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

from which animal-derived food products are
sourced.
• If a product label is silent as to its farm production
method, there is a strong likelihood that it has been
sourced from a factory farmed animal.
• There are a number of terms currently used to
differentiate the source of animal products.
These include caged/battery eggs, barn laid eggs,
free-range eggs, open-range or range eggs, grain
fed, free-range, bred free-range, organic and
biodynamic.
• Most of these commonly accepted terms are
not defined in legislation, which means there is
broad scope for consumer uncertainty as to
their true meaning.
• Different production systems impose varying
degrees of suffering on animals, ranging from
factory farming systems such as caged/battery
eggs and grain fed which cause substantial
emotional and psychological suffering, to organic
systems which cause less suffering.
Labelling of Animal Derived Food
Products in Australia
• Although current laws require certain
information about animal-derived food products
to be disclosed on product labels, the Australian
Capital Territory and Tasmania are the only
jurisdictions that expressly require production
systems to be identified. Their production system
labelling requirements are limited to eggs.
• In the absence of mandatory labelling legislation,
consumer protection laws have an important
role to play in encouraging responsible labelling
of animal-derived food products.
• Food labelling laws also facilitate truth in
labelling; however these laws are no substitute
for a mandatory labelling regime linked to animal
production systems.
• In the absence of a mandatory labelling scheme,
a number of voluntary third party certification
and animal industry quality assurance schemes
have emerged to profit from consumer concern
for animals in the marketplace.
• These schemes apply a variety of standards and
consumers may, in some cases, overstate the
significance of their animal welfare claims.
Animal Welfare Labelling- An
International Overview
• The European Union (EU) is demonstrating
world leadership in mandatory labelling of
animal-derived food products, having
introduced mandatory labelling of egg
production systems in 2004. The EU is also
contemplating introducing an ‘EU Animal
Welfare Label’ in the next five years.
• Switzerland has banned the domestic production
of battery eggs. Battery eggs are only permitted
to be imported when they are marked with the
words ‘Produced in battery cages, which are not
permitted in Switzerland’.
• Mandatory labelling may face a challenge as a
breach of World Trade Organisation (WTO)
rules. This has not yet occurred in respect of
EU mandatory egg labelling; however if it were
to occur, there appear to be a number of
justifications available under international
trade instruments which would exempt
mandatory labelling from being classified as
discriminatory treatment.
Labelling Scams and Scandals
• The absence of a mandatory labelling regime
for animal-derived food products has prompted
concerns about the presence of specious
standards and the widespread deception of
consumers both in Australia and overseas.
• Recent allegations concerning the mislabelling
of free-range eggs in Australia highlight the
limitations of current reactionary laws.
• Imprecise definitions of production methods
facilitated the avoidance of penalty by a New
Zealand producer in relation to its use of the
term ‘barn raised’.
• A US-based organisation, Compassion Over
Killing, was successful in its proceedings to
remove use of the label ‘Animal Care Certified’
on eggs produced in battery cages.
From Label to Liable Lifting the veil on animal-derived food product labelling in Australia 5