A Compassionate World

These are challenging economic times for everyone. For consumers like us who care about animal welfare, we also want to make sure we support producers and retailers who use higher standards of care. The good news is that increasing numbers of us are buying more meat and dairy products accredited by such programmes as the RSPCA’s Freedom Food scheme and the Soil Association’s organic certification.

Notwithstanding the recession, our public educational campaigns are making a difference. Such high profile campaigns as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Chicken Out! are helping people make compassionate choices. Sales of free range, barn and organic eggs increased to two-thirds of the total spent on eggs in the twelve months up to March. In terms of the number of individual eggs sold, one in two is now from hens which do not live in cages. Further, sales of higher welfare fresh chicken meat have grown by one-fifth in the last year compared with virtually no increase in sales of standard chicken. The sales of organic foods, which were initially depressed by the recession, are now growing. This is recession busting news! When consumers become aware they beware of factory farming.

The more people that are educated about factory farming, the more they will want to choose cruelty-free and buy products clearly labelled as humanely produced. This means the demand for factory farmed meat and dairy products decreases and the sale of humane alternatives increases.

Labelling of livestock products is about transparency in the food chain. People want to know how their food is produced and where it comes from. Presently, the only mandatory EU labelling scheme requires egg packs and eggs to be labelled as to farming method (e.g. “eggs from caged hens”, “barn eggs” or “free range eggs”).

Earlier this week, I attended the launch of new research which showed that animal welfare continues to be an important issue for many people. It also showed that people associate better treatment of animals with higher quality products. There is an association between the system of production (e.g. intensively produced as opposed to free range) and the level of welfare the animals are likely to have received. The problem is that most meat from factory farms isn’t labelled as to how it was produced, thus hampering consumers in choosing products of higher quality and better welfare. It surely acts as a significant drag on the sales growth of higher welfare products.

Compassion is calling for labelling schemes that are mandatory and apply to all meat, eggs and dairy products, including domestically produced and imported foods. The information must include the method of production and country of origin. These should be prominently displayed on the product. We advocate using words as well as symbols or logos as they may be misunderstood. In short, we are committed to transparency in the food chain from farm to kitchen.

This is why our Strategic Plan 2009-2014 commits us to “achieve compulsory labelling of livestock products according to system of production in the EU by 2014.”

It is great news indeed that sales of higher welfare chicken and eggs are growing, despite the recession, and thus helping many animals to have better lives. None of this progress would be possible without you and thousands of caring people like you who support Compassion. Thank you! Together we can educate even more consumers to be aware. Why not help us to keep up the momentum for compassionate consumerism by downloading your free Good Food Shopping Guide!