Welfare labelling allows consumers to make informed choices at point of purchase, but the proliferation of labels has created confusion about what standards different logos actually represent.
Welfare labelling is a consumer empowerment tool that works only if consumers can decode what the labels mean. The proliferation of low-information labels — natural, humanely raised, farm fresh — with no welfare content creates a landscape in which consumers who want to choose higher-welfare products cannot reliably do so. Simplifying labelling through mandatory tiered systems, strengthening enforcement of free-range definitions, and investing in consumer education would make welfare labelling far more effective as a market signal for welfare reform.