The debate on animal welfare labelling schemes continues

In December 2009 the EU Agriculture Council discussed options for animal welfare labelling. The feasibility studies concluded that any labelling scheme should ‘[empower] consumers to make informed purchasing decisions’. It suggested a ‘Community Animal Welfare Label modelled after the EU organic label’, arguing that such a label ‘can be expected to have more direct effects on animal welfare than other voluntary options’. Information work with consumers to let them know what various labels stand for is seen as essential if animal welfare labelling is to be effective.

The report notes a number of voluntary certification schemes that have been introduced in recent years which focus on or include animal welfare aspects. These range from:

• schemes that focus only on animal welfare (e.g. Freedom Food, UK; Neuland, Germany; Animal Index System, Austria);
• schemes that focus on various aspects including animal welfare (Label Rouge, France);
• schemes that focus on aspects other than animal welfare, but have positive side-effects on animal welfare (Protected Designation of Origin/Protected Geographical Indication schemes).

A necessary precondition noted for some of these optional labelling schemes ‘was that [the labelling] was meaningful to consumers and that they were prepared to pay a price premium’. There are seen to be three main drivers of animal-welfare-relevant labelling schemes:

• reaction to earlier food scares;
• as an instrument for regulating markets;
• in response to consumer demand.