The Meat and Dairy Industry Is Lying to You

The UK public is drowning in marketing myths about the animal farming industry. A new report from The Animal Law Foundation reveals that Brits are being systematically misled about what’s really happening to animals used for food.

From supermarket shelves to TV ads, the industry paints a picture of rolling pastures, happy cows, and chickens roaming free. The reality? Around 85% of farmed animals in the UK are raised in factory farms.  

The Industry’s Misinformation Machine

The report, Food Chain Misinformation, analysed websites, ads, and packaging from 47 major producers and processors of dairy, eggs, and meat. The findings? A deliberate effort to hide the truth.

- 84% of producers using images of animals showed them outdoors, even though most never see daylight.  

- Nearly 30% used carefully cropped or blurred images to create an illusion of spacious conditions.  

- Supermarket websites are no better – almost 67% show animals with farmers in idyllic settings.  

The reality of UK animal farming is anything but picturesque. Yet, the industry relies on humane-washing - a marketing strategy designed to ease consumer guilt while keeping them in the dark.  

Loosening Laws, Tightening Deception

A crackdown on misleading marketing should be coming. The Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act 2024 will take effect in April 2025, prohibiting deceptive advertising. But at the same time, the UK government is making it easier for producers to mislead consumers:

- Dairy pooling means milk from multiple farms is mixed, making it nearly impossible to know whether a cow ever grazed outdoors (unless it’s organic).  

- Changes to free-range egg laws mean a hen can now spend her entire life indoors – and still be sold as free-range.  

The message from regulators is clear: misleading consumers about the treatment of animals is a problem - unless it’s done by the animal industry.  

Brits Don’t Know the Basics About Dairy

The misinformation campaign is working. A YouGov survey commissioned by Animal Justice Project (AJP) found that:

- 52% of Brits don’t know cows must be impregnated every year to produce milk.  

- 83% don’t know that calves are routinely taken from their mothers within 24 hours of birth.

- Only 17% believe dairy companies provide enough transparency about their practices.

The dairy industry has spent decades hiding its core reality: cows don’t just magically produce milk. Like all mammals, they lactate for their babies. But those babies are taken from them - so humans can drink what was never meant for them.  

A Mother’s Worst Nightmare

The life of a dairy cow is a cycle of forced pregnancies, stolen babies, and eventual slaughter:

1. At around 15 months old, she is forcibly impregnated through artificial insemination.  

2. After giving birth, her calf is taken within hours. She will call for her baby for days.  

3. If her baby is female, she’ll be put in a cage and raised for dairy.

4. If male, he’ll be killed for veal or cheap beef.

5. She is milked until her body gives out, then impregnated again.  

6. After about five years, she is considered "spent" and sent to slaughter - though cows can naturally live 20-30 years.

Supermarkets and advertisers will never tell you this. Instead, they show happy looking cows, clean barns, and farmers who “care” - all while profiting from a hidden industry of exploitation.  

The ‘Idyllic’ Farmyard Myth

Walk into any M&S Food store, and you'll see posters of chickens in bright, open spaces on their packaging. In reality? The majority of chickens raised for meat or eggs spend their entire lives in crowded, filthy sheds, where they are selectively bred to grow unnaturally fast. Many collapse under their own weight before they are killed.

And yet, these companies get away with selling an illusion.

Regulators are starting to take greenwashing (misleading environmental claims) seriously. But when it comes to humane-washing, there’s silence. The truth isn’t good for business.  

Why This Matters

Every time a consumer picks up a carton of milk, a pack of eggs, or a piece of flesh, they’re making a choice - but not an informed one. Decades of marketing have manipulated public perception, making people believe that:

- Dairy cows happily provide milk for human use.  

- Hens lay eggs with no consequence to their wellbeing.  

- Flesh comes from well-cared-for animals who lived good lives.

All of these are lies.  

What Needs to Change?

The solution isn’t just about clearer labelling or tighter advertising rules - it’s about rejecting the industry’s entire system of deception. As long as animals are seen as commodities, companies will continue to prioritise profit over truth.

The question isn’t whether people deserve to know the truth. The real question is: if they knew, would they still support it?

No 👈