Farm animal welfare should be on food labels

The Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is calling on the government to make method of production labelling mandatory for animal products in the UK.

Speaking at the Oxford Real Farming Conference the RSPCA’s head of public affairs, David Bowles said “we were encouraged when the government put it on the record that mandatory food product labelling would be included in the UK’s new Agriculture Bill, it now needs to make good on that promise.” According to Food Manufacturer Mr Bowles this would make a big impact on the industry:

“The market for higher-welfare food would be given a huge boost with method of production food labelling. It would enable shoppers to make informed buying choices based on how farm animals are kept…At the moment, products can feature rolling green fields, happy animals or fictional farm names on the labels of their animal products, regardless of the conditions those animals were raised in, which risks consumers believing they are buying into a higher-welfare product when in fact they may not be.”

The Agriculture Bill could become law by April 2019, although a date is yet to be announced for when it will be reported back to the House of Commons. Tell your MP now how to make farm policy fit for the future.