Animal welfare labelling on food products in the UK is inconsistent and often misleading, making it difficult for consumers to make informed choices. Mandatory method-of-production labelling is a key campaign demand.
Welfare labelling reform is a policy intervention with potentially large-scale welfare impact. If consumers can reliably identify higher-welfare products, market demand shifts toward better production systems across the industry. Currently, opaque labelling allows producers to use misleading pastoral imagery without substantive welfare standards. Mandatory method-of-production labelling - showing housing system for poultry and pigs as a minimum - would enable informed consumer choice. This reform costs little to implement but could reshape purchasing patterns for millions of consumers.