Better Food Labelling

More and more people want better standards for animals that are bred, reared and killed for food.

As consumers, we are able to change the way animals are treated every time we shop, and more and more people are choosing to buy higher-welfare produce such as organic, free-range or Freedom Food certified. If you buy animal products and want to know more about them, you probably check the labels and choose those products from animals that were kept in higher welfare systems. But just how easy is it to get the right information?

The problem

There is a wide range of different welfare labels and assurance schemes. Many current food labels refer to legal requirements but do little or nothing to address serious welfare problems such as confinement in cages, high stocking densities, fast-growing breeds and mutilations. The only mandatory EU labelling system so far – for eggs – has been a great success in the UK, with sales of free range eggs rising, while cage eggs declined. But for other products, labels on animal-derived products can still be positively misleading.

The solution

OneKind supports a standardised EU-wide label to show the system of production that the animals were reared in – that would really help consumers to make informed purchasing choices.  The European Parliament has already voted (June 2010) for all meat sold in the EU to carry information about where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered. It’s a start. But the law-making process isn’t over yet: we must ensure that this basic reform is carried and we must continue to press for the more detailed system-based label.

How we will achieve it

The EU Action Plan for animal welfare proposed a harmonised animal welfare label as long ago as 2006.  We believe the UK, as a member state, should give strong support for this proposal and for developing standards that show whether the animals were given basic or higher welfare during their lives. We also want the UK Government to press for this label to be mandatory, not voluntary.

How you can help

First, start using consumer power! If you eat animal-based foods, choose organic products whenever possible, especially Soil Association organic standards as these are usually the highest. See our Live OneKind section for a guide to what some of the labels mean.

Also, sign up to receive regular e-mail updates on our campaigns, tips on living an animal-friendly lifestyle and other exciting and meaningful ways you can get involved. We’ll be in touch shortly with some points you could make to the UK and devolved governments to encourage them to promote better labelling. Thank you for making a difference.