Charities urge UK-EU trade deal safeguards to ensure UK can protect consumers from ‘welfare washing’
Liberal Democrat MP and Environment spokesperson Sarah Dyke has led a cross‑party letter to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) calling on the Government to bring forward mandatory, clear and consistent animal welfare labelling on meat products, and to strengthen enforcement against misleading claims in food marketing.
The letter, sent today to Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, is signed by 22 cross-party MPs and members of the House of Lords. It is supported by leading animal welfare organisations, the Animal Law Foundation, Compassion in World Farming and Humane World for Animals UK. The signatories urge Defra to implement fairer food labelling without delay, underscoring that clearer standards would reward responsible farmers, restore trust in food labels, and strengthen the UK’s reputation for high animal welfare standards; criteria that must sit at the heart of the Government’s food strategy.
The MPs and Peers warn that misleading and inconsistent labelling is preventing shoppers from making informed choices and undermining animal welfare. Polling commissioned by Humane World for Animals UK found that two-thirds of UK consumers mistakenly believe that common labels such as “welfare assured” protect animals from common cruel practices, such as caging and gassing.
Reports from the Food Standards Agency show that over 70 per cent of consumers care deeply about animal welfare. Yet the current labelling system offers little clarity about the reality of how animals such as pigs, cows and chickens are farmed.
The UK–EU agrifood trade deal, currently under negotiation, will cut red tape and ease food trade, though it could also bind the UK to ongoing alignment with EU meat labelling laws. Charities are urging the Government to secure clear carve-outs that would ensure that the UK could unilaterally adopt method of production labelling. The agreement is expected to be finalised later this year in order to enter into force in mid 2027.
The letter cites the Government’s own 2024 Fairer Food Labelling consultation, which showed overwhelming public support for mandatory method‑of‑production labelling, with 99 per cent of respondents in favour. Defra’s impact assessment found that such measures could improve the lives of 111 million animals on farms, deliver a net societal benefit of £140 million over ten years, and increase UK farmers’ profits by more than £46 million a year.
Sarah Dyke MP for Glastonbury and Somerton and Liberal Democrats rural affairs spokesperson, said: “People want to buy food that matches their values, but right now it’s too easy for shoppers to be misled by vague welfare claims on meat products that are masking low-welfare practices like caging. This is not fair on families trying to make informed choices or on farmers who are trying to improve their standards. The Government must act without delay to introduce clear, consistent, mandatory method-of-production labelling and to enforce existing consumer protection laws. Shoppers, farmers and animals all deserve markets to be driven by the truth, not marketing spin.”
Claire Bass, senior director of campaigns and public affairs at Humane World for Animals UK, said: “Mandatory animal welfare labelling would present facts rather than marketing spin on supermarket shelves. If consumers are able to make informed buying choices that reflect their values, market forces could play a decisive role in driving genuinely higher welfare standards in farming. But lockstep alignment with EU labelling laws will massively constrain the UK’s freedom to protect consumers and animals from ‘welfare washing’. We urge the government to prioritise SPS [UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement] carve-outs that preserve the UK’s right to mandate meat labelling in the interests of consumers, farmers and animals.”
The relevant regulators and law enforcement bodies also need to be adequately resourced and steered to ensure the enforcement of existing laws to prevent the misinformation that surrounds animal farming and animal products in the UK.
Edie Bowles, executive director of The Animal Law Foundation said: “Consumer protection, media and advertising laws exist to protect the public and consumers from being given misleading or partial information. But there is a clear compliance issue where data from The Animal Law Foundation shows 100% of supermarkets and 100% of TV shows use images and footage of healthy animals outside, yet in reality 85% are kept on factory farms. Just as regulators are cracking down on greenwashing, we need urgent action to address ‘humane-washing’ in animal agriculture. Consumers and the public must be able to trust the claims made and authorities must ensure that those who partake in misleading practices are held to account.”
Anthony Field, head of compassion in World Farming UK, said: “The vast majority of UK farmed animals are reared in factory farms, but this shocking fact is frequently hidden behind misleading food labels. Idyllic images of healthy farmyard animals, picturesque countryside or meaningless phrases like ‘farm fresh’ or ‘all natural’ provide a false sense of security and conceal the truth. Britain is a nation of animal lovers and consumers deserve to know what really lies behind the label. The Government’s own research has shown that mandatory method of production labelling would be more profitable for farmers as well as benefiting the UK economy and the welfare of hundreds of millions of farmed animals. The Government must introduce honest labelling to improve transparency and support higher welfare farmers.”
The letter can be read here
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