A Year of Progress for Animals Powered by You!

As we look back on 2025, one thing is clear: you are the hero of this story. Every milestone reached and every animal spared from the worst cruelty of factory farming, happened because of your unwavering dedication. 

Transforming Government Food Systems Toward Plants

After years of advocacy led by Mercy For Animals and dedicated volunteers like you, the U.S. military committed to offering four fully vegan MREs. This shift proves that even the most prominent institutions can move away from factory farming when we demand change together. We estimate that these plant-based MREs will be distributed at around 1,700 locations worldwide and that millions of vegan MREs will be consumed each year—making this one of the largest shifts toward plant-based eating in U.S. military history.

We are also forging change at a local level. We partnered with Wholesome Minnesota (part of Compassionate Action for Animals) to advocate for a plant-based-by-default policy for all county-sponsored events and meetings in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The policy passed, making Hennepin the first locality in Minnesota to implement such a policy and representing a major step forward for this type of policy in the Midwest. Under this initiative, all food served at county events will be plant-based, with non-plant-based options available only upon request. 

Earlier in the year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to expand a policy offering more plant-based foods in county-run facilities, a success made possible by your support. Mercy For Animals collaborated closely with county officials to help draft and secure this motion, which now requires all new and renewing foodservice contracts—covering approximately 110 contracts—to serve at least one plant-based entrée daily and provide plant-based dairy alternatives.

Major Brands Make Plant-Based Options Easier to Choose

Six coffee chains in the U.S.  have eliminated their upcharge for plant-based milk, resulting in more than 12,500 locations listing plant-based drinks at the same price as dairy-based ones. This includes chains such as Dunkin’, Scooter’s, and Peet’s, making it easier for consumers across the country to choose dairy-free options. This shift helps more people make kind choices that spare cows from the cruelty of the dairy industry and reduce overall demand for animal products. 

Food menus are changing too. Mercy For Animals’ ongoing conversations with Starbucks—following the company’s removal of the plant-based surcharge in 2024—led to a new addition in 2025: the Spicy Falafel Pocket, now available on the U.S. food menu at more than 16,000 Starbucks locations.

After years of outreach from Mercy For Animals, Denny’s also added a new permanent vegan menu item at all locations, the Plant-Powered Pancake Slam. We have been encouraging Denny’s to add plant-based entrées on and off since 2019. 

Mercy For Animals also signed a partnership with Brazil’s largest hotel chain. This collaboration supports Accor’s goal of offering menus with at least 25% plant-based and low-carbon dishes in a minimum of 300 hotels across Brazil by 2030. In September, we hosted a series of plant-based workshops for Accor hotel teams in Belém and São Paulo, training over 50 staff members on plant-forward policies, food system impacts, behavioral nudges, and ingredient substitutions. Partner chefs led hands-on cooking sessions featuring creative plant-based recipes—from Amazonian herb ricotta to tempeh curry—which participants praised for their flavors and innovative approach, inspiring them to integrate more plant-based options into their hotels’ menus.

Plant-Powered Schools: Hundreds of Locations Adding More Vegan Options

SLA Management, a foodservice provider for K–12 charter and private schools, has committed to making plant-based meals a core part of its menu. After a year of collaboration with Mercy For Animals and partner organizations, SLA set a goal to have one-third of its offerings be plant-based by the end of 2027. The company serves approximately 260 school locations.

In Brazil, we continued supporting plant-based programs across 721 schools and launched a new partnership with the Passo Fundo school district. Students in these schools now receive plant-based meals one day per week.

Reducing Suffering within the Global Food Industry

While Mercy For Animals works toward a world without animal agriculture, we are holding the food industry’s largest players accountable for reducing animal suffering on a massive scale. 

Through persistent engagement and ongoing monitoring, we successfully influenced more than 100 companies to report progress on animal welfare commitments, including:

• Aldi Süd: Aldi Süd announced that 95% of shell eggs sold across its global operations (with some exceptions) are now cage-free. By reporting on its global supply chain and demonstrating steady progress toward cage-free compliance, Aldi Süd is helping to set expectations for transparency and animal welfare standards across the retail sector.
• REWE Group: Following our coalition’s engagement, 87% of their eggs are now cage-free worldwide, and they’re committed to a complete transition.
• Metro Inc.: One of Canada’s largest grocery stores, Metro has increased its progress on animal welfare after sustained engagement from Mercy For Animals and regular inclusion in our Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard. The company reported that all chickens in its supply chain are raised in less crowded conditions, and nearly 80% are no longer slaughtered using the worst method, up from about 63% the previous year. Metro’s progress helps set a higher bar for chicken welfare across the Canadian grocery sector.
• CAVA: All chickens now have access to improved litter, and many receive enhanced lighting, enrichment, and additional space; 35% are no longer slaughtered using the cruel live-shackle method.
• Sprouts Farmers Market: Sprouts Farmers Market published an update on its Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) progress, demonstrating advancements across all components.
• Foodservice providers: In the lead-up to our Serving Up Change Report, which included sustained engagement and pressure from Mercy For Animals, seven foodservice providers, including Lessing’s, Whitsons Culinary Group, and Sodexo, shared updated progress toward meeting the Better Chicken Commitment standards. Whitson’s reported achieving full compliance across all but two components, while Lessing’s exceeded all of its 2024 targets and reaffirmed its commitment to introducing slower-growth breeds. Sodexo reported substantial advancement on multiple components of its chicken welfare pledge.
• Tesco: Since Tesco’s groundbreaking 2024 pledge to end the cutting of shrimp eyestalks and ensure that shrimp are stunned before slaughter, the company has made significant progress toward these goals. Two of Tesco’s major suppliers have already stopped the practice of eyestalk ablation—an important milestone toward eliminating this cruelty from its supply chain by 2027. We estimate that this progress is already impacting more than one billion shrimp. 

Mercy For Animals reinforced the food industry’s shift away from cruel cages for hens with the implementation of state-level legislative policies. On January 1, landmark cage-free laws officially took effect in Michigan and Colorado. These policies, which you helped champion, are now protecting millions of hens from being trapped in tiny, restrictive cages. Thanks to your support, these animals now have the space they deserve to stretch their limbs.

Influencing Global Climate Policy at COP30

In November, your support amplified our voice on the global stage at the UN climate summit (COP30) in Brazil, where Mercy For Animals advocated for shifts toward plant-based food systems as a critical climate solution. At COP30, Mercy For Animals continued to lead the Food & Climate Action Group, a coalition of over 25 organizations advocating for shifts away from animal-centric production systems and towards plant-based diets. Our impact reached far beyond the negotiating rooms, with Mercy For Animals experts featured in over 30 media outlets—including Reuters and The Independent—and our innovative Food Systems NDC Scorecard gaining international recognition as a vital tool for holding nations accountable for their climate plans. 

From showcasing our plant-based schools program alongside city leaders from Rio de Janeiro and Salvador to partnering with influential global coalitions, your support helped ensure that the urgent need to transition away from industrial animal agriculture remained at the forefront of the world’s most important climate conversations.

Onward to 2026

As 2025 comes to a close, one thing is clear: none of these victories for animals would have been possible without you. From transforming government and school food purchasing to helping major brands expand plant-based options to holding the food industry accountable for animal welfare, your dedication has driven real, measurable change. 

Together, we’ve spared billions of animals from the worst suffering, advanced policies to solidify change, and amplified the call for plant-based food systems on a global stage.

With your continued support, 2026 promises even more progress, more wins for animals, and a step closer to a world where compassion is at the heart of every meal.