Consumer Perspectives on Farm Animal Welfare
Summary
Over the past decade, consumer attitudes towards farm animal welfare have evolved from niche ethical concerns to a mainstream dimension of food choice, with implications for producers, retailers and policymakers worldwide. Shifts in public awareness have been driven by increased media attention, advocacy campaigns and transparency initiatives, leading many consumers to view animal welfare as intertwined with food safety, environmental sustainability and human health. Research indicates that welfare considerations influence purchase decisions most strongly when consumers perceive clear, trustworthy information about farming practices. However, willingness to pay for welfare‐friendly products varies considerably across demographic and behavioural segments, with price‐sensitive groups prioritising cost and convenience. Visual and narrative cues—such as images of animals in natural environments or labels certifying humane treatment—play a critical role in shaping perceptions, often bridging the gap between abstract welfare principles and tangible farm conditions. Effective labelling schemes and educational outreach can thus enhance consumer confidence, inform regulatory frameworks and stimulate the adoption of higher welfare standards across global supply chains.
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Consumer Perspectives on Farm Animal Welfare publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in consumer perspectives on farm animal welfare across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Discrete Choice Experiment: A survey technique in which respondents select between hypothetical product alternatives to reveal underlying preferences.
Mixed Logit Model: An econometric framework that accounts for variation in individual preferences within a sample population.
Latent Class Analysis: A statistical method for identifying unobserved subgroups in a population based on patterns of responses.
Sentiment Analysis: A computational approach for categorising and quantifying emotional reactions expressed in text or visual data.
References
- Consumers' willingness to pay for an animal welfare food label. Ecological Economics (2023).
- The application of a sentiment analysis approach to explore public understandings of animal agriculture. Journal of Rural Studies (2023).
- Consumers’ Concerns and Perceptions of Farm Animal Welfare. Animals (2020).
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