This week the National Party announced a crackdown on food-labelling of non-animal meats and milks. Animal Justice has come out in support of the National Party push.

 

 

We support the National Party's calls for better labelling. We wouldn't want someone to accidentally pick up the flesh or secretions of a tortured animal by accident when there are healthier, environmentally friendly alternatives that no one had to die for. Maybe the compassionate alternative should be clearly labelled as such.

 

Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie has said we need to "call things for what they are", and I couldn’t agree more. We should label cow’s milk as breast milk, we should label pork as pig flesh and perhaps we should also include photos of the living conditions for these animals too. Consumers have a right to know that chickens are imprisoned in cages without the space to move in the egg industry, meat chickens are living in sheds filled with the build-up of faeces, and ducks are farmed without proper access to water. This is all very confronting, but if we are going to call things for what they are, then maybe it is time we really show consumers the truth behind the labels.