“Animal welfare level” … In large print, in the upper left corner, the mention leaves no doubt about the reason for this label. Then listed are the five defined levels, and what they correspond to. From A for superior to E for minimal, passing through the B for good, the C for Fairly well and the D for standard. The category of the product on which the label is affixed appears in the upper right corner with, below, a pictogram which specifies the farming conditions. Tree-lined path, access to the outside, building in progress, building …
Difficult to be clearer. It was the primary concern of the Compassion in world farming (CIWF) France, of
Work of assistance to the animals of slaughterhouses (OABA) and some
Animal Law Foundation (LFDA), the three associations behind
this animal welfare label. Make “that at a glance, the consumer can have guarantees on the level of animal welfare associated with products on the shelves”, explains Agathe Gignoux, public affairs officer at the CIWF.
(…)
The OABA advocates the reasoned choice of strains with slow growth. As part of the animal welfare label, level A imposes a slow growth rate, B an intermediate to slow rate, and C an improvement in progress. No improvement for D’s and E.
(…) pic.twitter.com/UEHVsaKkIm– OABA (@OABA_Off) July 29, 2021
Filling a gap in consumer information
This is a strong demand from consumers, she says, based on several surveys. In particular a 2019 survey, carried out in seven European countries by Eurogroup For Animals on the broiler. 88% of respondents in France said they wanted labeling that informed them about the animal welfare standards according to which chickens were raised.
However, among the many indicators that are used in mass distribution, “none deals specifically with this subject,” continues Agathe Gignoux. Certainly, labels like Red Label or Organic take certain aspects into account, but mixed with other criteria. “” And the ‘problem with labels is that we don’t
don’t know what’s behind it, adds Anaïs Gonzalez, scientific officer at OABA. The only way to know the living conditions of animals is to consult the specifications, available on the Internet, but no one does. With the label, we have the information quickly, during the act of purchase ”.
Broilers, the textbook case to begin with
To fill this void, these three NGOs, joined by the distributor Casino, are working, from May 2017, on this label project and on the list of evaluation criteria on which the audits will be based. With the idea of limiting oneself, at first,
with broilers, of which
consumption is increasing in France. The perfect textbook case to start with. “Of the 731 million chickens raised and slaughtered in France each year, 80% are in intensive systems for which the challenges of improving animal welfare are colossal, explains Agathe Gignoux. 80% is a lot, but it also means that interesting alternatives have been developed on 20% and that they will be able to be promoted by this label. “
In December 2018, we are there: the first labeled products are put on the shelves. Access to the outdoors, to natural light, additional space in the building compared to the regulatory minimum, the rate of growth of the chickens, their maximum transport time… In all, 230 criteria are taken into account. From the birth of the animal to slaughter. Products from farms that are satisfied with the minimum European regulatory level are arranged in D and E. With some improvements for level D: for example the commitment to ensure access to natural light by the end of 2024, or that of granting 10% more space than the regulatory minimum. The 80% of the 731 million chickens raised each year in France are in these categories D or E.
“Level C is the minimum acceptable to us, the NGOs, continues Anaïs Gonzalez. The density of chickens per square meter is reduced there, they have natural light, perches or objects to bite… ”. But no access to the outside, a criterion which is mandatory to be labeled A or B.
A’s, B’s, C’s … but no D’s and E’s
Since December 2018, the project has grown. The four historical players have formed an association, which new members have gradually joined. Other animal protection NGOs, such as Welfarm, but also distributors (Agromousquetaires, Carrefour, Lidl, U stores) as well as poultry producers (Fermiers de Loué, Fermiers du Sud-Ouest,
Galliance…).
So much so that we now find the label on the majority of poultry products from the French broiler industry? Far from there. They still lack significant players. “Leclerc and Auchan, for example, for mass distribution”, illustrates Agathe Gignoux. Moreover, the distributors and producers involved in the process do not, to date, label all of their products. “To date, there is nothing in category D or E,” indicates Anaïs Gonzalez. They justify it by the concern not to penalize these ranges of products while part of the competition has not yet entered into this process, but also by the desire not to make the French with low purchasing power feel guilty, who sometimes have no other choice but to switch to these D or E products. “
Soon the pork sector
This animal welfare label is therefore content for the moment to promote products from virtuous breeding on this issue. Already not so bad? “Of the 731 million chickens raised and slaughtered each year in France, 12% are now labeled, which still represents a significant volume,” recalls Agathe Gignoux. The objective is to reach 25% by 2025. It is also to ensure that this label is better known to consumers. In a YouGov survey from last June, 29% of those surveyed * already said they take it into account when doing their run.
Above all, the Etiquette animal welfare association does not intend to stop at broilers. Work has been underway for a year and a half to build a new technical benchmark, this time in the pig industry, in which 95% of the animals are reared in intensive systems. Around the table, there is in particular the Cooperl (first French pig cooperative) as well as the Herta and Fleury Michon brands, all of which joined the association in 2021. “The development of evaluation criteria is the most complicated stage,” assures Agathe Gignoux. But we hope to complete it by the end of the year, for first applications from 2022 ”.
* 1,001 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over