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Help Stop Deceptive Labeling!

Dear John,

What image comes to mind when you see "free range," "pasture raised," or "humanely raised" on the label of a meat or poultry product? Cows contentedly grazing in an open field? Pigs basking in the sunshine? Chickens pecking at insects in the yard?

What you probably don't think of is animals housed under cramped conditions indoors, with no opportunity to go outside or only occasional access to a small barren lot. If that's true, you may be disappointed to learn that the USDA allows producers to use these and similar claims without requiring them to adhere to meaningful standards--producers can call their products "free range" without providing the animals any range, or "pasture raised" without providing any pasture, and they can market their products as "humanely raised" while providing care no better than the most basic industry guidelines.

AWI has investigated the label approval process of the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for these claims to determine if consumer expectations are being met. The investigations have revealed insufficient review by the agency of these high-value animal-raising claims; the agency thus allows producers to mislead consumers and hurt farmers who actually do provide animals with better care. In fact, the FSIS has approved a majority of such claims based solely on brief affidavits--or no supporting evidence whatsoever--from the producer. Moreover, the agency allows producers to create their own definitions of the terms used in the claims, leading to confusion and inconsistency that harms consumers, higher-welfare farmers, and animals.

TAKE ACTION ([link removed])

What You Can Do
The USDA has announced that it will be revising its labeling guideline for animal-raising claims in the near future. Tell Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to protect consumers from misleading claims found on meat products ([link removed]) and ensure that food labels such as "free range," "pasture raised," and "humanely raised" mean what they say.

Sincerely,

Dena Jones
Director, Farmed Animal Program

P.S. Follow us on Facebook ([link removed]), Twitter ([link removed]), and Instagram ([link removed]) for other important animal protection actions and news. Check out the latest edition of the AWI Quarterly ([link removed])!

Photo by David Duran

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Animal Welfare Institute
900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 337-2332 | www.awionline.org ([link removed])

The Animal Welfare Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. We seek better treatment of animals everywhere: in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild.

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900 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003