Document type: reply to question no. 2243 published in the Journal officiel de la République française
Authors: question: Mr Mickaël Bouloux (Ille-et-Vilaine (8th District) - Socialistes et apparentés). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.
Question: Mr. Mickaël Bouloux draws the attention of the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry to the need to take animal welfare into account in the marketing of food products of animal origin. Despite the promulgation of the law on the transparency of information on agricultural and food products of June 10, 2020, which makes it compulsory to provide consumers with information on the provenance of the products they consume, the issue of animal welfare, and in particular the conditions under which animals are reared and slaughtered, remain a secondary concern. It might therefore be appropriate to consider the introduction of an animal welfare indicator for all food products of animal origin, similar to that used for eggs. While the government has repeatedly stated that it considers animal welfare to be a priority, he would like to know how it intends to improve the information provided to consumers on the welfare of farmed animals intended for consumption, whether in raw or processed form.
Answer: For several years now, the Government has working to support animal welfare, in response to a strong and legitimate social demand, and it condemns all acts of animal abuse, whether in livestock farming, abattoirs or in the home. In the livestock sector, farmers are the first to come into contact with animals, and are the key actors in their welfare. The Government is aware of French consumers' expectations regarding the origins of the products they consume. In this respect, packaging labels, or shelf labelling for non-pre-packaged products, are a particularly important means to provide information on product origins and farming conditions. To date, France has favored a voluntary approach to animal welfare labelling, enabling producers who wish to do so to highlight practices that go beyond simple compliance with the European legislation. Moreover, any labelling must not diminish the value of compliance with European legislation on animal welfare, among the strictest in the world, in the case of imported products that might fail to meet this standard. What is more, while there is currently no specific animal welfare labelling, it is important to emphasize that some official quality and origin identification indicators or other labels may provide useful information. In particular, they can provide evidence of specified farming conditions. Sometimes, these may be clearly described, as in the case of "free-range eggs", but for the most part, this information lacks specificity. As part of the roadmap that came out of the "États généraux de l'alimentation", the French National Food Council was asked to look into the possibility of trialling labelling on livestock farming methods. This could result in a label similar to that already in place for eggs, but for all animal production sectors. This trial will enable us to determine the conditions under which such labelling could be implemented, providing consumers with better information. In addition, the French Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety Agency (Anses), which is aware of the numerous private initiatives in the field of animal welfare standards for animal production, has commissioned its own expert services to produce guidelines, based on a collective scientific expertise, that would ensure both the appropriateness of labelling standards with regard to animal welfare and harmonization between the various standards. In addition to the Anses, the French national research institute for agriculture, food and the environment, the national veterinary schools and the French research institute for marine fisheries contributed to this expert appraisal. In this context, the Government has taken due note of the work carried out by the Anses on the implementation of farm animal welfare labelling. More generally, it should be noted that the services of the Ministry of Agriculture remain fully committed to the protection of farm animals during transport, as well as to their welfare needs in abattoirs.
