Like us, we know many of our fellow pet lovers really pay attention to what goes into our food and we try to do the “right” thing when grocery shopping. Animal welfare is always on our minds when making purchasing decisions…but, at the same time, we know that looking at food labels can be confusing.
We just received a press release from the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) about their brand-new A Consumer’s Guide to Food Labels and Animal Welfare. The free guide is designed to help consumers who purchase meat, dairy and eggs interpret the meaning of label claims and locate products from animals who were humanely raised and handled. Whether purchasing food for yourself or your pets, we know that reading a label is trickier than it would seem to be so this little guide can definitely come in handy.
AWI’s label guide defines the most common claims related to farm animal welfare and places them into one of three categories. Here’s their advice on each:
- Certified Labels (such as “Animal Welfare Approved,” “Certified Humane,” and “USDA Organic”) are defined by a formal set of publicly available animal care standards, and compliance with those standards is verified by a third-party audit. Consumers should look for these labels.
- Unverified Claims (such as “cage free,” “free range,” and “pasture raised”) are relevant to animal welfare but the standards are vague and/or weak, and compliance isn’t verified by an independent audit. While not as reliable as certified labels, consumers should choose these products over products without any welfare claims.
- Meaningless or Misleading Claims (such as “natural,” “no added hormones” when used on poultry or pork, and “cage free” when used on meat chicken or turkey) are meaningless or misleading in terms of animal welfare. Consumers should avoid products with these claims.
“The welfare of animals raised for food is important to consumers and is increasingly a strong consideration in buying food,” said Dena Jones, AWI’s farm animal program manager. “Unfortunately, few people outside the food industry and U.S. Department of Agriculture understand the meaning of the various claims used on packaging. This guide helps consumers decipher label claims and make decisions consistent with their values regarding how animals raised for food should be treated.”
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