Humane Society International: November 9, 2009 Survey Results

Australian consumers have responded with overwhelming support for changes to food labelling laws through a survey conducted by Humane Society International (HSI). The survey asked respondents to identify what they understood to be meant by terms such as free range, bred free range, barn raised and caged, as well as seeking their views on the adequacy of current food labels and their desire for change.

Based on an initial analysis of 3085 responses, the survey has demonstrated extensive consumer confusion over labelling terms that are currently used on animal-derived food products.

Consumers are clearly confused about the term “bred free-range”. 93% of respondents do not know that animals raised in bred free-range farming systems only have access to the outdoors in the first few weeks of life. 37% believe that these animals have continuous outdoor access and 34% responded that they didn't know what the term means.

The use of the term “eco-shelters” on product labels is misleading consumers with 98% of respondents not knowing that animals kept in eco-shelters have no outdoor access. Over 35% believe that animals in eco-shelters have continuous outdoor access, and nearly half of all respondents answered that they did not know how much access to outdoor areas animals in eco-shelters have.

Even the term “free-range” is not particularly well understood, with only 60% of respondents knowing that free-range animals are born in outdoor areas, and 69% aware that animals raised on free-range farms have continuous outdoor access.

When it comes to eggs, consumers are still unsure about commonly used labelling terms. Only 50% of respondents are aware that “cage-free eggs” are produced by chickens that are housed in barns with no outdoor access. The perception of barn housing is also quite different from the reality, with less than 50% of people aware that these chickens have little room for movement because of high stocking densities, and over 32% believing that that have free movement in barn environments.

The survey has revealed that consumers want labelling reform. 98% of respondents agree that full and adequate labelling is every consumer's right, yet only 6% believe that current labels give enough information to allow them to make informed purchasing decisions. 95% of respondents indicated that they would be prepared to pay a little more for ethically produced food.

HSI will be forwarding the results to the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council review of food labelling law and policy, as part of our submission calling for the development of a national scheme for the mandatory labelling of the method of production on all meat, eggs and dairy products. Such a scheme would allow the use of only a limited number of nationally consistent and legally defined terms to describe production method. These terms would relate to criteria on the source of the product, the type of housing provided and specific animal welfare standards of husbandry, transport and slaughter.