Livestock welfare product claims: the emerging social context.

An increasing number of product claims about food animal welfare or well-being have appeared in the global food industry and global market in recent years. These claims have significant consequences for producers, processors, transporters, retailers, consumers, and the animals themselves. Furthermore, recent restructuring of the global food industry has altered the power relationships of various actors. Regulation of the industry is moving toward greater private control, and the power of retailers has dramatically increased. The changing structure of the industry carries implications both in terms of how standards are created and in terms of the types of standards themselves. The purpose of this article is to provide a greater understanding of how these product claims are made, their implications, and the challenges they present.

[1]  F. Carlsson,et al.  Farm Animal Welfare—Testing for Market Failure , 2007, Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

[2]  P. Lammers,et al.  The United States pork niche market phenomenon. , 2006, Journal of animal science.

[3]  L. Busch,et al.  Agricultural standards : the shape of the global food and fiber system , 2006 .

[4]  E. Valceschini,et al.  New institutions for governing the agri-food industry , 2005 .

[5]  Jeffrey Rushen,et al.  Can we measure human-animal interactions in on-farm animal welfare assessment? Some unresolved issues , 2005 .

[6]  Carmen Bain,et al.  Third-party certification in the global agrifood system , 2005 .

[7]  E. Pajor.  Sow housing: science, behavior, and values. , 2005, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[8]  D. Nierenberg,et al.  Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry. , 2005 .

[9]  J. Swinnen,et al.  The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Central and Eastern Europe: Implications for the Agrifood Sector and Rural Development , 2004 .

[10]  C. Barrett,et al.  The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America , 2003 .

[11]  S. B. Christiansen,et al.  Farm Animal Welfare: The Interaction of Ethical Questions and Animal Welfare Science , 2003, Animal Welfare.

[12]  R. Geers,et al.  Measuring and Monitoring Animal Welfare: Transparency in the Food Product Quality Chain , 2003, Animal Welfare.

[13]  T. Reardon,et al.  The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa: Implications for Agrifood Systems and the Rural Poor , 2003 .

[14]  P. Thompson.  Value Judgments and Risk Comparisons. The Case of Genetically Engineered Crops , 2003, Plant Physiology.

[15]  J. Mench.  Assessing animal welfare at the farm and group level: a United States perspective , 2003 .

[16]  D. Fraser.  Assessing Animal Welfare at the Farm and Group Level: The Interplay of Science and Values , 2003, Animal Welfare.

[17]  J. Bureau,et al.  Potential Implications of Animal Welfare Concerns and Public Policies in Industrialized Countries for International Trade , 2002 .

[18]  J. V. Stone.  Seeking participatory equity through ethnographic inquiry , 2001 .

[19]  P. Thompson.  Animal Welfare and Livestock Production in a Postindustrial Milieu , 2001 .

[20]  G. Regula,et al.  Using a Herd Health Monitoring System in the Assessment of Welfare , 2001 .

[21]  Josef Troxler,et al.  Skin Lesions and Callosities in Group-Housed Pregnant Sows: Animal-Related Welfare Indicators , 2001 .

[22]  E. Pajor,et al.  Changes in Animal Welfare Needed to Maintain Social Sustainability , 2001 .

[23]  Lawrence Busch,et al.  The moral economy of grades and standards , 2000 .

[24]  P. Thompson.  Grades and standards in the context of international trade : Some ethical considerations , 2000, Cahiers d'Economie et sociologie rurales.

[25]  P. Thompson,et al.  From a philosopher's perspective, how should animal scientists meet the challenge of contentious issues? , 1999, Journal of animal science.

[26]  P. Thompson,et al.  Use of competing conceptions of risk in animal agriculture. , 1998, Journal of animal science.

[27]  Keiko Tanaka,et al.  Rites of Passage: Constructing Quality in a Commodity Subsector , 1996 .