Animal Welfare: The Results Are In

Earlier this year Slow Food launched a survey on animal welfare. Sent to over 40,000 Slow Food associates from 27 European countries, including both members and farmers involved in Slow Food’s Presidia projects; we wanted to find out where the network stands on this increasingly topical issue.

By September the results were in, providing a very useful insight into perceptions and attitudes towards the consumption of animal products and animal welfare in Europe: Information that will be used to help us guide our future activities and projects. A staggering 90% of respondents believed that animal welfare does not receive enough attention in their home country. Ninety percent of respondents also said they would be willing to pay more for animal products that respect animal welfare: 32% of respondents would pay as much as 20% more than the current market price for animal-friendly products. Nearly 50% of respondents called for Slow Food to raise awareness of the issue among policy makers, and to support farmers in their quest towards higher animal welfare standards. Find all the results here.

The results were presented officially during Cheese, Slow Food’s international event held last month. In the conference “Who Cares About Animal Welfare?”, the survey was discussed with panel of institution representatives, experts and farmers. Introducing the conference, president of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity Piero Sardo said that, “Slow Food members have demonstrated that animal welfare is important to them. As an association, we will have to work over the next few years to understand where a line must be drawn and define what is acceptable to us when it comes to raising animals.”

The conference was also the occasion to present the Slow Food Policy Paper on Animal Welfare: a strategic document that outlines the association’s position on the issue. During the meeting, Slow Food announced that it would continue its collaboration with the FAO and the European Commission, concentrating on the assessment of animal welfare in small-scale farms in the EU and in countries with emerging economies.

Photo: © Kunal Chandra

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