Animal Sentience Committee letter regarding food labelling policy
Published 22 July 2025
Under the previous government, policy to improve food labelling was in development. This resulted in public consultation. The Animal Sentience Committee (ASC) understands that a large number of responses were received during the process, clearly demonstrating how important the issue is to the public and those with an interest or stake in animal food production. The stated aims of the policy were to improve transparency and consistency in food labelling, facilitate value-driven purchasing, and support farmers meeting or exceeding baseline UK welfare regulations.
There is strong public support for animal welfare, and surveys consistently show that consumers wish to make purchasing decisions in line with their values. However, the ASC is concerned that current labelling systems often fail to provide meaningful, standardised information on animal welfare provenance and, in some sectors, production systems. A robust, government-led welfare labelling scheme in conjunction with industry - anchored in independently verified standards - could help to address market failures and promote high animal welfare.
Recent and ongoing trade negotiations, notably with India and the United States, underline the importance of transparent welfare labelling. Such trade deals may increase the availability of imported animal products produced to different welfare standards potentially undermining UK welfare standards. Without clear labelling, consumers struggle to identify products that align with their welfare expectations. A strong domestic labelling framework would help inform consumer choice and ensure fair competition for UK producers who may be operating to higher welfare standards. It would also allow the market to better reflect consumer demand for animal products with a provenance of high standards of animal welfare.
While the remit of the Animal Sentience Committee is in providing scrutiny as to whether government policy-making has paid all due regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings, labelling is a policy area we were actively examining before the change of government. We were encouraged by the initial work done by the policy team in this area and the extent of consultation engagement. We will be examining the current government’s National Food Strategy and associated policies and are confident that appropriate animal welfare product labelling could help to shape the future direction for food production within the UK.