Özdemir introduces labeling: An animal welfare label with five levels

The introduction of an animal welfare label has been discussed for years, now Minister of Agriculture Özdemir has presented key points. The information on animal husbandry should be mandatory on food.

Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) has presented a five-stage state label for animal welfare labeling on food. The husbandry levels stall, stall+space, fresh air stall, run/outdoor and organic are to be introduced as an extra category, as Özdemir said in Berlin.

The obligation will initially apply to pork, but other animal species will be added later. The mandatory state labeling of husbandry is a “central building block of future-proof agricultural animal husbandry,” said the minister.

More transparency in animal husbandry

Many consumers “want to know how the animals whose meat they buy at the counter or in the supermarket lived,” Özdemir continued. “With the mandatory state animal husbandry labeling, we are now creating the transparency that has been overdue for years.”

The next step is to vote on the draft law in the federal government and then forward it to the states and associations for their comments. The Federal Cabinet then approves the draft and forwards it to the EU. The parliamentary procedure in the Bundesrat and Bundestag will start in autumn.