Animal Welfare Labelling

There are an increasing number of control, certification and labelling schemes that aim to provide information on animal welfare implemented by public authorities, private actors and combinations of these. The information related to the welfare status of animals generated by these schemes and controls takes different forms depending on the intended use. Five broad groups of information demand may be distinguished (Blokhuis, 2018; Miele and Lever, 2013, Miele and Evans, 2017):

1. To inform society about the welfare status of farm animals.
2. To give food retailers/restaurants the opportunity to brand products or their corporate identity and provide an important tool for market segmentation and for creating opportunities for gaining a premium price.
3. To allow consumers to purchase products from animals with assured welfare.
4. To provide farmers and other chain actors (transporters, slaughterhouses) with data to manage and improve animal welfare.
5. To regulate animal protection and to check compliance with legislation.

Information is often used for more than one purpose. But even when used for the same purpose, different measures are used and there is no internationally agreed mechanism for recognizing the equivalence of animal welfare schemes. This lack of standardization is confusing for consumers and complicates international trade. There is a clear need to further define the characteristics of measures in the context of the various purposes, to analyze and describe the advantages and limitations of schemes and labelling in general. 

Standards are being developed at the global, regional, and country levels. Thus, the European Commission is currently considering animal welfare labelling as part of a food labelling framework to empower consumers to make sustainable food choices, with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) developing international standards on animal welfare. 

Initiatives as well as global developments related to trade should be based on sound scientific evidence and knowledge. In depth single issue and multidisciplinary approaches are needed. 

This Research Topic aims to bring together contributions addressing the following themes:
- The role of standards in on-farm welfare management
- Welfare and productivity/economy/trade
- Perception of labels
- Willingness to pay
- How to standardize various labels
- Product brands and social media
- Animal welfare certification of suppliers and Retailers’ Corporate Social Responsibility 
- Governance of labelling

References:
Blokhuis, H.J. (2018). Animal Welfare information in a changing world. In: A. Butterworth (Ed.), Animal Welfare in a changing world. CABI, Wallingford, UK, 208-216.
Miele, M., Lever, J. (2013). Civilizing the market for welfare friendly products in Europe? The techno-ethics of the Welfare Quality® assessment. Geoforum, 48, pp. 63-72
Evans, A., Miele, M. (2017). Food labelling as a response to political consumption: Effects and contradictions (Book Chapter). Routledge Handbook on Consumption, pp. 191-203