Wise up about what you eat this Farm Animal Week

If it is news to you that the majority of the 860 million chickens reared for meat in the UK are slaughtered at around just five weeks, then you’re not alone.

Freedom Food believes that most people haven’t really got a clue when it comes to farm animals, and to tackle the issue the group is launching a campaign this Farm Animal Week (26 July – 1 August).

A new YouGov survey – carried out by RSPCA Freedom Food to mark its annual Farm Animal Week – revealed that just 16 per cent of people know most of the chickens farmed for Britain’s most popular meat are slaughtered at around 35 days old, with the majority (59 per cent) thinking they live for three months.

The survey also revealed that:
- 69 per cent of people didn’t know the average dairy cow produces 12,471 pints of milk a year (or 34 pints a day) – with the highest number (44%) thinking they produced less than half that amount, 5,341 pints a year.
- The majority (75 per cent) didn’t know that farmed male turkeys’ chests are so huge they are unable to mate naturally
- 61 per cent didn’t know that more than half (55 per cent) of egg laying hens are still kept in cruel battery cages

In response, this week Freedom Food is urging people to find out more about the lives of farm animals - and how to help improve their welfare - by logging onto new interactive pages at www.freedomfood.co.uk/farmanimalweek

Consumers are also being asked to put their welfare credentials to the test by discovering their unique Farm Animal Footprint. People can find out what they are doing well and not so well when it comes to the food they buy by visiting www.farmanimalwelfarefootprint.org.uk There are also useful tips and advice on how to become more farm animal welfare friendly.

Leigh Grant, chief executive of Freedom Food, said: “If people knew more about the lives of animals farmed for our food, I think they would care more about the food they buy.

“Many don’t realise the link between the labels they choose and how farm animals are looked after. But consumers really do have the power to change the way farm animals are reared simply by the food choices they make. The number of pigs reared to RSPCA welfare standards has increased by 26 per cent over the last two years, as a direct result of consumer demand,” he said.

“That means 400,000 more pigs having a better life under Freedom Food. And that’s why during Farm Animal Week we are asking everyone to switch one item in their shopping basket for a higher welfare alternative. If more people choose products like Freedom Food, more animals will be reared to higher welfare standards.”