As the citizens’ shift towards pre-made and processed foods continues, animal welfare can easily fall down the list of priorities at the point of choosing what to buy, especially if welfare is not clearly labelled on the packaging. That means we need a more joined-up approach — one that connects food policy, health, climate, and farming, rather than treating welfare as a standalone issue.
Key messages and the actions needed:
- Animal welfare remains one of the top motivators for reducing meat consumption. More transparent labelling can help differentiate products and give citizens a clearer path to choose ‘better’ meat and dairy, as well as give farmers confidence to invest in higher welfare systems.
- Likewise, standards must be developed to help identify and address sub-par imports, with trade deals being assessed for their impact on human health, animal welfare and the environment.
- Food service needs much greater transparency on ingredient provenance, transitioning to sourcing meat and dairy products certified by schemes that require high standards of animal welfare, sustainable production and benefit to nature and climate.
- Affordable plant proteins should be part of the conversation, allowing farmers to diversify production to benefit their livelihoods, nature and national nutritional security.
- The transition from current industrial livestock production systems to those underpinned by better animal welfare and sustainable methods of production will be a journey. A tiered approach could help bring both farmers and citizens along.
- The distinction between animal health and animal welfare also matters – we need to be clearer about both to avoid a narrow definition of good health being applied in a low welfare context
If we’re serious about improving animal welfare and other outcomes, we need a cross-departmental Government effort to move towards mandatory labelling, a recommendation that has been long set in our Better By half Roadmap.
Read the full report here.
