Test Your Knowledge: What ‘Humane Meat’ Really Is (Quiz)

Do you know what certain labels on animal-derived products—such as “free-range,” “cage-free,” and “ethically raised”—really mean? PETA makes it easy to test your knowledge: Take the “humane meat” quiz below to discover the reality of using animals for food.

Take PETA’s “Humane ” Meat Quiz Now:

Humane Meat Quiz

1. What does the term “humane washing” refer to?

A marketing ploy that makes consumers believe they’re making kind choices when they’re actually not

How cows, chickens, and pigs are bathed

Meat, eggs, cheese, and more from animals who are treated well at all stages of life and at death

Correct! “Humane washing” is a marketing scheme that dupes well-meaning consumers into feeling better about buying products that harm animals, often using buzzwords like “ethically raised,” “free-range,” and “cage-free” without making meaningful changes for the animals.

Nope. “Humane washing” is a marketing scheme that dupes well-meaning consumers into feeling better about buying products that harm animals, often using buzzwords like “ethically raised,” “free-range,” and “cage-free” without making meaningful changes for the animals.

2. What does “free-range” mean?

Animals have unlimited access to grassy fields and can exhibit their natural behavior freely.

Animals are enclosed in a barn or shed with access to an unspecified amount of outdoor space.

Animals are raised without any human interference.

Correct! Animals on “free-range” farms can spend most of their time confined to crowded sheds or mud-filled pens. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that animals on “free-range” farms have access to outdoor areas, it doesn’t specify how much time they must be allowed to spend outside or how much space they should be given.

Nope. Animals on “free-range” farms can spend most of their time confined to crowded sheds or mud-filled pens. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that animals on “free-range” farms have access to outdoor areas, it doesn’t specify how much time they must be allowed to spend outside or how much space they should be given.

3. “Cage-free” labels mean that chickens aren’t confined to tightly packed, enclosed spaces and have a much higher quality of life than animals who live on farms that don’t use this label.

True

False

False. Hens used for “cage-free” products aren’t kept in cages, but most live in dark, severely crowded warehouses, and their beaks are still burned or partially cut off without any pain relief. Up to 86% of hens in “cage-free” production have broken bones.

4. Which of the following is true of chickens?

They’re one of the most abused animals on the planet.

They’re happiest when allowed to express their natural types of behavior, like roosting in trees, foraging for insects, and communicating with other chickens.

They’re killed at only 6 or 7 weeks of age when used for their flesh, like for meat products.

All of the above

All of the above! Chickens are social and playful animals when allowed to express types of behavior that are natural to them, but almost all chickens in the U.S. never have the opportunity to do so. In the U.S. alone, more than 9 billion chickens are killed for their flesh each year, usually spending their whole lives (6 or 7 weeks if they’re raised for their flesh) in intense confinement.

5. What do “grass-fed” labels mean?

Most of the cows’ diet is grass.

The cows have access to pasture.

They mean virtually nothing.

Nope. “Grass-fed” labels mean virtually nothing. The USDA stopped clearly defining the term in 2016, so the meat industry can use this loophole to slap “grass-fed” labels on products that don’t deserve it. And even if the cows are fed grass, slaughterhouse workers still slit their throats.

Correct! “Grass-fed” labels mean virtually nothing. The USDA stopped clearly defining the term in 2016, so the meat industry can use this loophole to slap “grass-fed” labels on products that don’t deserve it. And even if the cows are fed grass, slaughterhouse workers still slit their throats.

6. In order to produce milk, what must happen to a cow used by the dairy industry?

She must be forcibly impregnated repeatedly throughout her life. She naturally produces milk only when she’s pregnant or nursing.

She only needs to give birth to one baby in her life—so long as she’s milked every day, she’ll keep producing.

She never needs to reproduce—cows naturally make milk every day.

Nope. Cows used for dairy are impregnated every year until their bodies are so worn out that they’re killed, typically at 5 or 6 years old. Mother cows, who form strong connections with their babies, are separated from their calves within hours of birth. Male calves are confined to tiny sheds, killed, and sold as veal. Young female cows are impregnated to produce milk, creating a cyclical horror show.

Correct! Cows used for dairy are impregnated every year until their bodies are so worn out that they’re killed, typically at 5 or 6 years old. Mother cows, who form strong connections with their babies, are separated from their calves within hours of birth. Male calves are confined to tiny sheds, killed, and sold as veal. Young female cows are impregnated to produce milk, creating a cyclical horror show.

7. After hatching, what happens to baby chicks born into the egg industry?

They stay in an incubator for the first 72 hours of life.

They’re sexed and separated. Typically, the male chicks are killed, as they’re worthless to the industry.

They stay with their mother until they’re grown.

Correct! Baby chicks born into the egg industry are sexed and separated. If they’re male, they’re suffocated or crushed to death, often ground up alive in industrial grinders. All eggs at the grocery store—even those labeled “organic,” “humane,” “cage-free,” or “pasture-raised”—come from companies supplied by hatcheries that kill male chicks.

Nope. Baby chicks born into the egg industry are sexed and separated. If they’re male, they’re suffocated or crushed to death, often ground up alive in industrial grinders. All eggs at the grocery store—even those labeled “organic,” “humane,” “cage-free,” or “pasture-raised”—come from companies supplied by hatcheries that kill male chicks.

8. When not treated cruelly in the food industry, which of the following is true of pigs?

They play with one another and engage with their environment.

They have impressive memories, remembering faces of human and nonhuman animals alike.

They recognize their mother’s oinks and grunts.

All of the above

All of the above! Pigs feel joy, communicate, love to play, can recognize about 30 of their animal friends, and will run toward their mother’s voice as piglets.

9. What percentage of animals used for food in the U.S. are confined on massive, industrial factory farms?

25%

50%

99%

Nope. Of the animals used for food in the U.S., 99% are confined on massive, industrial factory farms. Even when “humane” labels are used, animals can be forced to live in cramped, filthy conditions—making it clear that there’s simply no such thing as ethical meat, eggs, milk, or anything else that’s taken from an animal.

Correct! Of the animals used for food in the U.S., 99% are confined on massive, industrial factory farms. Even when “humane” labels are used, animals can be forced to live in cramped, filthy conditions—making it clear that there’s simply no such thing as ethical meat, eggs, milk, or anything else that’s taken from an animal.

10. The most animal-friendly label is “vegan.”

True

False

True! Being vegan is the kindest way to live.

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What Can You Do to Keep Cruelty to Animals off Your Plate?

Humane-washed labels never deliver what they seemingly promise. The products they’re slapped onto still cause animals intense, lifelong suffering. For help getting started going vegan, try PETA’s 3-Week Vegan Challenge.

If you’ve recently purchased animal-derived products with “humane” labels and believe you were misled, please contact PETA today.

Take PETA’s 3-Week Vegan Challenge

Were You Misled by ‘Humane’ Labels?