isn’t just a slogan or a campaign for farmers - caring for animals is what we do.”

Farm & Food Care believes a sustainable food supply needs to be built on five core pillars:  animal welfare, environment, food safety, human health and economics.   Each of these pillars is a very complex topic that needs to be examined with a multi-disciplinary and long-term approach.  

Tim Hortons’ announcement about its investment in animal welfare research and related science on the five pillars of sustainable food is a very important commitment.  Farmers have invested in research on all five pillars for many years and see the trend of the whole food supply chain investing in science to help advance how we produce food in this country as a very positive direction.

Maaskant stated, “In Canada we are blessed to have a safe and abundant food supply.  It’s extremely important that Canadians continue to have many food choices, which are based on sound science and practical experience.” 

Farm & Food Care is the first coalition of its type in Canada, bringing together tens of thousands of farmers and related businesses with a mandate to provide credible information on food and farming in Ontario. www.farmfoodcare.org

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For more information:

John Maaskant, Chicken Farmer, Farm & Food Care Board member, Tim Hortons Shareholder,  phone:  519.525.2629  email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Crystal Mackay, Executive Director, Farm & Food Care, phone:  519.837.1326 x223   email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.