Know your labels

Australia’s food labelling schemes provide information that may include the country of origin, means of production, and other important information.

These labels can often be found on meat products in supermarkets, restaurants and other food providers.

Low welfare labels to look for

Beef labels: How to identify feedlot meat?

Labels on beef products are currently not required to provide any information about whether a cow spent time on a feedlot. Instead, they may use terms such as “grain-fed” and “grain-finished” - all of which are unclear ways of saying that the animal has spent time on a feedlot. A majority of beef products labelled "Wagyu" also come from feedlots.

The lack of clarity in these labels can limit a consumer’s ability to make informed choices about animal welfare. In order to make higher welfare choices, it’s important to remember that all of these terms are vague ways to indicate that the meat comes from animals who were confined to cruel feedlots during their final days.

What is grain fed beef and what is grain finished beef?

Cattle have a natural lifespan of 15 to 20 years. Unfortunately, those farmed for beef are slaughtered when they are much younger: 12 to 18 months old. Here are some labels you might find on beef products in your local supermarket and what they actually mean in terms of how much time the animal spent on a feedlot:

• Grain Finished: the animals spent 35+ days on a feedlot

• Grain Fed: the animals spent 100+ days on a feedlot

• Wagyu: most animals spent 350-600 days on a feedlot

You can learn more about feedlots from our 2025 report Cattle Feedlots: Australia’s Hidden Factory Farms.