Honest Labelling in the EU
The European Union has recognised that animal welfare is an increasingly important issue for many European consumers. However, there is a complete lack of transparency on how animals are kept and how they are killed before they end up in supermarkets and on restaurant menus.
An animal product label has to contain information about the origin of the product, but strangely not about how the animal lived.
For example, some of the largest and most famous Italian and Spanish ham producers are proud to report that their pigs all come from a particular country or region. But what these companies don't tell you is that most of these pigs are kept industrially and live in dire conditions. They never see the light of day, their tail is cut (without anesthesia) and they have no room to move at all.
In other words, they are animals that are kept alive in an unnatural way, pumped full of antibiotics and they call that quality. And we also pay hefty prices for that.
This lack of transparency makes it nearly impossible for us as consumers to make an informed decision about the products we buy. This also disadvantages farmers who strive for higher animal welfare standards and higher quality products. These farmers are currently in an unfavorable competitive position because their quality products are often indistinguishable from those from the livestock industry.
That is why Mirko and his team are calling on the European Union to introduce legislation that requires producers to inform consumers about how the animals lived.
After months of research, we have developed a label that we propose to the EU for animal products sold in the EU.
