Criticism of the Animal Husbandry Labeling Act: Bureaucracy is growing, solutions are missing!

Criticism of the Animal Husbandry Labeling Act: Bureaucracy is growing, solutions are missing!

The discussion about animal husbandry labeling continues to gain momentum in Germany. On July 11, 2025, important changes were decided, primarily affecting the deadlines for labeling food with information on animal husbandry. This was approved at a meeting of the Federal Council, as reported by baden-wuerttemberg.de. The original deadline was judged to be too short because many of the necessary structures in the federal states were created late. That is why the transitional regulation in Section 40 Paragraph 2 of the Animal Husbandry Labeling Act has now been extended by seven months until March 1, 2026, in order to give the food business operators affected more time to implement the requirements.

However, the new draft law, introduced by the coalition factions CDU/CSU and SPD, is not without criticism. In the last vote on June 26, 2025 in the Bundestag there were votes against the draft. The opposition, including the AfD and Alliance 90/The Greens, expressed concerns and pointed out the existing weak points. Bundestag.de cites that the requirements in particular only concern fresh pork and that important sales channels such as restaurants and out-of-home catering are not taken into account.

Comprehensive reform required

Minister Peter Hauk from Baden-Württemberg has already called for the complete repeal of the Animal Husbandry Labeling Act because, in his opinion, it falls short and does not offer a holistic concept for restructuring animal husbandry. He also criticizes the massive amount of bureaucracy associated with this law. This opinion is supported by the many feedback from farms that the administrative requirements place an unnecessary burden on them, while the labeling requirement does not provide full transparency on farming conditions.

A key point of criticism is that the existing regulations are also inadequate with regard to husbandry levels 3 and 4 for fattening pigs. Many producers also feel that they are disadvantaged by EU law, which further increases competitive pressure. Baden-Württemberg emphasizes that the requirements only relate to the “fattening” phase of life, which severely limits the focus of the labeling.

demands at European level

Another point of discussion is the need for a fundamental reform of the animal husbandry labeling law to ensure that animals from abroad that are raised in Germany also meet local standards. As documented in the Bundestag, many stakeholders support the idea that the state funding criteria for stable conversions need to be made more practical and applicable in order to ensure actual use.

In summary, it can be said: The discussion about animal husbandry labeling is still bumpy. While some actors want to see a clear step forward, others are skeptical and demand change in order to create a fair competitive basis for domestic agriculture. The developments remain exciting and will certainly be followed up at the next meeting of the Conference of Agriculture Ministers on March 28, 2025.