‘Honest labelling: why transparency on meat and dairy matters’ – LabourList

Last month, just before Christmas, Defra launched its Animal Welfare Strategy – a hugely commendable and ambitious set of policies that will fulfil the commitment in our manifesto to deliver the “biggest boost for animal welfare in a generation”. 

The strategy promises to improve the lives of millions of animals. However, what was notably missing from the farmed animals’ chapter of the strategy, was a policy of introducing Mandatory Method of Production (MMOP) food labelling. Instead, Defra announced that food labelling policy will be handled separately, at an unconfirmed moment in time. 

Living in South West Norfolk my entire life, and now as an MP representing this rural constituency, ensuring our farmers’ voices are heard is a priority for me. As is the case across the country, South West Norfolk is made up of a patchwork of small and medium sized farms, crucial to both our local economy and communities, and forming the bedrock for a more sustainable UK food supply. 

READ MORE: ‘Our world-leading Animal Welfare Strategy will protect domestic, farmed and wild animals for generations’

At the time the Animal Welfare Strategy was published, I was hastily dispatched to my local supermarket to get the last-minute bits needed for Christmas. Having spent months advocating for my local farmers and visiting more than 50 in my constituency, I am always keen to put my money where my mouth is and support locally grown, high-quality food with strong animal welfare standards. The problem is when you get to the supermarket, you’re not empowered to make informed choices and you’re often left feeling confused.

Like any other supermarket shopper, I want to be able to purchase meat, dairy and fish products that I can be confident have been produced to the animal welfare standards that I expect. By requiring labelling to provide clear and honest information – just as the labelling on eggs that was introduced over 20 years ago now better informs us – expanding similar labelling to other products will help instil trust. Frankly, I shouldn’t have to be a labelling expert to decipher what it is I am about to eat and where it is from. 

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Defra’s own impact assessment showed that not only would MMOP labelling improve the lives of over a hundred million UK animals farmed for food, but it would also boost farm incomes, benefit the wider UK economy, and empower millions of other British consumers in their everyday food buying decisions. 

Two-thirds of people surveyed mistakenly believe supermarket labels like ‘welfare assured’ will come from pigs that have not been caged. This is no surprise when ‘welfare washing’ product packaging depicts pastoral scenes or uses clever semantics to market a higher animal welfare myth and obscure the fact that 85% of farmed animals are housed indoors on factory farms. 

We must stop undermining consumer trust, a sentiment similarly echoed by The Food Standards Agency’s latest Annual Animal Welfare Report findings that 70% of consumers in England and Wales are concerned about animal welfare. I find this in my own casework, with a significant amount of all constituent correspondence relating to animal welfare or the wider environment. Shoppers should be empowered to seek out products that more closely align with their views on animal welfare but to do this will require the government to introduce robust labelling regulation.

The government published a summary of responses to the Fairer Food Labelling consultation, which closed in June 2024. Those responses showed overwhelming support for honest labelling. A remarkable 99% of the more than 30,000 individual respondents to the consultation indicated support for mandatory animal welfare labelling on meat products.

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This is an issue that cuts across the political divide. In December, around 60 MPs, from a variety of political parties, attended a Parliamentary reception for labelling, organised by Compassion in World Farming, Humane World for Animals UK and The Animal Law Foundation. 

Crucially, not only should MMOP be required on domestically-produced meat products, but it should also be applied to imported products, to prevent our higher-welfare British farmers being undercut. As trade negotiations with the EU and other partners progress, ministers must ensure that animal welfare standards are a foundation of any future agreements, not a casualty of compromise. 

So, whilst the wheels are now in motion to deliver the ambitious and very welcome Animal Welfare Strategy, let’s not stall on food labelling policy reform. It’s a win for farmed animals, a win for farmers and a win for consumers too.

Let’s have the moral courage to swiftly move forward with the previously consulted on labelling proposals to help drive demand for products from higher-welfare farming practices. Let’s get on with ensuring products are packaged with honest labelling and help consumers play their part in delivering the biggest boost to animal welfare in a generation.

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