From Label to Liable: Scams, Scandals and Secrecy - Voiceless

III. Lifting the veil of secrecy
a) One of the traditional obstacles to the
expansion of markets for humanely produced
animal food products is the presence of a ‘veil of
secrecy’ which shields consumers from the truth
about how animals are raised for food in
factory farms. This veil has largely disempowered
consumers from taking personal action to prevent
animals from suffering.
b) Factory farms are removed from the public eye,
unmarked and nondescript. Most of us drive by
them completely unaware of the tens of thousands
of animals contained inside. The public are denied
access to these farms and even the media face
significant difficulties reporting the ‘inside story’.
Consequently ‘uncensored’ images of the lives of
these animals are extremely difficult to obtain. 101
c) Cleverly, farming industries rarely represent
factory farmed animals in their marketing and
labelling of products such as meat, dairy and eggs.
They know that if they were to show the reality of
life for animals on their farms, their products would
not sell as well. Rather, they encourage consumers
to disassociate food from animals by using pretty
imagery such as flowers and butterflies 102 as part of
their public relations spin. In circumstances where
animals are linked to food products, labels often
present a ‘romantic view’ of rural life. Consumers
see images of rustic scenes, farmhouses, happy
families, cows and chickens frolicking in green fields
with cheerful, animated farmers. They don’t see the
factory farm reality of animals in permanent indoor
confinement, denied all freedom to carry out their
natural behaviour.
d) Misunderstanding about the true origin of animalderived
food products is often enhanced by the use
of imprecise or suggestive wording such as ‘farm
fresh’ or ‘naturally perfect’. These terms increase the
likelihood of consumers being misled as to the life of
the animal behind the product.
LIFTING THE VEIL OF SECRECY
– KEY POINTS
• A veil of secrecy shields consumers from
the truth about how animals are raised
for food in factory farms.
• Marketers use positive imagery on animalderived
food products encouraging
consumers to disassociate products from
the horrendous reality of factory-farming.
• Ambiguously worded food labels such as
‘farm fresh’ or ‘naturally perfect’ reinforce
the likelihood of consumers being misled
as to the true origin of the product.
IV. Introducing truth in labelling
a) Truth in labelling of animal-derived food
products enables and encourages consumers to
make informed choices about the products they
are buying. This is achieved by disclosing the true
nature of the animal production systems that
consumers are supporting when they purchase
particular products.
b) The following are examples of terms currently
used to describe different kinds of animal production
systems in Australia that influence consumer choice. If
a product label is silent as to its farm production
method, given that the overwhelming majority of
animals are now raised intensively, there is a strong
likelihood that the product has been sourced from a
factory farmed animal.
c) Marketing and labelling claims
i) Caged/Battery eggs
1. Battery or caged-egg production is a form of
factory farming (intensive production). Birds in
‘cage systems’ are housed in cages within a shed
for their entire lives. 103 Typically, a hen will share
her cage with 3 or 4 others 104 and has a space
approximately the size of an A4 sheet of paper
101 Peter Singer and Jim Mason, above n 22, 5-9.
102 See Australian Pork Limited March 2004 and Summer 2004/05 advertising campaigns .
103 Primary Industries Standing Committee, Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals – Domestic Poultry, 4th ed., (2002) [2.1.1.1].
104 Animals Australia, Battery Hens, March 2004 .
From Label to Liable Lifting the veil on animal-derived food product labelling in Australia 13