A New Six-Tier Food Labelling System (from CIWF)
Compassion in World Farming propose a new six-tier food labelling system, so consumers can easily know how each animal was raised. The idea is that once the labels are on the food, consumers (most of whom want to do the right thing) will choose the most humanely raised animal foods, if eaten (and avoid the intensive indoor-farmed choices);
- Intensive indoors – animals raised to minimum legal requirements (barren conditions, never going outside and often suffering overcrowding and mutilations).
- Improved indoors – animals kept indoors with slightly more room and better bedding, but still a sterile environment and not able to exhibit natural behaviours.
- Partially outdoors – animals live outdoors some of the time, but not enough to be certified free-range. Cows have access to grazing which helps to reduce lameness and mastitis
- Free-range – animals have constant access to outdoors (grass pasture for grazing animals) or rooting/scratching areas for hens to dust-bathe (also roosts for chickens and straw bedding for pigs).
- Organic – like free-range but more space (and less numbers), only slow-grown breeds and antibiotics are only allowed to be used for veterinary purposes.
- Pasture-fed – the same as above, but herbivore animals are fed on grass and vegetation, not cheaper grain.
Many farms and food brands are not happy about such labels, but CIWF are concerned more with animal welfare.
It has previously called out turkey and cream cheese brands for misleading labelling, showing images of ‘galloping cows’ and ‘outdoor pigs’ when in truth both were intensively-farmed.
Most eggs are not certified free-range (cage-free just gives a tiny bit more space, and male chicks are still ground up alive at birth, of no financial value – then sold to the pet food industry as reptile food).
Food Labels in England are a Mess
Food labels are a mess in England, with many people not even knowing the difference between free-range eggs and barn eggs, and not knowing how to tell if meat or fish is ‘sustainable’ or from factory farms.
Obviously if you eat plants, you are not eating animals. But the reality is that most people do eat animals at present, so clearer food labels would help.
Even if you eat meat, you likely don’t agree with factory farms, but most meat sold is from intensively-farmed animals, showing that labels are confusing.
In a nutshell, the only animal foods with good welfare (while they are alive) are certified free-range or organic or both (even better). And humane slaughter is not always the case, even if labelled so.
Recently, many people have called on RSPCA to postpone its RSPCA-Assured label due to welfare concerns. Red Tractor and The Lion Mark have a few add-ons for welfare (like banning pig castration and ‘enriched cages’ but neither offer much else.
RSPCA Welfare Labels (needs mass improvement)
RSPCA is a wonderful organisation that we are fortunate to have. There are not many countries where you can call up a charity at any time to report any animal abuse you see or suspect, and have trained officers turn up to help.
But at end of September 2024, Dr Brian May (a qualified scientist as well as Queen guitarist) and well-known campaigner against the badger cull resigned as vice-president of the RSPCA, something understood in an open letter by Chris Packham and Caroline Lucas.
Brian writes that he was heartbroken at having to make this decision. But felt he had no choice as not enough was being done (urgently) to address allegations from poor hygiene and overcrowding to sometimes physical abuse of livestock by farm workers.
In 2025 following the furore, RSPCA has rolled out a ‘new look branding’, to make it easier for consumers to see welfare standards. But it does not appear that it has updated the welfare checks, to lines akin to Soil Association Free-Range Certified Organic.
Other Misleading Food Labels
There is also concern how some food companies market animals as being free-range or happy when they are not. For instance, Red Tractor simply means that animals are raised to legal standards. ‘British beef’ only means it’s raised here to legal standards, not that it’s free range.
- Nearly all Bernard Matthews turkeys are intensively-farmed.
- McDonald’s beef is not from free-range cows.
- Dairy-Lea cheese is not from ‘happy cows’ as they are not free-range.
- Labels like ‘farm fresh’ or ‘welfare assured’ mean nothing on food labels.
The Animal Law Foundation’s report on misleading food labels makes for concerning reading. Many food brands and supermarkets depict creatures living outdoors in fields, where in reality many live indoors for at least most of the year.
Sometimes this is necessary (say if the grass is too wet for grazing, something free-range farmers do). But intensively-farmed animals tend to never see grass or daylight, and often (even free-range) cows spend their last days in pens crammed together to fatten them up (they can’t exercise so can’t burn calories) to get more money on sale of their beef.
Obviously the industry is concerned, recently launching three ‘let’s eat balanced’ TV ads for dairy, lamb and pork. But although it focuses on B12 and iron (which you can get from plant foods), none of the adverts encourage people who eat animal foods, to ensure the labels are for free-range animals.
So in essence, the ads are promoting factory farming, something that most people don’t want to support, even if they eat meat and dairy.
