gategroup's 2030 Pledge Puts Welfare-Certified Seafood on the Menu for 700 Million Passengers

Thirty thousand feet above the Pacific, a passenger on a long-haul flight lifts a fork over a salmon fillet — one of nearly 700 million meals served annually by gategroup, the world's largest airline catering company. Behind that single plate is a supply chain spanning over 60 countries and aquaculture farms across multiple continents. Starting now, the standards governing that supply chain just got meaningfully higher.

gategroup has released an updated seafood sourcing policy committing to source the majority of its farmed seafood across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific from producers certified by schemes that comprehensively cover animal welfare — including the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), RSPCA Assured, Naturland, and Global Animal Partnership — by 2030.

The Scale of the Commitment

gategroup isn't a niche buyer. Serving close to 700 million passengers a year across 60-plus countries, it is the largest commercial food purchaser in global aviation. North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific account for over 80% of its business — meaning this policy covers the vast majority of what the company buys and serves. It applies to all farmed fish and crustacean species, and all products where farmed seafood makes up more than 80% of the content.

What the Certification Standards Require

The schemes named in gategroup's policy go well beyond environmental labels. They address aquaculture's key welfare challenges directly — setting limits on disease and mortality rates, requiring water quality monitoring, capping stocking densities, restricting fishmeal and fish oil in feed, and mandating humane stunning before slaughter.

"Within our supply chain, we aim to address environmental, social, and strong animal welfare considerations by meeting certification standards," gategroup states in its new policy. "By 2030, we aim to ensure that the majority of farmed fish and seafood supplied to our units in these regions meets one of these recognized certification standards."

A Benchmark for the Industry

Lever Foundation, the U.S.-based nonprofit that worked with gategroup to develop the policy, was direct in its assessment.

"We congratulate gategroup on this important new policy, which will improve the lives of millions of animals across its supply chain," said Astrid Duque, Sustainability Program Director at Lever Foundation. "As a leading food purchaser in the global aviation sector, gategroup's sourcing decisions shape practices on aquaculture farms worldwide. This policy demonstrates that companies operating at a global scale can — and should — take meaningful action to improve the welfare of aquatic animals in their supply chains, just as they have already done for animals like pigs, chickens, and cows."

For years, aquatic animals have lagged behind land animals in corporate welfare commitments. gategroup's policy — explicit, time-bound, and covering the majority of its farmed seafood volume across its largest markets — signals that the gap is closing.

Nearly 700 million passengers. Over 60 countries. One policy that raises the floor for farmed seafood welfare across the global aviation industry.