Pigs on a factory farm. Photo: Depositphotos.com

The meat label Beter Leven (better lives) is misleading consumers and needs a complete overhaul, several animal rights groups have told the AD newspaper. 

The label, which consists of one, two or three stars, was developed by animal protection group Dierenbescherming but does little more “than make meat eaters feel better about themselves”, the paper said after an investigation.  

Animals producing one-star meat are supposed to have a little more room and things to do than those on unregulated factory farms. Two star animals can go outside and three star are either organic or kept in an animal-centric system. 

But, according to Niko Koffeman, chairman of wildlife protection group Faunabescherming, the system rests on ‘marginal welfare improvements” and wrongly gives the impression the meat is raised in an animal-friendly setting. 

In reality, the animals are “locked in, exploited and slaughtered in a most gruesome manner,” he said. 

Campaign group Animal Heroes said the label is, however, leading to a change in mentality. “As long as people eat meat we should cherish every improvement, no matter how small,” spokeswoman Mony de Roos told the paper.

Varkens in Nood (pigs in need) said it did not want to stop use of the label either but expressed major doubts about the “one star” system. “When it comes to pigs, it is pretty standard in factory farming. Tails are still burnt off, sows are confined to cages. That is nothing to do with a quality label.” 

Militant campaign group Animal Rights, however, says people use the labeling system as an excuse to continue eating meat and dairy. The label’s inventor Dierenbescherming is on the wrong side of the debate, the organisation says. “They have become part of the livestock industry and that conflicts with the interest of animals. They only protect dogs and cats.”

Dierenbescherming told the paper it had no intention of stopping with the label but that it is assessing what improvements could be made to the criteria for inclusion. “Questioning the label is protecting the mainstream livestock industry,” the organisation said. “They can happily go on their way producing mainstream, animal-unfriendly meat.”

The label has been often criticised since it was introduced in 2007 and in 2021 the advertising standards authority ordered a radio advert by Dierenbescherming to promote “three star beef” off air for being misleading.

Recent research by national statistics agency CBS showed that just 5% of the population eat no meat but the number of people eating vegetarian meals regularly has gone up. One in four meals on Dutch dinner tables is now meat free. 

Regards Mark

Animal rights groups slam “better life” meat label – DutchNews.nl

11 March 2024

GAIA

Je veaux de l’amour – le triste sort des veaux issus de l’industrie laitière on Vimeo

In the dairy industry, cows are repeatedly inseminated to stay pregnant in order to produce milk. Their calves are considered by-products, and are taken from their mothers to be reared in lonely environments. Each year, over 300,000 calves are raised and slaughtered in Belgium.

GAIA’s campaign dives into the Belgian dairy industry, revealing how calves are badly treated, isolated, and reared in unhygienic and depressing conditions. 

Their video provides a glimpse of some of the biggest problems faced by calves:

• Taken from their mothers only a few hours after birth, causing intense emotional distress to both mother and child 
• Locked in tiny, individual pens for the first weeks of their lives, where they have barely any room to play, exercise, or interact with others 
• Transported to fattening sheds two weeks after being born, while their immune systems are still vulnerable 
• Fed unbalanced diets, causing sickness and digestive issues which then contributes to a filthy environment due to the amount of waste produced
• Slaughtered while they are still very young

Video Link:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/911155338?autoplay=0 A closer look at Belgium’s cruel treatment of calves

Though cows have a life expectancy of around twenty years, a huge number of calves in Belgium’s dairy sector are sent to slaughter when they are only between the ages of six to eight months, cutting their lives incredibly short. 

Some are killed in Belgium, while others are transported abroad to be fattened and slaughtered – but around 12% of them die even before they reach the slaughterhouse, exceeding the average mortality rate for all livestock combined (3 – 5%), according to GAIA. 

These deaths can be linked to the poor conditions in which they are reared and the physical and emotional stresses of being transported alive.

Looking to a brighter future for calves 

In Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, organic farmers let calves stay with their mothers, or “foster cows”, for much longer periods than those allowed in Belgian factory farms – sometimes several months.

Change could also be inspired in the industry if there was a widespread dietary shift across Europe, which would have numerous knock-on benefits for animals, people and the planet in Member States and beyond. 

GAIA’s campaign re-emphasises further the critical need for the European Commission to deliver the full revision to the animal welfare legislation. Current laws for animal welfare are vague, unenforceable and outdated, allowing for farming practices such as those explored above that cause countless sentient beings to suffer. We need species-specific laws in place for all sentient beings to ensure their welfare. 

The fate of the EU’s animals rests with its policy-makers… so it’s important that those elected to the European Commission this year care about their welfare! Tell your local candidates that you’ll be voting for those committed to animal protection here.

Regards Mark