When it comes the issue of animal agriculture, America's consumers offer conflicting views.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) commissioned research at Oklahoma State University (OSU) to conduct the phone survey earlier this year to determine public opinion about farm-animal welfare.
Animal welfare has become a hot-button political issue as activist groups push for state and federal laws prohibiting sow gestation crates and the slaughter of horses for meat export markets.
The consumer survey, conducted by OSU researchers Dr. Bailey Norwood and Jayson Lusk, asked more than 1,000 Americans a random set of 48 questions to gauge their beliefs about farm-animal welfare.
The survey respondents included a cross-section of the general U.S. population, representing every age, ethnicity, gender, income and education level.
About 62 percent of the respondents owned a pet, while less than 4 percent were vegetarians or vegans. Seventeen percent of the respondents lived in rural areas, while one-third were from urban areas.
“This is the first time that we are really getting a glimpse of what consumers think about this (farm-animal welfare) issue,” Norwood said during a teleconference briefing for state Farm Bureau staff members.
From the survey, researchers discovered that American consumers rank the well-being of food animals low in importance compared to other social issues, including human poverty and the environment.
Respondents also ranked the financial well-being of farmers and food prices as more important than farm-animal welfare.
However, Norwood said these results don’t mean that animal welfare isn’t important. In the survey, only 28 percent of respondents agreed with the following statement: “Until we learn to significantly reduce human suffering, we should not worry about the well-being of farm animals.”
Also, only 16 percent agreed that low meat prices are more important than farm-animal well-being.
Norwood said it isn’t surprising that consumers overwhelming favored farm-animal welfare over low food prices.
In many consumer surveys, researchers must account for “social desirability bias.” Norwood said people tend to give an answer that makes them look good, even if the answer isn’t true.
“People say they will pay higher meat prices if animals are treated better. But they are not actually having to put their money where their mouth is,” he said.
To overcome this bias, researchers asked consumers if the “average American” thinks that low meat prices are more important than the well-being of farm animals.
About 68 percent of respondents agreed with this “average American” statement, compared to 16 percent when asked if they themselves agreed.
“When you ask what other people think, a lot of times they are giving you a better idea of what they personally feel,” Norwood said. “And when it comes to social issues such as animal welfare, their answers to indirect questions predict their real shopping behavior better than direct questions.”
Researchers asked consumers if they consider the well-being of animals when purchasing meat. About 49 percent of the respondents agreed.
But when consumers were asked if the “average American” considers the animal well-being when purchasing meat, only 21 percent agreed.
Consumers also gave contradictory responses about the role of the markets and government in setting farm-animal welfare standards.
A majority of respondents (68 percent) agreed that food companies would voluntarily improve their animal welfare practices if consumers asked for it.
However, consumers also want government regulation. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said the government should take an active role in promoting farm-animal welfare, while 75 percent said they would vote for a law that would require farmers to treat animals more humanely.
“People think that treating animals well is a social value. So even if government regulation is unnecessary, (consumers think) our civic and social values should be codified into law,” Norwood explained.
Yet the majority of respondents also agreed that farmers should be compensated for complying with higher animal-welfare standards, Norwood said.
“People do care about farm-animal welfare, but they care about the financial well-being of U.S. farmers even more,” he said.