Manitobans may soon be able to wheel their grocery carts around livestock farmers’ most controversial production practices.
Those who shudder at the thought of sows in crates or hens in cages will be able to buy meat stamped with the seal of approval from the Winnipeg Humane Society.
The animal welfare group is working on a certification and labeling program for livestock raised according to as-yet-undefined humane standards.
The meat and eggs would likely cost more to reflect extra production costs.
John Youngman, a director of the society, said the program would “harness the power of the caring consumer” in aid of the group’s campaign against farm practices like gestation crates and battery cages.
Read Also
A warm start for fall weather
After a cooler than average July, August saw a reversal with all the main reporting stations reporting above average temperatures.
“The humane society likes the idea of labeling because it’s a positive thing as opposed to a negative thing,” Youngman said.
“It gives consumers a choice.”
The group wants to model the program after the Freedom Food label used in the United Kingdom. The Freedom Food program sees meat from 18 million animals per year and 60 million eggs per month sell through 5,000 grocery stores.
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is set to launch a similar program this spring to label and promote eggs from non-caged laying hens.
The Winnipeg Humane Society started working on a proposal last year with the Organic Producers of Manitoba because that group already has an established, credible inspection system. Organic inspectors could add humane society requirements to their checklists.
Youngman said many organic livestock producers already take a “more humane” approach to raising livestock. Certified organic livestock producers do not use sow crates or battery cages, he said. In Europe, animal welfare issues are front and centre in public concerns.
“In Canada, humane farming is not really a big issue,” said Youngman, but he said interest here is
increasing.
In May, the normally conservative Canadian Federation of Humane Societies gave its support in principle to the concept of humane labeling, said Youngman, who called the gesture significant.
The Winnipeg Humane Society received an avalanche of letters this spring about a newsletter article on gestation crates, he said.
And Vicki Burns, executive director of the society, said she regularly takes calls from people looking for free-range meat.
“We have no doubts there is a market out there,” she said, adding the society has 16,000 members who support its work.
“I don’t for one minute believe all these people are vegetarians.”
Livestock producers who want to be around for the long term should pay heed. The more the public learns about how farm animals are raised, the more concerns they will have, said Burns.
Robert Guilford, an organic producer from Clearwater, Man., said he thinks a humane label would spur consumers to “get more connected” with the food they eat.
There aren’t many organic livestock farmers in the province, he said, because markets aren’t yet big enough.
The labeling program could pave inroads into restaurants and other new, large markets, he said.
But Guilford acknowledged some farmers won’t welcome the idea of animal welfare activists visiting farms to determine standards for the program.
“There’s a lot of perceptions about the Winnipeg Humane Society,” he said. “I’m sure there’s going to be some people who are kind of nervous about it.”
