Welfare labelling on animal products aims to inform consumer choice and drive market improvements, but the effectiveness and credibility of labelling schemes varies enormously.
Animal welfare labelling has the potential to be a powerful tool for connecting consumer values with farm practice, but its effectiveness depends critically on the credibility, comparability, and visibility of schemes. The proliferation of many different labels with varying standards makes it difficult for consumers to make meaningful comparisons. Terms such as natural, traditional, and farm fresh carry no welfare meaning, while even regulated labels such as free range permit practices many consumers would find unacceptable. A universal, tiered welfare labelling standard would allow genuine market differentiation based on verified welfare outcomes, helping well-performing farms to communicate their standards and driving improvement at lower tiers.