You’ve read the labels. Grass-fed. Free range. Humanely raised. Cage-free.

As a conscious consumer, you want your food choices to reflect your values, foster sustainability, and promote animal welfare. And most of the time, food labels are the only tool you have to help you make better decisions.

But what if the factory farm industry had the power to define what those labels mean?

Last month, the USDA released new labeling guidelines for food companies. But instead of providing baseline standards for higher animal welfare, these rules allow food businesses to slap whatever label claim they choose on their packages—with little oversight.

Please sign the petition to stop the factory farm industry from defining animal welfare claims on food labels.

This could mean that a “pasture-raised” chicken have spent only a few days of its life outside, and the rest of it in a cramped, dirty shed with zero natural light or places to perch.

It could mean that those “cage-free” eggs have been laid by a hen who was raised without the space to flap her wings.

It could mean that the “humanely raised” beef and the “sustainably farmed” pork in your shopping cart was labelled by a company that didn’t have to provide any proof of its claims—and still gets to charge more for its products.

These new guidelines open the door for companies to mislead consumers. That is unacceptable.

Join Compassion in World Farming in demanding the USDA revise its proposed rules to offer honest, transparent standards for label claims. We want standards that are meaningful for the animals, meet consumer expectations, and hold companies accountable for their promises.

We only have until December 5th to take action. Let your voice be heard: sign this petition today and help spread the word by sharing it with friends and family.

Because consumers—and farm animals—deserve better.