Make Informed, Humane Choices at the Grocery Store with AWI’s Updated Food Label Guide
When you’re standing in the grocery store aisle faced with countless labels—“natural,” “free-range,” “pasture-raised,” “humanely certified”—it can be hard to know which ones actually reflect higher animal welfare standards and which are just marketing buzzwords.
To make compassionate shopping easier, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has released two updated resources:
A Consumer’s Guide to Food Labels and Animal Welfare – an in-depth, interactive online guide that breaks down common labels found on meat, dairy, eggs, and some seafood.
A Pocket Guide – a quick, mobile-friendly version you can take with you when shopping.
These guides rate product labels across five categories: Best Choices, Next Best Choices, Fair Choices, Slight Improvement, and Beware of These Labels—so you can clearly see which certifications reflect genuine improvements in farm animal welfare.
AWI’s analysis considers how each claim is verified, what farming practices it represents, and whether those practices make a meaningful difference compared to conventional, industrial farming. By using these guides, consumers can confidently support brands that prioritize humane treatment, transparency, and sustainability.
Making small changes to how we shop can have a big impact on the lives of farm animals and on our planet. Reducing demand for factory-farmed products helps curb deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental harms linked to industrial animal agriculture.
Take action
Visit our Climate Change page to learn how your choices and advocacy can help create a more sustainable, humane food system.
Use AWI’s interactive label guide or download the pocket version today—and make every grocery trip a step toward a kinder, cleaner future.
Source: Animal Welfare Institute
