There are many strategies towards the minimization of the suffering of nonhuman animals; e.g., raising awareness, pressuring the legislative system into developing protective measures, using economic means to force big food companies into vegan/vegetarian options and propaganda, etc.
One particular strategy I've been pondering about lately is the 'raising awareness' strategy. Even though we have many great vegan advocators (such as Earthling Ed, Alex O'Connor, and Peter Singer), loads of well-educated people won't even bother entering the moral arena to argue for their point of view. Asking people to reconsider their entire diet is a really hard thing to do after all. Thus, I've started considering certification programs as a nice alternativegateway for the middle/upper-class citizensthese people who won't be reached by 'the vegan dialogue' to contribute for the minimization of suffering. The argumentation is far less complicated and the outcomes look great as an intermediate step. That is, I hope they will eventually be brought to think about the ways in which they help protect the animals. If they have some notions of economy and stumble across the right figures, they might naturally develop the wish for being vegans.
However, this all leaves me wandering: are these organizations (specially Certified Humane) requiring enough? Furthermore, are they monitoring their requirements enough so as to guarantee that most of what is being asked is being followed?
If the answer to either of these questions is No, how can we, both as consumers and citizens, pressure them into doing it right?