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Why Produce Certified Humane Raised & Handled?
Market Research Supports the Demand for Humanely Raised Food
- Certified humane animals are gaining popularity among food service purchasers. (Restaurant Business, September 2006)
- The “Ohio Survey of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Issues” found that animal welfare concerns remain high among Ohioans, with 51% agreeing on the need for increased regulation of the treatment of animals. (Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, September 2006)
- According to the Organic Trade Association, organic food sales have grown 16 to 21 percent each year since 1990, compared to a total food sales’ increase of 2 – 4 percent and the demand is outstripping the supply. (The Indianapolis Star, July 2006)
- “Humane” was consistently the top-ranked choice among respondents when asked to choose products that were identical except for the standards, according to a survey of 1,000 households and five focus groups by the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California. Over 30% of survey respondents chose “humane” in every comparison among five standards. (Center Research Brief #5, Winter 2005)
Table 2: Ranking of Standards Criteria (standards that could be represented by third-party certified eco labels)
| Humane | 30.5% |
| Locally Grown | 22.0% |
| Living Wage | 16.5% |
| US Grown | 5.9% |
| Small Scale | 5.2% |
- The same University of California survey found that “treatment of animals” received an average score of greater than 7 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 representing the greatest interest/concern to respondents and 1 representing no interest. (Center Research Brief #5, Winter 2005)
- A United Egg producer Survey showed 50% of consumers rated animal care as important when deciding which food to buy, brand preference and which grocery stores to shop. (Golin Harris 2004)
- The same survey also showed that 75% of consumers would choose food products certified as protecting animal care over those that are not. (Golin Harris 2004)
- 51% said they would be willing to pay a premium for foods produced with humane treatment of animals, per research for Organic Valley. (May 2004)
- A study for the Animal Agriculture Alliance and National Corn Growers Association of over 1,000 U.S. adults also found willingness to pay more.(AAA/NCGA 4-04)
31% would pay 5% more
23% would pay 10% more
11% would pay 20% more
- “The majority of consumers... want to know that the animals they eat have been treated well and raised in a safe and healthy environment,” according to a Mintel Consumer Intelligence poll of over 1,000 U.S. adults. (November 2001)
- A Zogby poll discovered that 80% of consumers “would be willing to pay more for eggs from chickens that “I know are raised in a humane manner.” (Sept. 2000)
- Two other surveys found that animal protection was important to a majority of pork consumers. (Reported 2000 and 2001)
Question: Would you prefer pork with assurances of...
| Better Homes and Gardens | Lubbock,TX Survey | |
| Coming From a family Farm? | 72% | n/a |
| Worker Protection? | n/a | 61% |
| Environmental Protection? | 80% | 59% |
| Animal Protection? | 68% | 54% |
Animal care considerations ranked highly in a survey of 1400 people in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico that asked consumers to rank the importance of production attributes for both beef and pork products (from 1-5 with 5 being most important).(1999)
| No growth hormones | 3.72 |
| No antibiotics | 3.38 |
| Grazing managed to protect streams | 3.37 |
| Grazing managed to protect endangered species | 3.20 |
| No small or crowded pens | 3.03 |
| Meat aged at least 14 days | 3.00 |
| Grass fed | 2.94 |
| Animal born and raised within 250 miles | 2.41 |