News article, 27. November 2023

Higher welfare or reduced climate footprint?

A new study concludes that consumers would rather pay for higher welfare than for a reduced climate footprint when buying pork.

Photo: Danish Agriculture & Food Council

Researchers from Copenhagen University have just published a new study which concludes that consumers would rather pay for higher welfare than for a reduced climate footprint when buying pork.

The article 'Willingness-to-pay for reduced carbon footprint and other sustainability concerns relating to pork production – A comparison of consumers in China, Denmark, Germany and the UK’ contains the results from a survey of consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainable pig meat by looking at how they rank five dimensions of sustainability:

Higher welfare
Lower climate footprint
Decreased use of antibiotics
Free from salmonella and other harmful bacteria
No clearing of rainforest to produce pig feed

The results show that a willingness to pay more for reduced climate impact ranks lowest in Shanghai (China), Denmark, Germany and the UK. Animal welfare is ranked highest in the three western countries whereas food safety is the most important for respondents from Shanghai.
According to the survey, the reason why consumers prioritise animal welfare above reduced climate impact is because animal welfare is something that consumers can influence directly through their shopping, i.e. by paying a premium for their pork. However, reduced climate footprint should be tackled in other ways than through an increased price.
According to the survey, other reasons for European consumers opting for animal welfare over reduced climate impact are:

Only a few consumers mention food consumption as means of reducing their CO2 footprint. More popular measures include less food waste, recycling, less consumption of disposable items and environmentally-friendly transport.
Consumers value animal welfare highly because it ensures the well-being of animals, but also because they associate animal welfare with potentially healthier meat and better eating quality.

An important insight gained from the survey is that the current focus on reducing the climate impact of pig production should not blind the relevant stakeholders to the importance of better animal welfare and food safety. If they lose sight of the latter, they will fall out of step with the priorities that many consumers currently have.

Read press release from Copenhagen University: New study: Pig welfare outweighs climate concerns for consumers – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk)

To access the article, click on: Willingness-to-pay for reduced carbon footprint and other sustainability concerns relating to pork production – A comparison of consumers in China, Denmark, Germany and the UK - ScienceDirect