Farm animal welfare labelling is inconsistent, jargon-heavy and poorly understood by consumers, limiting its effectiveness as a market signal for welfare improvement.
Labelling welfare reform matters because consumer market signals drive industry change only when consumers can accurately understand and act on welfare information. When 'barn' eggs are confused with free-range by a significant proportion of shoppers, the welfare premium attached to higher standards is undermined. Effective welfare labelling needs to be simple, standardised, mandatory and independently audited - none of which characterises current labelling in most markets. The welfare argument for labelling reform is that it would enable consumers who want to support higher welfare to do so effectively, creating market incentives for genuine improvement rather than marketing-led welfare washing.