POLLING on behalf of Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) has suggested shoppers have strong support for more detailed labelling of welfare and production methods on meat and dairy products.
Eggs are the only animal product on which it is currently required to state the method of production (MOP).
See also: Government opens consultation on animal welfare labelling
Defra recently consulted on whether to expand this scheme so that MOP and potentially how an animal was slaughtered would appear on meat packaging.
The poll, carried out by Opinium, asked a sample of 1,990 UK citizens: “Do you think that meat and dairy products should or should not be labelled to show the conditions that animals have been reared in, similar to the way shell eggs are currently labelled?”
More than two-thirds, 68%, agreed that these products should be labelled with their MOP.
Just 14% did not agree, and 18% answered ‘don’t know’.
Clearer labelling
CiWF’s Nick Palmer said: “These poll results demonstrate that the overwhelming majority of British people want clearer labelling showing how their meat and dairy was produced, in the same way that eggs are labelled with the method of production”,
“We have been calling on Defra to provide Method Of Production (MOP) labelling for some time, and these results show that the British public would welcome more information on their meat and dairy that tells them how the animals were reared.
“We now urge Defra to act on these results and to ensure that MOP labelling is extended to all meat and dairy products.”
