Farmed Animals

Consumer Understanding of Pig Welfare Labels

Improving consumer understanding of pig welfare labels is essential for enabling purchasing decisions to drive welfare improvement.

Key Facts

Research shows consumers often cannot correctly interpret pig welfare labels
'British' and 'farm fresh' labels convey no welfare information but imply quality
Higher welfare labels including RSPCA Assured and Organic have lower consumer recognition
Tiered labelling systems in Denmark and other countries improve consumer clarity
Welfare claims in advertising are frequently misleading and unsubstantiated

Welfare Considerations

Consumer welfare choices can only drive market change if labelling is clear, accurate, and meaningfully understood. Current pig welfare labelling in the UK is confusing, inconsistently applied, and frequently misleading. Standardised, mandatory welfare labelling with independent verification would enable informed consumer choice and allow purchasing to drive welfare improvement. Education alongside labelling reform is also important.

What You Can Do

Learn which pig welfare labels have substantive welfare requirements
Advocate for mandatory, standardised welfare labelling for pork products
Support advertising standards enforcement against misleading welfare claims
Raise awareness among consumers about meaningful welfare labels versus marketing language
Engage with food labelling consultations to advocate for meaningful welfare information