Animal welfare and food safety advocates are taking a page out of the fossil fuel divestment movement playbook.

Instead of targeting factory farm companies themselves, groups like ShareAction and the Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return Initiative (FAIRR) are leaning on global investors who support factory farming through companies in which they hold stocks or companies that purchase animal products.

And according to a recent article in The Guardian, some think that is the key to large-scale change in the fast food and factory farm industries.

Billionaire and founder of the Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return Jeremy Coller calls factory farming "the next big risk for investors." According to report, companies engaged in factory farming "highlights the increased risk of disease outbreak in intensive farming enterprises; the potential for litigation, bans or fines in relation to water pollution; its reliance on feed inputs with volatile pricing; concerns around staff health and welfare; and the potential for future legislation on methane emissions or antibiotic use."

Food and animal welfare advocates are using rating systems like the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) to encourage investors to pressure companies to improve farming practices. Since 2012, the BBFAW has issued annual reports measuring company performance of animal management techniques like using growth promoting substances and routine antibiotics, performing routine mutilations (like teeth clipping and tail docking), and using confinement for livestock.

"For the first time we are seeing global investors actively engage with companies to encourage them to improve their practices and reporting on farm animal welfare… [it] provides a strong incentive for companies to improve their disclosure and to account for their performance," as Rory Sullivan from the BBFAW told The Guardian.

So far, it is not clear how many investors are actively divesting from factory farming. Well-known investors like Allianz and Alliance Trust signed up to the FAIRR initiative, but so far are only committed to engagement.