ABOUT
C.L.E.A.R. is the Consortium for Labelling for the Environment, Animal welfare, and Regenerative farming. C.L.E.A.R. exists to campaign for clear and mandatory food labelling in the United Kingdom.
At present, the consortium consists of 40+ farming, food, animal welfare, environmental, social civic societies and businesses, and growing, representing a diverse range of ecological, social, and governance interests and expertise.
VISION
is for everyone to be able to make informed choices about the food they buy for themselves and their families, or their customers and communities.
MISSION
is to rally key stakeholders across our food system to push the government in the UK to include method-of-production information - from farming to processing practices, as mandatory information on food labels for all types of food, domestically produced and imported, and at all points of purchase.
WHY IS IMPORTANT?
At present, there are:
NO legal safeguards in place to stop British farmers from being undercut by lower standard imports or to support high health, animal welfare, ecological, and labour standards in the UK
NO legal requirements to provide information on the method-of-production for all types of food, wherever it is bought
We believe that, in order to understand how our food choices impact nature, animal welfare, our health, and the well-being and livelihoods of farmers and everyone in the food supply chain, we need food labels that tell us how our food is farmed, grown, reared and processed.
So ALL of us can make informed food choices.
Consumers will have clear and fact-based information to make informed purchasing decisions at all points of purchasing
Farmers and producers will have the support to be able to distinguish themselves from other farmers and producers with lower standards of production, including competitors from abroad
Retailers will be released from the technical challenges and financial burden to produce their own standards of labelling
Out-of-home/ hospitality sector will be released from the technical challenges and financial burden to produce their own standards of labelling to relay the information to customers
Government will find C.L.E.A.R.’s objectives to be supporting the UK’s environmental and social policies and targets
CAMPAIGNS FOR
A system of mandatory food labelling for the United Kingdom which:
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includes information on the method-of-production - how the animals, plants, and all other constituents in a food product have been grown, reared, and processed
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extends the country of origin labelling requirements to include all raw and processed foods
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establishes a set of regulated definitions of key terms relating to the ethical or sustainable method of production
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is based on consultation with key stakeholders. A commission with diverse interest and expertise should be established to work with the government to produce a roadmap with integrated implementation strategies
THE TOP 3 PROBLEMS WITH THE CURRENT VOLUNTARY FOOD STANDARDS LABELLING
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Poorly produced or cheap food is often not labelled by method-of-production, especially information on how the food is farmed.
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Farming and food businesses with the worst environmental and animal welfare practices are not required to label their method-of-production and therefore hide their practices from the public
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Food labels sometimes actively mislead and are unclear