People power pays off

People power can and does change things. That is the message delivered by the UK Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn, yesterday in his speech to the Oxford Farming Conference. And, as an organisation that helps people to help farm animals, it's a message that strongly resonates with us here at Compassion.

"People power can help bring about a revolution in the way food is produced and sold", said Mr Benn. He gave the revolution in non-cage eggs as a shining example, "A decade ago, only 16 per cent of eggs produced in the UK were free range. In the last ten years that's more than doubled to just under 40 per cent. Waitrose, M&S and the Co-op now sell only free range or organic eggs. And with the UK 80 per cent self-sufficient in free range eggs this is a great example of how our farmers have responded to what consumers want, to the benefit of both.

Mr Benn was unveiling the UK Government's food strategy that sets out goals for 2030, and the changes that need to be made to achieve them. As the Government press release puts it, these include:

·       "Farmers producing efficiently, sustainably and safely to high standards of animal welfare"

·       "Farmers and fishermen producing more with fewer resources and fewer carbon emissions"

·       "Informed consumers able to choose and afford healthy food, supported by better labelling and information."

These are welcome and encouraging statements indeed. Congratulations to Hilary Benn for choosing the Oxford Farming Conference as the backdrop for this new plan. And congratulations to you, our supporters, for making sure that the voice of farm animal welfare has been heard in Whitehall. We will continue to work with Governments in the UK and across the globe to ensure that goals like those set out by Mr Benn above are identified and achieved.

Whilst this big picture vision is very welcome, we should not forget that the UK Government also appears to be considering undermining both the EU ban on barren battery cages and the UK ban on debeaking for laying hens. This is particularly ironic as the consumer switch to more welfare-friendly eggs has been so marked. You can read the background to this, including the Daily Mail article, in my earlier posting on this. And please help ensure that people power can and does change this situation by sending our urgent e-card to the Minister responsible for animal welfare.