RSPCA: More farmers than ever switching to higher welfare methods

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Thursday, 04, Sep 2008 12:00

The RSPCA announced this week it has been flooded with applications from farmers and producers to join its Freedom Food accredited scheme, the highest number since the scheme began almost fifteen years ago.

The higher welfare market has been growing steadily for the last few years and high-profile campaigns from Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have propelled the issue even further into consumers’ priorities.

Now the RSPCA has reported that it has seen the largest number of applications from farms and producers to join the Freedom Food scheme since its inception. Totalling 115 in July alone, the RSPCA have seen a massive surge, with pig producers topping the list with 68 applications in just one month.

“The fact that we have seen such a dramatic uptake in the scheme is very encouraging. There is a very clear demand for higher welfare foods, both from retailers and consumers, and these findings also show that there is ample opportunity for continued growth within the market,” said John Akehurst, marketing controller of Freedom Food.

“This is great news for farm animal welfare and we hope the number of animals under Freedom Food will continue to leap forward as consumer demand rises and more farmers see the benefits inherent in adopting the scheme” he added.

Freedom Food is a farm assurance and food labelling scheme set up by the RSPCA in 1994 to improve farm animal welfare and to address growing consumer demand for higher welfare produce.

The Freedom Food label enables shoppers to recognise higher welfare products - products that come from animals reared on farms inspected to strict RSPCA welfare standards, with assured traceability from farm to fork. It is the only farm assurance scheme in the UK with improved welfare as its primary goal, and is completely independent from the food industry.

Notes to editors:

All Freedom Food members (farms, hauliers, processors, packers and abattoirs) receive annual assessments, and visits by RSPCA farm livestock officers to ensure standards are maintained.

Traceability checks are also carried out on Freedom Food labelled products from supermarket shelf back to farm - through processor, packer, abattoir and haulier - to ensure the product is correctly labelled.

RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 9RS

Press office direct lines: 0300 123 0244/0288 Fax: 0303 123 0099

Duty press officer (evenings and weekends) Tel 0870 0555500 and ask for pager number 828825

Email: press@rspca.org.uk Website: www.rspca.org.uk