EU stakeholders demand mandatory animal welfare labeling for meat and dairy products amid delays

Several EU member states and civil society organizations are calling on the European Commission (EC) to prioritize revising animal welfare legislation. The stakeholders want the EC to provide a concrete timeline for publishing the remaining regulatory proposals on kept animals, slaughter and labeling. 

Eurogroup for Animals notes that the EC announced in its Farm to Fork Strategy in 2020 that it would revise the animal welfare legislation by 2023 but failed to live up to the promise.

With the EC on track to its work program for 2025 in the following weeks and animal welfare featuring in the title of a European commissioner for the first time in the EU’s history, animal protection groups are renewing calls to modernize the outdated legislation as 300 million animals continue to be confined in the region each year.

“The EC should stick to the deadline promised by commissioner Olivér Várhelyi in December as well as agreed by all stakeholders, including farmers’ organizations, in the conclusion of the Strategic Dialogue, and ensure the scope includes all species, covering on-farm and slaughter protections,” Inês Grenho Ajuda, Farm Animals program leader at Eurogroup for Animals, tells Food Ingredients First.

“The upcoming Agrifood Vision must reaffirm this commitment, aligning with the Five Domains Model and EFSA recommendations, such as banning cages and improving farm standards. The post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must support the transition to higher animal welfare for farmers who need it most — with animal welfare being a standalone objective and a mandatory measure for member states.”

Harmonized labeling system

A 2016 Eurobarometer survey suggests that consumers are willing to pay more for animal welfare-friendly products but think they are not widely available. Additionally, the lack of a harmonized labeling system for most products is causing confusion among consumers on how to differentiate the proposed claims.

“Harmonized legislation would address disparities in farming, slaughter and labeling practices across the EU by creating a unified framework that ensures equal standards for all member states. Currently, some countries have comprehensive regulations and others have minimal directives, leading to unfair competition,” says Ajuda.

Most animal welfare claims in the EU are voluntary.“Such legislation would establish a level playing field, reduce administrative burdens and foster fair competition for all farmers. It would also improve consumer transparency and trust, as uniform labeling practices would make it easier for citizens to identify and support higher welfare products.”

Most animal welfare claims in the EU are voluntary, with an EU-wide compulsory labeling system applicable only to eggs. This is despite strong consumer consensus on the need to be better informed about animal farming conditions.

Eurogroup for Animals recommends a “multi-tiered labeling scheme” across all meat and dairy products placed on EU markets to drive consumer awareness and demand for high-welfare items.

“Even if starting voluntarily, it should transition to a mandatory scheme for full transparency. A label should not be a standalone action but a follow-up to the revised legislation,” Ajuda asserts.

“While the revision of the animal welfare legislation is the solution to improve conditions for animals, labeling is simply a tool to support it, as farmers can utilize it in transition times, and further on as a promotion tactic, to demonstrate their actions beyond the minimum EU legislative standards.”

Animal welfare in food production

According to Wageningen University & Research (WUR), animal welfare is missing from the discourse on mainstream food supply chains in many countries where many people can afford to eat meat. However, the Dutch institute reports a serious push toward addressing the issue in the West.

WUR researchers believe that, ultimately, the smart thing to do is to create a farming system that combines efficiency and animal welfare.

There are pathways to achieve this, as highlighted by Ajuda.

“Poor welfare conditions, such as overcrowding and stress, increase disease susceptibility in animals, often leading to the overuse of antibiotics in intensive farming systems, compromising the effectiveness of antibiotics in human medicine.”

“Farms that implement higher welfare standards, such as organic or free-range systems, demonstrate reduced antibiotic use and lower incidences of resistant bacteria. Additionally, better animal living conditions reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases like Salmonella, Campylobacter and avian influenza.”

She notes that stressful conditions during transport or slaughter can increase microbial contamination and reduce meat quality. However, the stakes are different for animals raised in welfare-centric systems.

“Animals raised in welfare-focused systems often yield products with better nutritional profiles, such as higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and fewer harmful residues.”Ajuda says stressful conditions during transport or slaughter can increase microbial contamination and reduce meat quality. 

Changing the food environment is key, stresses Ajuda.

Eurogroup for Animals works with the food industry to balance public demand for better welfare with economic pressures by “raising awareness for the need for policies that address food environments to help make it easier for consumers to buy higher welfare products, less and better meat and more plant-based food.”

Welfare at slaughter

A 2023 Frontiers in Animal Science multi-country analysis of slaughter practices found that “concern for the reduction of animal suffering during slaughter is a universal human tendency, rather than a cultural development.”

Despite this encouraging finding, the researchers flagged that in highly developed countries where exposure to slaughter is minimal, public knowledge and awareness about animal welfare at slaughter, including the local application of stunning, were also low.

With an increasing number of culling operations for disease control around the continent, animal welfare at slaughter and killing continues to be a major concern.

Ajuda says it is essential to push for reforms and monitoring mechanisms to reduce animal suffering at the time of slaughter.

“It is crucial that the legislative revision also addresses the slaughter regulation, phasing out any cruel methods and expanding the scope to important and numerous species like aquatic species.”

“More concretely: setting a phase-out date for high-concentration CO2 stunning for pigs and water bath stunning for chickens, and a mandatory requirement for stunning before slaughter for aquatic animals,” Ajuda concludes.