Canada’s Welfare Labels

Canadians who shop at Whole Foods Market will now be able to use an integrated animal-welfare rating system to determine the quality of facilities and practices of the farms that they are buying products from. The “Five-Step Animal Welfare Rating” classifies each meat product on a scale from one (orange) to five (green), with specific criteria laid out for each step of the animals’ upbringing and treatment. Currently, the labels only address broiler chickens, pigs, and beef cattle, but the chain also uses a “sustainability rating” for fish. The labels are already in use at many Whole Foods stores in the United States.