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Farm Animal Welfare and Food Information for European Union Consumers: Harmonising the Regulatory Framework for More Policy Coherence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 January 2023

Alice Di Concetto Open the ORCID record for Alice Di Concetto [Opens in a new window]
Alice Di Concetto*
Affiliation:
European Institute for Animal Law & Policy, Brussels, Belgium; Sorbonne Law School (Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne), Paris, France; Sciences Po, Paris, France.
*
Email: alice.diconcetto@sciencespo.fr
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Abstract

Today, there are a dozen labelling schemes pertaining to farm animal welfare in at least seven Member States. Despite the proliferation of animal welfare labels, European Union rules on food information to consumers concerning the treatment of farmed animals used in animal-source food production remain fragmented and incomplete. On the one hand, the rules contained in agricultural regulations primarily aim to harmonise marketing standards, but only for some products. On the other hand, consumer protection rules aim to protect consumers from misleading commercial claims but not misleading claims about animal treatment specifically. After examining the situation that has led to the proliferation of animal welfare food labels in the European Union, this article analyses the animal welfare food labelling landscape and presents different regulatory pathways to best harmonise consumer information on farm animal welfare.

Keywords

agricultural lawanimal lawanimal welfarefood lawfood labelling
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2024 , pp. 122 - 136
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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10 See also: A Di Concetto and M Friant-Perrot, “Le bien-être animal et l’information des consommateurs” (2021) 651 Revue de l’Union européenne 481 (in French); R Espinosa, Comment sauver les animaux (Paris, Presses universitaires de France 2021) pp 245–55; S McCullen, Animals and the Economy (Berlin, Springer 2016) pp 63–82.

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21 Recital 6, Council Regulation 1099/2009 on the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing [2009] OJ L 303/2.

22 European Commission, supra, note 12, p 8.

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24 For example, the “animal welfare label” (étiquette bien-être animal) French retailer Casino developed in cooperation with a coalition of three French animal protection non-profits Compassion in World Farming France, l’Œuvre d’Assistance aux Bêtes d’Abattoirs (OABA), La Fondation Droit Animal Ethique et Sciences and Welfarm. “Etiquette bien-être animal” <https://www.etiquettebienetreanimal.fr/> (last accessed 2 October 2022).

25 Commission Regulation (EC) No 589/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards marketing standards for eggs [2008] OJ L 163. (Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation).

26 Art 12(2) and Annexes I and II, Eggs Marketing Standards [2008] OJ L163/6–23.

27 European Commission, Evaluation of Marketing Standards Contained in the CMO Regulation, the “Breakfast Directives” and CMO Secondary Legislation (2019) p 84.

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29 JJ Czarnezki and K Fiedler, “The Neoliberal Turn in Environmental Regulation” (2016) 2016 Utah Law Review 1.

30 ibid.

31 On animal welfare food labels as technical barriers to trade, see C Blattner, Protecting Animals Within and Across Borders: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and the Challenges of Globalisation (Oxford, Oxford University Press 2019) p 91.

32 Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council on organic production and labelling of organic products [2018] OJ L 150/ 1–92 (Organic Regulation).

33 Council Regulation (EC) No 1804/1999 supplementing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs to include livestock production [1999] OJ L 222/1.

34 ibid, Annex (I)(3) and (V).

35 ibid.

36 Art 3(a)(iv), Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, OJ L 189/6.

37 Annex III, Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products with regard to organic production, labelling and control, OJ L 250/38.

38 Case C-497/17, Œuvre d’Assistance aux Bêtes d’Abattoirs (OABA) v Ministre de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation inter alia (2019).

39 Arts 14(b)(viii) and 15(1)(b)(vi), Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) [2007] OJ L 189/1–23.

40 E Duval, “Le droit de l’Union relatif à l’agriculture biologique: la promotion d’un meilleur bien-être des animaux d’élevage?” in I Michallet (ed.), Bien-être et normes environnementales (Paris, Mare & Martin 2022) (in French).

41 The 2018 Organic Regulation included general provisions on fish, but the Organic Implementing Regulation did not include detailed standards as for other species.

42 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/464 laying down certain rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the documents needed for the retroactive recognition of periods for the purpose of conversion, the production of organic products and information to be provided by Member States [2020] OJ L 98/2–25.

43 Beter Leven, “Gelijkwaardige systemen” <https://beterleven.dierenbescherming.nl/zakelijk/over-het-keurmerk/gelijkwaardige-systemen> (last accessed 2 October 2022) (in Dutch); TierschutzLabel, “Mit dem Tierschutzlabel gegen Tierleid” <https://www.tierschutzlabel.info/verbraucher/> (last accessed 2 October 2022) (in German). See also R Bismuth et al, “La concurrence des normativités au cœur de la labellisation du bien-être animal” (2018) 2018(3) Revue International de droit économique 370–71 (in French).

44 V Delhomme, “Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling in the European Union: A Behavioural, Legal and Political Analysis” (2021) 12(4) European Journal of Risk Regulation 825–48.

45 C Roguet, “Les labels bien-être animal aux Pays-Bas, en Allemagne et au Denmark; analyse et enseignements” 17ème journée Productions porcines et avicoles (2017) pp 21–22 (in French).

46 See also Di Concetto and Friant-Perrot, supra, note 10.

47 Art 12, Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L 163/6–23.

48 Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L 163/6–23.

49 Art 2, Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L 163/10.

50 Art 12(2) and Annexes I and II, Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L163/6–23.

51 Art 30(3), Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L163/16. In practice, most shell eggs sold in the EU are produced in the EU.

52 Art 2, Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L163/10 and Annex VII (VI)(II)(3), Regulation 13/08/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products, OJ L 347/818.

53 Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products [2013] OJ L. 347/671–854.

54 In 2006, only 23% of the commercial egg-laying hen population was kept in alternative systems compared to 49.5% in 2019: European Commission, supra, note 27, p 80; European Commission, Eggs Market Situation Dashboard <https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/food-farming-fisheries/farming/documents/eggs-dashboard_en.pdf> (last accessed 8 January 2023).

55 European Commission, supra, note 27, p 81.

56 ibid, p 84.

57 European Commission, supra, note 28, p 150.

58 ibid, pp 59 and 78.

59 In France, the coalition led by Compassion in World Farming gathers three other French animal protection nonprofits (Œuvre d”Assistance aux Bêtes d”Abattoirs (OABA), La Fondation Droit Animal Ethique et Sciences and Welfarm) and French retailer Casino. Other retailers subsequently joined the initiative. For more on this label, see “Etiquette bien-être animal” <https://www.etiquettebienetreanimal.fr/> (last accessed 2 October 2022). In Italy, Compassion in World Farming partnered with the environmental non-profit Legambiente. For more on this label, see F Southey, “New Animal Welfare Label Proposed for Dairy Products in Italy” (FoodNavigator.com, 6 April 2021) <https://www.foodnavigator.com/Art./2021/04/06/New-animal-welfare-label-proposed-for-dairy-products-in-Italy> (last accessed 2 October 2022).

60 “Etiquette bien-être animal” <https://www.etiquettebienetreanimal.fr/> (last accessed 2 October 2022).

61 “Haltungsform” <https://www.haltungsform.de/ueber-uns> (last accessed 3 October 2022).

62 Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Bundesinisterium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft), “Entwurf für Tierhaltungskennzeichnungsgesetz vom Kabinett beschlossen” <https://www.bmel.de/DE/themen/tiere/tierschutz/tierhaltungskennzeichnung/tierhaltungskennzeichnung.html> (last accessed 23 October 2022) (in German).

63 ibid.

64 Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Bundesinisterium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft), Key Component on the Path towards Future-Proof Animal Husbandry (September 2022) p 3 <https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/_Animals/key-points-animal-husbandry.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=6> (last accessed 8 January 2023).

65 See also Di Concetto and Friant-Perrot, supra, note 10.

66 Art 114, TFEU.

67 Art 43, TFEU.

68 Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs [2012] OJ L 343, 1–29 (Quality Schemes Regulation).

69 See supra, Section II.1.

70 Art 5(j), Organic Regulation [2018] OJ L 150/23.

71 Annex II, Point 1.7.9, Part II, Organic Regulation [2018] OJ L 150/66.

72 Duval, supra, note 40.

73 Annex II, Point 1.7.6, Part II, Organic Regulation [2018] OJ L 150/66.

74 Annex II, Point 1.7.1, Part II, Organic Regulation [2018] OJ L 150/65.

75 Case C-497/17, Œuvre d’Assistance aux Bêtes d’Abattoirs (OABA) v Ministre de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation inter alia (2019).

76 Annex II, Point 1.7.7, Part II, Organic Regulation [2018] OJ L 150/66.

77 Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare on a request from the Commission related to the welfare aspects of the main systems of stunning and killing the main commercial species of animals, The EFSA Journal (2004); Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare on a request from the Commission related to the welfare aspects of the main systems of stunning and killing applied to commercially farmed deer, goats, rabbits, ostriches, ducks, geese and quail, The EFSA Journal (2006).

78 Recital 23, Quality Schemes Regulation [2012] OJ L 343/3.

79 Art 7, Quality Schemes Regulation [2012] OJ L 343/9.

80 Essere Animali, “Seconda Indagine Shock in un Allevamento di Mucche da Latte” <https://www.essereanimali.org/seconda-indagine-shock-allevamento-mucche-da-latte/> (last accessed October 4 2022).

81 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/464 laying down certain rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the documents needed for the retroactive recognition of periods for the purpose of conversion, the production of organic products and information to be provided by Member States, C/2020/1772, OJ L 98, 31.3.2020, pp 2–25.

82 Alternatively, these changes could come by way of legal challenges before the European Court of Justice, as in Case C-497/17, Œuvre d’Assistance aux Bêtes d’Abattoirs (OABA) v Ministre de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation inter alia (2019).

83 Quality Schemes Regulation [2012] OJ L 343/8.

84 Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers [2011] OJ L 304, pp 18–63 (FIC Regulation).

85 European Commission, supra, note 12, p 13.

86 ibid, p 9.

87 General Secretariat of the Council, “Conclusions on an EU-Wide Animal Welfare Label” (7 December 2020) <https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13691-2020-INIT/en/pdf> (last accessed 8 January 2023).

88 Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, EU Platform on Animal Welfare, “Conclusions of the Animal Welfare Labelling Subgroup of the EU Animal Welfare Platform” <https://food.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-06/aw_platform_plat-conc_awl-subgroup-conclusion.pdf> (last accessed 2 October 2022).

89 FIC Regulation [2011] OJ L 304/18–63.

90 ibid. Recital 1, FIC Regulation [2011] OJ L 304/18. For more on the FIC Regulation, see P Berryman, “The EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation” in P Berryman (ed.), Advances in Food and Beverage Labelling Information and Regulations (Amsterdam, Elsevier 2015) pp 3–13.

91 Art 7, FIC Regulation [2011] OJ L 304/27.

92 Recital 50, FIC Regulation [2011] OJ L 304/23.

93 Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on Nutrition and Health Claims Made on Foods, [2006] OJ L 404/9–25.

94 ibid. Art 1(2), [2006] OJ L 404/14.

95 European Commission, “Inception Impact Assessment – Revision of EU Animal Welfare Legislation” (July 2021) <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12950-Animal-welfare-revision-of-EU-legislation_en> (last accessed 23 October 2022).

96 Arts 39 and 43(2), TFEU.

97 Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products [2013] OJ L 347, 671–854.

98 See supra, Section III.3.

99 Council Agrifish, German Delegation, “Labelling of Foodstuffs Containing Eggs Regarding the Farming Method of Laying Hens” (16 April 2021) <https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/49299/aob-labelling-of-foodstuffs-containing-eggs-en_final.pdf> (last accessed 8 January 2023). Such a measure was also proposed by a Member of the French House of Representatives (Assemblée Nationale), Typhanie Degois, in 2019. Amendment proposal available online at <https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/15/amendements/2441/AN/64> (last accessed 8 January 2023).

100 Commission Regulation (EC) No 543/2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards the marketing standards for poultrymeat [2008] OJ L 157/46–87 (Poultrymeat Marketing Standards Regulation).

101 Art 11, Poultrymeat Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L 157/53.

102 Annex V, Poultrymeat Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L 157/71.

103 Art 12(2) and Annexes I and II, Eggs Marketing Standards Regulation [2008] OJ L 163.

104 Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products [2013] OJ L 354/1–21.

105 ibid. Art 35(1).

106 Annex VIII, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products [2013] OJ L 347/814–15.

107 Commission Regulation (EC) No 566/2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 as regards the marketing of the meat of bovine animals aged 12 months or less, OJ L 160/22–25.

108 90%, 95% and 95% of sows are kept in cages for almost half their lives in France, Spain and Germany, respectively: Compassion in World Farming, “End the Cage Age: Why the EU Must Stop Caging Farm Animals” (2020) <https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/7434596/end-the-cage-age-why-the-eu-must-stop-caging-farm-animals.pdf> (last accessed 8 January 2023).

109 99%, 98.5% and 95% of piglets undergo tail docking in France, Spain and Germany, respectively: European Commission (DG SANTE), Audits on Measures to Prevent Tail Biting and Avoid Tail-Docking of Pigs in Spain (2017), France (2019), and Germany (2018).

110 European Commission, supra, note 27, p 80.

111 Including support programmes under the Common Agricultural Policy’s rural development measures.