The BS you're up against

At least 85 per cent of farmed animals in the UK are confined in the factory farming system, which makes it very difficult to avoid factory-farmed meat, fish, dairy, and eggs when shopping and eating out.

Unfortunately, conditions for the remaining 15 per cent are often not all they are cracked up to be. But we are here to help. In this guide, we cut through the BS, disclose what those fantasy labels really mean, reveal all the ugly bits they do their best to hide, and show you how to avoid factory-farmed products.

BS Language to look out for

100% British

So the factory farm was located in Britain? Great stuff. That means the animal suffering, air pollution, and water pollution was here too.
Enriched colony

Klaxon alert. This is a cage — they just know you won't buy these eggs if they told you the truth. So they don't.
Willow Farm

Actually it could be any number of named farms, including Ashfield Farm, Woodside Farm, and Farm Stores. They are all fictional places. They just sell better than "Any Old Filthy Factory"
Farm Fresh

This means nothing. The product came from a farm and (probably) is still in date and won't poison you. Dates have been found to be falsified in the past, and certain products, especially chicken, are renowned for causing food poisoning so never trust "farm fresh".
Trusted Farmers

What does this mean? Trusted to do what? Confine 50,000 chickens in one industrial warehouse and dump their poop in the river?
Higher Welfare

Give us a clue. Higher than what? And how high are we talking? Has the animal ever seen natural daylight? Have they ever taken a step on grass? Without details, it's meaningless BS.
Outdoor Bred

Often seen on meat from pigs, it just means the babies were born outside before being brought into an industrial factory farm when they were just a few weeks old. It's factory farming dressed up.
Responsibly Sourced

Most often refers to fish and implies that the method caused little harm to the environment or to wild animals. Neither of which is true.

BS images to look out for

The marketers can make you think something is true by displaying an image that does not represent reality in any way. This includes use of:

Cartoon animals

It isn't a singing, dancing cartoon who lays eggs or is impregnated repeatedly and milked until exhaustion. It is a real animal. If they are not showing you the real animal, there is a reason why.
Animals in fields

If the image looks like the animals are living an idyllic life, roaming freely across a sunny wildflower meadow, be sceptical. Search online for investigations that uncover the reality.
Scottish lochs

Salmon is often marketed by showing us the beautiful landscape but not the factory farms within it that pollute the waters and kill wildlife.
Union Jack

Don't trust it. It could mean the food was packaged in the UK but the animal was raised in a factory farm in another country and the profits funnelled overseas. Or it could be from the UK but still the very worst kind of factory farm. We certainly have a lot of them.