AR-News: (UK) What's in a label?

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

NEWS.scotsman.com

FARM-ASSURED 

The Little Red Tractor logo is the sign of a voluntary quality assurance 
scheme developed by the National Farmers Union and now run by Assured Food 
Standards. It was launched in 2000 to help restore public confidence in the farming 
industry after a series of food scares. The scheme is an umbrella term which 
unites a variety of quality assurance schemes developed for specific branches of 
farming with a set of common minimum standards. There are additional 
standards for abbatoirs, processing units and hauliers. The scheme now covers between 
65 per cent and 90 per cent of output in the main commodities. The Red Tractor 
symbol claims to be evidence that farmers "are practising high standards of 
animal welfare, food safety and environmental practices". However, an 
investigation carried out by animal rights organisation Compassion in World Farming 
(CIWF) claims that the Little Red Tractor logo "offers few assurances that 
animals are treated any better than the bare minimum legal guidelines". Under the 
scheme, practises such as the intensive rearing of broiler chickens, the use of 
narrow farrowing crates for breeding pigs, the use of battery cages for laying 
hens and animal mutations such as the debeaking of chickens and the tail 
docking of pigs are still permitted. CIWF claims that the Red Tractor scheme is 
"more concerned with creating the image of welfare rather than the reality". The 
logo is also not a guarantee that the product is British. It can be used on 
produce which comes from other countries as long as the producers comply with 
the necessary standards. 

FREEDOM FOOD 

This farm-assurance scheme, administered by the RSPCA, was set up in 1994. 
Like the Red Tractor, it is a voluntary scheme which farms, hauliers and 
abbatoirs can apply to join, and covers eggs, meat and dairy products. It implements 
RSPCA species-specific welfare standards based on the "five freedoms" defined 
by the Farm Animal Welfare Council: freedom from fear and distress; freedom 
from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and 
disease; freedom to express normal behaviour. Businesses are admitted to the 
scheme only when an approved assessor has carried out a detailed audit. Spot 
checks are also carried out. Before the logo can be applied, all stages of a food’
s production, eg farm, haulier and abattoir, must be accredited. However, the 
Freedom Food logo does not mean that the food is free-range. The RSPCA will 
accredit indoor systems of animal rearing provided the animal has plenty of 
room to move around and good access to food and water. 

VEGETARIAN 



full story:

http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=438522004 

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"True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to fore only 
when its recipient has no power. Mankind's true moral test, its fundamental test 
(which lies deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those 
who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect mankind has suffered a 
fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it." 

Milo Kundera 
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