Consumers will have higher animal welfare across Europe, where the law dictates criteria for livestock species, adding calves, laying hens and broilers. They will also have greater animal welfare labelling on food products.
In France, the food company Anses responds by providing a Nutri-Score formula that rates the criteria from (A) to the lowest (E).
Unlike the maximum animal welfare labels, which only aim to improve them through agricultural strategies and tactics, France needs to take a more holistic approach. Existing animal welfare labels “are not enough,” says Julie Chiron, the Food Agency’s experience coordinator.
Rather than focusing solely on agricultural situations, ANSES should assess animal welfare based on clinical signs measured in animals. The food company must also take into account not only food-producing animals, but also the living situations of their parents.
Considering agricultural strategies alone is not enough, according to Chrion. “A laying hen farm may have perches, but if the hens don’t use them because they’re not easily accessible, for example, this detail won’t contribute to their well. “-to be. “
According to ANSES, consumers are concerned about the living conditions of animals used to produce food such as meat, dairy or eggs.
A recent survey conducted through the Consumer Organisation (BEUC) confirms this: almost 90% of respondents support new legislation for farm animal welfare in the EU, such as the extension of the living area and the ban on cage systems.
Instead, the food company must ensure the welfare of the animal itself, according to the 2018 ANSES definition of animal welfare:
“An animal’s well-being is its positive intellectual and physical state, similar to the satisfaction of its physiological and behavioral desires and expectations. This state varies depending on the animal’s belief about the situation.
Animal welfare testing also deserves to be carried out on non-food animals, the company says. Selectively bred animals and farmed animals designed to have genetic characteristics and supply animals for food production also deserve sufficiently good welfare standards.
ANSES has learned about the points that can affect the welfare of animals at every level of their lives.
These include: genetic characteristics, breeding methods, farmers’ practices and training, housing, feeding, breeding, transport and slaughter, as well as measures taken to improve physical fitness and restrict the use of painful practices.
“In some sectors, breeding animals are raised and their living conditions are not well understood,” says Chrion. “This criterion will force the sectors to organize themselves to have this information.
“In addition, we affirm that a production procedure respects animal welfare if we forget the living conditions of the past generation, whose breeding is subject to limitations, specifically physical fitness.
The European Union sets the minimum criteria for animal welfare across the bloc, but member states can approve additional criteria if necessary, as long as they meet the EU’s minimum standard.
How does ANSES think the assignment of its label will improve animal welfare standards?Well, if an operator only complies with EU animal welfare legislation, whether on farms, transport or slaughter, they will get an ‘E’ rating.
The firm suggests that this low score (in fact, the lowest score available) helps manufacturers apply superior animal welfare criteria, beyond those required by EU legislation, over time.
Regarding animal welfare criteria for puppy parents, ANSES suggests that if no data is available, the operator should obtain a “C” score or lower.
In the same vein as the Nutri-Score, the labeling formula allows consumers to make quick decisions based on an overall score.
The Nutri-Score nutritional labelling formula evolved in France in 2017. Its set of rules ranks foods from -15 for the “healthiest” products to 40 for the “least healthy. “Based on this score, the product receives a letter with a corresponding code: from dark green (A) to dark orange (E).
Improving animal welfare criteria is not cheap. As for who bears these prices, ANSES suggests that all actors bear prices similar to those of the improvement – and evaluation – of animal welfare criteria.
European consumers also agree that not all prices are borne by farmers. A recent survey conducted through the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) and related organizations asked for responses from a further 1,000 people in 8 countries: Belgium, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. and Sweden.
A total of 74% of participants said they would like the EU to provide investments to farmers to cover those prices if stricter animal welfare criteria were implemented across the bloc.
If consumers need higher welfare criteria and have an idea of how they need related prices covered, could animal welfare labelling be on the horizon?
At the European level, animal welfare labelling (beyond what currently exists for table eggs) is no longer on the agfinisha. In 2020, the Commission committed to implementing a harmonised animal welfare indicator by the end of 2023, but has since abandoned this commitment. .
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