As many of you will know, our charity was a partner in the Christian Ethics of Farmed Animal Welfare research project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. We visited many farms and some slaughter houses over the course of the project and the following charts are part of the Policy Framework for Churches and Christian Organisations document (Nov 2020). For a copy see http://www1.chester.ac.uk/cefaw.
I am galvanised to write this today having seen an advertising campaign promoting one particular ‘farm assurance scheme’. This particular scheme ranks lowest in all the schemes and is just above the minimum legal standards.
What consumers should be aiming for is the best available system and so the following information – in chart form- should help you see the differences between these schemes for the different forms of animal farming.
Ideally for the sake of one’s health, for reductions in animal suffering and for the sake of the planet, one should not be eating any animal products but that is for another discussion!
