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Nearly three-quarters of those are made at home and eaten for lunch, taken to work or brought on a picnic. There are so many delicious fillings to choose from and it’s easy to overlook animal welfare considerations when deciding what to make for lunch.
2 What should I buy?
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Since the first packaged sandwich was sold in 1980, we have become a nation of sandwich lovers, and eat more than 11 billion a year in the UK.
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Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
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3 Where can I buy it from? 4 What do the logos mean? 5 Why does all this matter?
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DID YOU KN
The UK places cost as the most important factor when choosing a sandwich. Although half of shoppers (51 per cent) in England and Wales actively seek higher welfare meat when doing a normal shop, this desire to buy welfarefriendly produce drops to about one in 10 (11 per cent) when shopping for lunch. [see page 9 for source]
This Fairer Fillings guide makes it easier, with our top tips on what labels to look for, where to buy your ingredients and why it all matters. You’ll also find some ideas for delicious summer sandwiches, and inspiration for picnic and barbeque menus that help you feed friends and family while still caring about animal welfare.
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Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
What should I buy? Confused about what to put in your sandwich for a tasty but welfare-friendly meal? Follow our guide on what to buy.
Chicken When buying chicken look for the Freedom Food logo, free-range and organic labels. These are all higher welfare options for chicken.
Eggs
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Around one in five* people start thinking about what to have for lunch the day before! *[see page 9 for source]
Some supermarkets have their own higher welfare brands for indoor reared chicken such as the Cooperatives British Elmwood Chicken, Marks & Spencer’s Oakham Chicken, and Waitrose Select Farm Chicken. Although they are reared to higher welfare standards compared to standard chicken (e.g. chickens labelled with the red tractor logo only), they don’t meet all requirements of the RSPCA standards used in the Freedom Food scheme, so Freedom Food should always be your first choice.
When buying eggs or products containing eggs, look out for the labels free-range, barn, organic or Freedom Food. Freedom Food labelled products are produced by animals on farms inspected to RSPCA welfare standards. If these labels are not there, the eggs are likely to be from hens in cages. A barn system allows hens to roam freely inside uncaged, have perches to roost on and space to stretch their wings. Nest boxes provide a quiet place for egg-laying and there is litter for scratching and dust bathing in. A freerange system is similar to the barn system with the same facilities but with the addition of access to the outdoors. For more information on eggs and laying hens check out: www.rspca.org.uk/eggs
For more information on chicken welfare check out: www.rspca.org.uk/chickens 2
Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
What should I buy? Pork
Fish
Ham and bacon are tasty sandwich fillers, but make sure the pork product you buy is labelled with the Freedom Food logo, which ensures that the pigs are born and reared on farms inspected to RSPCA welfare standards. If you can’t see that logo, look for terms such as free-range, outdoor-reared or outdoorbred.
Always look for the Freedom Food logo when buying farmed salmon. It means that the salmon has been farmed in a way that meets RSPCA welfare standards, such as having a suitable space to swim in, and that the water conforms to stringent water quality requirements. There are other logos that cover environmental impact, however the Freedom Food logo is the only one dedicated to animal welfare.
• Free-range: kept outdoors in fields with bedded huts for shelter.
• Outdoor reared: born outside in fields, have outdoor access for about half their lives, then transferred to indoor accommodation.
SHOPPING CHECKLIST CHICKEN Look for Freedom Food, free-range or organic.
PORK Look for Freedom Food, free-range, outdoor reared or outdoor bred.
SALMON Look for Freedom Food.
• Outdoor bred: born outside,
EGGS
transferred to indoor accommodation at weaning.
Look for free-range, barn or organic.
Visit www.rspca.org.uk/thinkpig for more information on pigs.
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Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
Where to buy? Which retailers stock higher welfare lunch ingredients? Thanks to so many more shoppers demanding higher welfare meat, most of the ma jor supermarkets stock a good range of Freedom Food and other higher welfare options. The table shows where you can buy Freedom Food to make delicious sandwiches, tasty barbeques and lunchtime snacks for picnics.
As the availability of Freedom Food frequently changes visit www.freedomfood.co.uk/ wheretobuy for the most upto-date information.
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Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
Where to buy? Where can I buy higher welfare ready made sandwiches?
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In a YouGov survey commissioned by the RSPCA, 74 per cent of respondents who make sandwiches at home stated it was to save money*. *[see page 9 for source]
If you’re on the go and fancy picking up a sandwich, the Co-op and Sainsbury’s both sell Freedom Food approved sandwiches. Just look for the label on the sandwich packet. The following high street shops use free-range eggs in all their own brand sandwiches:
Where else can I shop? Supermarkets aren’t the only places where you can buy meat, fish and eggs for lunchtime meals. Butchers and farmer’s markets stock Freedom Food too. In fact, buying food produced locally means that you may be able to find out more about the farm it came from and how the animals were reared. Don’t be afraid to ask where the meat, fish and eggs have been sourced from and whether or not it conforms to higher welfare standards. You can even buy your meat and eggs online direct from the farm and get it delivered to your door in time for your picnic or barbeque plans. This will give you more time to make your marinade, set out the garden, pack your picnic hamper and dig out the sunscreen for your summertime lunch.
• Pret • Subway • Starbucks • M&S • Waitrose.
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Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
What do the logos mean? It can be confusing trying to choose higher welfare products in the supermarket, where there are so many nutrition labels and marketing messages already on packaging. We’ve put together a short guide on what the different logos actually mean for animal welfare.
Soil Association
The Freedom Food logo
The Soil Association logo is an organic production scheme. It means that the animal will have had access to the outdoors for a proportion of its life and is produced to Soil Association standards, which include animal welfare and environmental factors.
means that animals are inspected to the RSPCA’s strict welfare standards that cover all aspects and stages of life. An independent scheme, it aims to improve the lives of as many farm animals as possible, whether they are kept indoors or outdoors. It is a non-profit making charity.
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The more you know, the more informed decisions you can make. If more people buy higher welfare products, supermarkets will have no choice but to stock them and more and more producers will raise their standards as a result. If your supermarket doesn’t have food with the Freedom Food logo, how about contacting them to ask why not?
Freedom Food Logo
Red Tractor Logo
Marine Stewardship Council
The Red Tractor logo shows that meat has been produced in the UK and meets health and safety standards. Not primarily a welfare scheme, its welfare standards for some species often simply reflect the UK minimum legal level with few additional requirements.
The Marine Stewardship Council is an independent organisation that has developed international standards for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. It covers marine fish, rather than farmed fish and does not include any welfare requirements.
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Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
Why does higher welfare matter? Chickens The key issues that affect chicken welfare
Pigs The key issues affecting pig welfare
Growth rate: Chickens can grow so
Sow stalls: Pregnant female pigs (sows) are restricted to small pens in which they can take no more than a couple of steps, and can’t turn around. They are equivalent to, or worse than, battery cages for egg laying hens.
fast that this can result in many serious welfare problems, such as lameness.
Space: : Chickens can be allocated less space than an A4 piece of paper per bird. Even less space than that allocated to a battery hen!
Lighting: Chickens can be kept in nearconstant artificial lighting to increase food intake. This maximises growth rate and can contribute to the health problems mentioned above. They may not be provided with natural light.
Environment: Lack of opportunities to express natural behaviours such as perching, ground pecking and foraging can lead to a lack of activity and therefore health problems such as lameness, and foot pad burn.
Farrowing crates: Sows are placed in
Freedom Food... • uses slower growing breeds • allows greater space per chicken, meaning they have more space to run around and behave as chickens should • provides chickens with natural light and a longer continuous dark period, encouraging them to be more active during the day, but also allowing a good period for them to rest at night • provides perches, pecking objects and straw bales for a more enriched environment.
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small, narrow pens before, during and for around a month after giving birth. They’re designed to protect piglets from being crushed by their mothers, but place severe restriction on the sows’ movement and behaviour.
Rooting materials and bedding: Pigs are often housed on barren concrete or slatted floors with little to occupy them and nowhere comfortable to lie, leading to frustration, boredom, and health and behavioural problems.
Tail docking, teeth clipping and castration without anaesthetic: Piglets can be subjected to practices such as tail docking, castration and teeth clipping all without anaesthetic.
Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
Why does higher welfare matter? Laying Hens The key issues that affect hen welfare Space: They are one of the few types of farm animal in the UK that on some farms, are still kept in close confinement cages for all of their productive lives.
Behaviour: Hens are naturally
Freedom Food... • does not allow the use of conventional farrowing crate systems • does not allow the use of sow stalls (they are banned in the UK but still legal in the EU)
inquisitive animals, with a strong desire to perch, exercise, preen themselves, dustbathe, forage and nest. If they are confined to cages they may not be able to practice these natural behaviours and become distressed.
• provides rooting material such as straw and bedding to ensure pigs can express Freedom Food... their natural behaviours and lie down • barns allow the hens to roam freely comfortably inside uncaged, have perches to roost • only allows tail docking and teeth on and space to stretch their wings clipping if there is a valid welfare reason • provide nest boxes for a quiet place for supported by a vet egg-laying with litter for scratching in • surgical castration is not allowed. 8
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DID YOU KN
The South and the East are the most ethically conscious regions in the country when it comes to buying higher welfare lunches, with one in six* (17 per cent) of shoppers in these regions stating they actively seek Freedom Food, free-range or organic products for their lunches*. *[see page 9 for source].
• free-range systems are similar to the barn system with the same facilities but with the addition of access to the outdoors • only approves farms rearing their hens to the RSPCA welfare standards where cages are prohibited.
Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
Does your sandwich contain a Fairer Filling?
Want to get involved with our campaign? Visit www.rspca.org.uk/fairerfillings to learn more about the RSPCA Fairer Fillings campaign. Salmon Raising awareness of fish welfare It’s commonly known that standards for farmed animals can vary, but many people don’t realise this also applies to farmed fish.
Do you want to give animals a voice? If so joint the RSPCA’s online campaign network at www.giveanimalsavoice.org.uk Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Wilberforce Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 9RS Telephone: 0300 1234 555 www.rspca.org.uk
What are the issues? If fish don’t have enough space to swim, the water quality can be poor, resulting in a less than ideal living environment for the fish.
A charity registered in England and Wales, no: 219099 Booklet design and illustration by Mind Orchard
Freedom Food... • have fewer fish per enclosure • have a large area for them to swim in • have high water quality standards and therefore a better living environment
'DID YOU TS' KNOW FAC
‘*Did you know’ source: 2097 GB adults age 18+ took part in an RSPCA survey conducted through YouGov, between 21st - 26th April 2011. Results were weighted in order to be nationally representative.
• are protected by stringent regulations throughout from farm to fork. 9
