Europe's consumers are willing to pay extra for food produced in an animal-friendly way but want it to be easier to identify, a survey has found.
A Eurobarometer survey published yesterday on consumer attitudes to the welfare of farmed animals showed that 74 per cent of consumers believed they could improve animal welfare through their shopping choices. Some 57 per cent were willing to pay more for animal welfare-friendly food.
While 52 per cent said they did not take animal welfare considerations into account when buying meat, there were large disparities between EU states on the issue.
In all the new states except Cyprus, the majority said animal welfare did not influence their purchasing. The figure was more than two-thirds in the Czech Republic (74 per cent), Slovakia (73 per cent), Estonia (69 per cent) and Poland (68 per cent).
At the other end of the scale, 67 per cent of Swedes, 66 per cent of Greeks and 64 per cent of Luxembourgers said they did take animal welfare into account when buying meat.
Consumer choice was hampered by insufficiently clear food labelling and 32 per cent of consumers said they could never identify welfare-friendly food. This ranged up to 70 per cent in some countries, particularly in the new member states.
The survey showed that consumers were particularly concerned about chickens.