Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T19:39:16.726Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Public opinion on UK milk marketing and dairy cow welfare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

KA Ellis ,
K Billington ,
B McNeil  and
DEF McKeegan
KA Ellis*
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Production and Public Health, University of Glasgow, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bearsden Road, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
K Billington
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Production and Public Health, University of Glasgow, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bearsden Road, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
B McNeil
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Production and Public Health, University of Glasgow, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bearsden Road, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
DEF McKeegan
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Production and Public Health, University of Glasgow, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bearsden Road, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: k.ellis@vet.gla.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Interview questionnaires were administered to the general public in central Scotland and northern England during summer 2007 to investigate consumer awareness of UK dairy production methods, welfare issues and recognition of ‘quality assurance’ product logos. Fifty percent of respondents gave UK dairy animal welfare a positive rating. Recognition of individual quality assurance logos was poor and 75% of respondents stated that they did not intentionally seek to buy products with any of the logos. Respondents’ perceptions of good dairy welfare included: appropriate feeding, good stockmanship, plenty of space, freedom to roam/free range and environmental cleanliness. Half of respondents felt they were poorly informed about food production and the majority of respondents (68%) would like more information on food production. Respondents believed that information on animal welfare provided by veterinarians and farmers would be reliable. Most respondents (93%) said they would pay more for good dairy welfare. The findings show that the general public are interested in animal welfare but could be better informed on dairy animal production and welfare. Veterinarians and farmers may have a potentially important role in providing this information with increasing demand for higher welfare provenance products potentially helping to improve animal welfare.

Keywords

animal welfareconsumerscowsdairylabellingorganic
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , August 2009 , pp. 267 - 282
Copyright
© 2009 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, C 2004 Animal pain. Nous 38: 617–643CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BBC 2007 Milk farmers protest over prices. BBC News website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6332499.stmGoogle Scholar
Beardsworth, A, Brynan, A, Keil, T, Goode, J, Haslam, C and Lancashire, E 2002 Women, men and food: the significance of gender for nutritional attitudes and choices. British Food Journal 104: 470–491CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bennett, RM 1996 Willingness-to-pay measures of public support for farm animal welfare legislation. Veterinary Record 139: 320–321Google ScholarPubMed
Bennett, R and Blaney, R 2002 Social consensus, moral intensity and willingness to pay to address a farm animal welfare issue. Journal of Economic Psychology 23: 501–520CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bracke, M, Greef, K and Hopster, H 2005 Qualitative stakeholder analysis for the development of sustainable monitoring systems for farm animal welfare. Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics 18: 27–56CrossRefGoogle Scholar
British Agriculture Marketing 2005 Farming Industry Marketing Strategy. Commissioned by: Tenant Farmers Association and National Beef Association, UK. www.bam.co.ukGoogle Scholar
British Lion Eggs 2008 British Egg Information Service: Facts and Figures. http://www.britegg.co.uk/ukeggs05/ukeggs4.html. (Accessed September 2008)Google Scholar
Buss, DD, Osburn, BI, Willis, NG and Walsh, DA 2006 Veterinary medical education for modern food systems: Setting a vision and creating a strategic plan for veterinary medical education to meet its responsibilities. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 33: 479–488Google ScholarPubMed
DairyCo Datum 2008a Organic Liquid Milk Volume Sales. Dairy Statistics. An Insider's Guide. DairyCo: Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. http://www.mdcdatum.org.uk/PDF/Pocketbook%20final%202008%20web%20copy.pdfGoogle Scholar
DairyCo Datum 2008b Defra Expenditure & Food Survey: GB Household Consumption of Dairy Products. DairyCo: Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. http://www.dairycodatum.org.uk/Google Scholar
de Jonge, J, van Trijp, JCM, van der Lans, IA, Renes, RJ and Frewer, LJ 2008 How trust in institutions and organizations builds general consumer confidence in the safety of food: A decomposition of effects. Appetite 51: 311–317CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dransfield, E, Ngapo, TM, Nielsen, NA, Bredahl, L, Sjoden, PO, Magnusson, M, Campo, MM and Nute, GR 2005 Consumer choice and suggested price for pork as influenced by its appearance, taste and information concerning country of origin and organic pig production. Meat Science 69: 61–70CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eurobarometer 2007 Attitudes of EU citizens towards Animal Welfare. A European Commission Special Report. http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/survey/index_en.htmGoogle Scholar
Farm Animal Welfare Council 2001 Interim Report on the Animal Welfare Implications of Farm Assurance Schemes. Farm Animal Welfare Council: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Hall, C and Sandilands, V 2007 Public attitudes to the welfare of broiler chickens. Animal Welfare 16: 499–512Google Scholar
Harnack, L, Story, M, Martinson, B, Neumark-Sztainer, D and Stang, J 1998 Guess who's cooking? The role of men in meal planning, shopping, and preparation in US families. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 98: 995–1000CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harper, G and Henson, S 2001 Consumer Concerns About Animal Welfare And The Impact On Food Choice. Final Report EU FAIR CT98-3678. Centre for Food Economics Research (CeFER), Department of Agricultural and Food Economics. The University of Reading: Reading, UK. http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare /eu_fair_project_en.pdfGoogle Scholar
Herzog, HA 2007 Gender Differences in Human Animal Interactions: A Review. Anthrozoös 20: 7–21Google Scholar
Jahn, G, Schramme, M and Spiller, A 2005 The Reliability of Certification: Quality Labels as a Consumer Policy Tool. Journal of Consumer Policy 28: 53–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kjaernes, U 2006 Trust and distrust: Cognitive decisions or social relations? Journal of Risk Research 9: 911–932Google Scholar
Korthals, M 2001 Taking consumers seriously: Two concepts of consumer sovereignty. Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics 14: 201–215Google Scholar
Köster, EP 2009 Diversity in the determinants of food choice: A psychological perspective. Food Quality and Preference 20: 70–82CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lange, C, Rousseau, F and Issanchou, S 1999 Expectation, liking and purchase behaviour under economical constraint. Food Quality and Preference 10: 31–39Google Scholar
Layton, R and Bonney, R 1999 The consumer, the citizen and animal welfare. Farm animal welfare: who writes the rules? Occasional Publication, British Society of Animal Science 23: 39–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, ED, Mills, DS and Houpt, KA 2005 Attitudes of Veterinary Students at One US College toward Factors Relating to Farm Animal Welfare. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 32: 481–490Google ScholarPubMed
Main, D and Cartledge, V 2000 Farm assurance schemes-what is the veterinarian's role? In Practice: 335–339Google Scholar
María, GA 2006 Public perception of farm animal welfare in Spain. Livestock Science 103: 250–256CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MDC 2002 Milk Development Council (MDC) market prospects for organic milk. Project No. 01/T5/03. DairyCo: Cirencester, UKGoogle Scholar
Napolitano, F, Pacelli, C, Girolami, A and Braghieri, A 2008 Effect of information about animal welfare on consumer willingness to pay for yogurt. Journal of Dairy Science 91: 910–917CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Orpin, P 2000 Farmers’ views on veterinary services. Veterinary Record 147: 583–584Google ScholarPubMed
SAC 2007 The welfare of dairy cows in organic milk production systems. Final Report. Project no. AW1020. SAC: Edinburgh, UK. http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=AW1020_6045_FRP.docGoogle Scholar
Schröder, MJA and McEachern, MG 2004 Consumer value conflicts surrounding ethical food purchase decisions: a focus on welfare. International Journal of Consumer Studies 28: 168–177Google Scholar
SEERAD 2003 Public Perceptions of Food and Farming in Scotland. Market research UK http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/47210/0029008.pdfGoogle Scholar
Serpell, JA 2005 Factors influencing veterinary students’ career choices and attitudes to animals. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 32: 491–496CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soil Association 2008 Organic Market Report 2007. Soil Association: Bristol, UKGoogle Scholar
The Grocer 2008 Higher-welfare chicken demand at record high. http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/articles.aspx?page=articles&ID=126753Google Scholar
Valle, PS, Lien, G, Flaten, O, Koesling, M and Ebbesvik, M 2007 Herd health and health management in organic versus conventional dairy herds in Norway. Livestock Science 112: 123–132CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Velde, HT, Aarts, N and Woerkum, CV 2002 Dealing with ambivalence: farmers’ and consumers’ perceptions of animal welfare in livestock breeding. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 15: 203–219Google Scholar
Verbeke, WAJ and Viaene, J 2000 Ethical challenges for livestock production: meeting consumer concerns about meat safety and animal welfare. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 12: 141–151CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitaker, DA, Macrae, AI and Burrough, E 2004 Disposal and disease rates in British dairy herds between April 1998 and March 2002. Veterinary Record 155: 43–47CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whole Foods Market 2005 Organic Trend Tracker. Whole Foods Market®: Austin, TX, USA. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/pressroom/2005/11/18/nearly-two-thirds-of-americans-have-tried-organic-foods-and-beverages/Google Scholar