Defending Animal Welfare in the Organic Standard
Center for Food Safety successfully challenged the Trump administration’s withdrawal of welfare protections for organically raised animals, helping restore standards that improve the treatment of animals raised under the USDA Organic label.
Animal Welfare in the Organic Standard
Consumers and organic farmers expect the organic label to reflect not only how food is grown, but also how animals are cared for.
Organic standards have long included requirements designed to protect the health and welfare of animals raised under the USDA Organic label. These standards help ensure animals receive adequate living conditions, access to the outdoors, and humane treatment throughout their lives.
Our Litigation
In 2018, Center for Food Safety and allied organizations challenged the Trump administration’s withdrawal of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) rule, which strengthened animal welfare protections for animals raised under the USDA Organic label.
This lawsuit argued that USDA unlawfully reversed decades of organic policy by claiming it lacked authority to regulate animal welfare under organic standards. The withdrawal eliminated important protections, including meaningful outdoor access requirements for poultry and other humane treatment standards.
After years of further rounds of litigation and advocacy by Center for Food Safety and a coalition of organic allies, USDA reversed course and issued the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards (OLPS) rule in 2023, reaffirming that animal welfare is a core component of organic production.
The final rule strengthens protections for millions of organically raised animals and represents a major victory for organic integrity, farmers, consumers, and animal welfare advocates.
Animal Welfare, the Organic Standard, and Our Work
Organic farming has long recognized that animal health and welfare are essential components of a meaningful organic system.
Consumers purchasing organic products expect animals to be raised under higher welfare standards than conventional production systems. A 2017 survey by Consumer Reports found that 86% of respondents who regularly buy organic foods believe that it is very or extremely important that organic animals come from farms with high standards for welfare practices.
The Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule was first finalized by the Obama administration in early 2017. In 2018, Trump’s USDA delayed implementing the rule and ultimately withdrew it, claiming it lacked authority to regulate animal welfare under organic standards. This prompted CFS’s successful lawsuit against USDA. After years of litigation, the Biden administration reconsidered the withdrawal of the rule, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California allowed USDA to revise and update its rulemaking. After several more years, the finalized 2023 rule is the victorious end result of CFS’s legal work.
Center for Food Safety and allied organizations sued USDA to challenge the withdrawal and defend strong animal welfare protections in organic agriculture.
Center for Food Safety’s litigation was instrumental in securing the USDA’s eventual reinstatement of animal welfare standards through the 2023 Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards rule.
The final rule strengthens outdoor access requirements, closes loopholes used by industrial poultry operations, limits certain harmful practices, and improves animal welfare during transport and slaughter. The rule also reaffirms USDA’s authority to include animal welfare protections within organic standards.
