Clear, mandatory welfare labeling on food products empowers consumers to make informed choices and creates market incentives for higher farm standards.
Food labeling is a powerful but underutilized tool for animal welfare. When consumers cannot identify welfare standards from product labels, market signals fail to reward better farming practices. Mandatory, standardized welfare labeling — covering housing, outdoor access, enrichment, and pain management — would create a direct link between consumer choice and on-farm outcomes. The Danish pig welfare label demonstrates that such schemes are commercially viable and improve farm standards over time.