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Posts Tagged ‘free range’

Better food labelling now!

Monday, March 5th, 2012

BBC Countryfile last night raised the important issue of food labelling. It’s an issue that really should have much greater prominence.

For far too long, meat and milk from the factory farm has been allowed to hide behind labels such as ‘farm fresh’. Yes, food produced to genuinely higher standards, such as free range, organic or Freedom Food will be labelled. But it competes on the shelf with labels that all too often give a misleading impression of how the food is produced. This makes compassionate consumerism all the more difficult.

That is why Compassion in World Farming has joined forces with our friends at the RSPCA, Soil Association and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to launch a new campaign for better food labelling. We want to see all meat and milk labelled according to how it was produced. We have already won this for eggs; eggs from hens in cages have to labelled as just that; ‘eggs from caged hens’. We want to see the same rule applied to intensively farmed chickens reared for meat, to pork and bacon from animals bred and reared indoors, and, well, the same principle applied to all products from animals.

The recent furore over plans, now withdrawn, for a US-style mega-dairy in Lincolnshire has also brought the labelling of milk to the fore; have the cows been kept in large numbers, confined on concrete and sand or have they been kept in fields during the grazing season?

I believe consumers have a right to know how their food is produced. Our new campaign is aimed at achieving just that; clear labelling by law. So that consumers can be absolutely sure how their food is produced.

Please support our campaign. Over the coming months, we’ll be offering you plenty of ways you can get involved. And remember; when shopping for food produced to genuinely higher standards of welfare, look for terms such as ‘free range’, ‘organic’ or ‘Freedom Food’.

Tags: compassionate consumerism, food labelling, free range, Organic. Posted in General | 4 Comments »

Reflections on a cage ban

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Philip with Huckle, the latest addition to the family

I’m watching the latest addition to our family; a small, featherless hen fresh from her battery cage. Her entire life has been spent crammed with others into a cage where she could not even stretch her wings, let alone walk, flap, scratch at the ground. In short, she was denied being able to do the things that make life worth living for a hen. Just hours away from that wretched existence and her weakened body responds to the warmth of the sun. She walks the length and breadth of our garden. She scratches at the ground and pecks inquisitively at a world previously denied her.

I was recently asked how I feel about the European ban on barren battery cages, due to come into force on New Year’s Day. Put simply, it is perhaps the most monumental victory in the history of animal welfare. It is a huge success story won by the persistence of so many.

After all, it takes a lot to get something banned. Especially when that something dominates an entire industry. Churning out a staple product – eggs – for much of Europe. Yet, we did it. By waving banners, writing letters, buying better eggs. By coming together.

I remember the day the agreement was reached; in June 1999. Animal campaigners throughout Europe had gathered in Luxembourg. We eagerly awaited the outcome of EU negotiations on the future of cages. I will never forget the overwhelming sense of elation at hearing that barren cages would be banned! Standing on the steps of the European Council building, nervously hanging on to every word, as the UK Minister explained what had been agreed. An enduring feeling of privilege at being there on the day that history was made. An end in sight to the nightmare of the battery. The beginning of a better way.

It’s not a perfect law. Sadly, they rarely are. There was the painfully long “phase in” period of 12 long years for example. And then there was the clause that will allow so-called ‘enriched’ cages; bigger with a perch and stuff.

But so many more hens will be living lives of freedom. The rise of keeping hens free range, particularly in the UK, has been obvious.

And then there is the corporate trend. Some of the world’s biggest companies have recently decided to go cage-free on their eggs. McDonald’s in Europe, Sainsbury’s and Unilever to name but three. They have harnessed the food quality benefits of going cage-free; and responded to their customer’s aspirations for a better world on their plate. Millions of hens are living cage-free lives already as a result.

Back at home, our new hen nestles into a bed of straw. It’s the first time she has ever made a nest. She lays an egg. I can see the difference made to the life of this one sensitive creature. How wondrous then that, from 1st January next year, the tireless efforts of compassionate people everywhere will have touched the lives of so many millions more.

I cannot thank you enough; for being part of this campaign, for your support. Together, we are making a difference. There is still much more to do.

Tags: battery cage ban, cage free, free range. Posted in General | No Comments »

What is the cost of moving to higher welfare meat and dairy?

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

Today is Blog Action Day. I do hope that many of you have decided to get involved and have written a blog that is in some way related to food.

Of the many food-based topics that I wanted to write about, I eventually hit upon an area that I think many of you would like to talk about further. Here at Compassion in World Farming, we urge people to choose higher welfare meat, whether that be at the supermarket or when you eat out. But the big question on everyone’s minds (and lips), particularly in the current economic environment is: how much will this cost?

My esteemed colleague, Peter Stevenson, wrote a report recently entitled Reviewing the Costs: the economics of moving to higher welfare farming. This is primarily for the farming community, retailers and the government. It is a research paper of sorts, and one that I have found invaluable. Please do take this opportunity to read it, should you be interested in having some more in-depth knowledge on the subject. However, the point remains, what all of us, ‘the consumers’ want to know is: how much will it cost me when I am shopping and is it worth it?

Many of you, like me, will want to feed your family on humane, sustainable, higher welfare food. Is this financially viable?
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Tags: #BAD11, economics, food, free range, humane, Reviewing the Costs, sustainable. Posted in General | 1 Comment »

An ethical Christmas feast

Friday, December 17th, 2010

A colourful character With Christmas coming up, many people are buying turkeys for the big day. Around ten million will be consumed over the festive period; but how do you know if your turkey has been reared in accordance with higher animal welfare standards? The same goes for smoked salmon, another popular choice at this time of year. There’s a lack of clear labelling information and this can be a real problem for consumers who choose to buy ethically. Farm assurance schemes often claim animal welfare attributes, but how do you know which is best?

Compassion in World Farming, in collaboration with OneKind, has done the research for you, with a detailed analysis of the welfare standards of the main farm assurance schemes in Britain. This report covers aspects of farming including environment, husbandry, stockmanship, genetics/breeding and auditing. Compassion and OneKind’s briefing is available for you in advance of the full report, which I’m happy to say will be available in the New Year and covers other species.

Labels to look out for include: Organic (Soil Association) – which offers significant welfare benefits compared to the standard industry practice, RSPCA Freedom Food – which covers both indoor and free-range systems for turkeys and a number of welfare benefits for farmed salmon. Make sure you look out for ‘Free Range’ turkeys as these animals will have enjoyed fresh air and outdoor freedom. Ones to avoid are those with no logo, or terms such as ‘Farm Fresh’ or ‘Country Fresh’, as these are likely to have been reared intensively in factory farms. Those marked with the Red Tractor logo are likely to be from animals who have often been offered little more than compliance with minimum legislative requirements.

A major concern for consumers who want to buy ethically is the price, but it really doesn’t cost much more to buy a turkey or salmon that’s been given a decent life. A recent survey has shown that free range turkey costs around £1 more per kilo than intensively reared alternatives, or even less if you are willing to put a bit more research into it. Most retailers, particularly major supermarkets, offer free-range turkeys.

This Christmas, please make sure you take a careful look at the labels to ensure that your turkey has been reared compassionately.

Tags: free range, OneKind, Organic, salmon, Turkey. Posted in General | No Comments »

The things they say…

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Eggs - CC / Flickr

I am often struck by how ill-founded myths sometimes spring up to defend factory farming. Like that old chestnut in defence of battery cages, that ‘if hens weren’t happy, they wouldn’t lay eggs’. Thankfully, scientific evidence and common sense tell us otherwise.

Reading through media clippings recently, I was interested to come across the following quote attributed to a leading figure in the broiler chicken industry: “If we put all those birds currently housed onto free range, there wouldn’t be a mountain in Scotland or a valley in Wales or any spare business land in any town, city or village that would not have a chicken on it. It’s absolutely ludicrous and impossible to achieve. ……” And thus it seems another myth is born, giving the impression that we’d be knee-deep in chickens if those animal welfarists got their way!

Well, here at Compassion, we’ve calculated just how much space it would really take to house all the nation’s broiler chickens free range. And we are happy to share them with anyone. What they show is that, if all the UK’s broiler chickens were reared for meat on free range, they would only need an area around a third of the size of the Isle of Wight. That the total area needed would represent considerably less than one thousandth of the total area of farmland in the UK to rear them in this way. That this would also take into account leaving the ground fallow to prevent it becoming ‘fowl sick’. Add to that the scope for running poultry in wooded areas, like some of the French producers do under the prestigious Label Rouge scheme, and you can see that a free range future for the nation’s chicken flock is much more practical than some believe. And it would offer a real opportunity for UK chicken producers to differentiate their products in a market crowded by the ubiquitous factory farmed chicken.

Of course, free range is not the only way of keeping hens in higher welfare farming systems. The RSPCA Freedom Food scheme, for example, produces chickens for meat reared with more space and an extensive indoor environment. And this is a concept that appears to be taking off with consumers.

All in all, I believe that, far from being “ludicrous”, creating a fairer, free range and higher welfare future for our chickens is not only practically achievable, but would have positive benefits for producers, consumers and food quality alike. You can help us break down the barriers and myths that stand between the present and a better, fairer future for chickens that provide our meat by supporting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Compassion in World Farming and our Chicken Out! campaign.

Tags: battery cages, chicken, free range. Posted in General | No Comments »