Humanewashing is the tactic of using misleading descriptions of the treatment of animals, especially in the production of animal products.[1][2][3] The term is often applied in the context of labels on store-bought products, but has also been applied to other contexts such as zoos.[4]
The term is often used by animal welfare and animal rights organizations. For instance, the ASPCA has criticized the label "cage-free" for chicken and turkey as humanewashing since they are still tightly packed indoors.[5] Others have also called the label "free-range" a form of humanewashing since most of the animals stay indoors with limited access to the outdoors.[6] Some lawsuits have been filed against individual companies for their alleged humanewashing labels and advertising. Most of these have resulted in private settlements.[7]
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