Fairtrade

  • While global trade traditionally exploits and maltreats workers, especially those already in difficult conditions, Fairtrade is an organisation working, as it says on the tin, to make worldwide trade fair.
  • A Fairtrade label on food means that farmers’ have decent working conditions and the prices they receive for produce are fair.
  • The organisation aims to make the practices under their power environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Free Range

  • Basically, free range animals must have access to outside space for most of their lives, and not be too cramped.
  • However, this ranges largely, and doesn’t always guarantee a good quality of life for animals (hens, for example, can be in small flocks, organically fed, outside all the time, or still be confined in a large flocks, with a maximum of 9 hens per square metre inside, confined for a lot of the time.).
  • Pigs should have ‘permanent access to pasture’, and for cows and sheep is it good to look for ‘grass-fed’, as they spend most of the time outside regardless.
  • The Lion Mark ensures that eggs meets minimum safety criteria, and the Red Tractor ensures that food is produced in the UK, to slightly higher standards than the Lion Mark but not necessarily to good animal welfare standards.
  • Read further: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2017/feb/28/what-does-free-range-actually-mean-its-complicated

Organic

  • Avoids the use of man-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators, antibiotics and livestock feed additives, GMOs (Taken from DEFRA).
  • All organic food is also free range, but not all free range is organic.
  • A food can just say ‘organic’ on the packet, but the ‘soil association’ label is a given to organic foods held to a specific standard of ethics; it is an extra assurance of sustainability and decent animal welfare.

RSPCA assured

  • The RSPCA inspects animal welfare, from their health and diet to environment and care: they are highly regarded, and their label on a product should guarantee that animals are treated well to whatever extent that is possible in farming for human benefit.
  • Standards include, for example: space, light, bedding, transport, humane slaughter.
  • ‘Free range’ usually conforms to standards set by the RSPCA.
  • Read further: https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/about-us/how-rspca-assured-works/

Vegan

  • Food with this label contains no products taken from animals (meat, eggs, milk etc), only plants.

MSC (fish)

  • Over-fishing has become a big problem for our eco-system, exploiting species and depleting the levels present in the ocean, which has a knock-on negative effect on other species.
  • The Marine Stewardship Council aims to make fishing sustainable through three main principles
    • Sustainable fish stocks – basically, making sure there is maintained high levels of numbers, productivity and health; prevent over-fishing.
    • Minimising environmental impact – other species and the habitats lived in remain relatively unharmed.
    • Effective fisheries management – MSC certified fisheries must comply with their sustainability standards, and be able to adapt to environmental change.