Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
But if you look only at the prices listed at the market, are people
willing to spend more on their groceries if they know they'll be sup-
porting farms that are more sustainable and provide higher animal
welfare than today's industrial animal factories?
People ask me this question all the time, and there is no easy an-
swer. It's clear, based on consumer purchasing preference surveys,
the expansion of sales from more humane and environmentally
responsible farms, and other vehicles, that some people are not
only
willing
to spend more for quality products, but are doing so.
Of course, others just want the cheapest food possible and maybe
have little consciousness about animal welfare when they go shop-
ping. Over the years, these people have told me, “They're
just
chickens, John. They're not humans.” My response is always that
animals are sentient beings who can experience pain and suffering
and therefore are deserving of moral consideration. Fortunately,
humanity's consciousness is continuing to evolve to a higher ethi-
cal plane, and our goal should be to continue to increase aware-
ness among people who currently couldn't care less about animals
or the ways they're raised for meat, eggs, and milk, and the many
impacts those irresponsible practices are having.
But, once people are aware, are they willing to pay a premium
for products that were produced by more humane (or, conversely,
less
inhumane
) practices? There's been a long-term trend toward
spending less money on food. At the turn of the twentieth century,
we spent about 45 percent of our disposable income in the United
States on food. Today, it's about 8 percent. As our society becomes
wealthier, though, despite some economic hardships we may face,
we've now reached a point where many of us can reevaluate what
is important to us. We've discovered that people are increasingly
willing to spend more to get higher quality food. Food from more
responsible, more sustainable, and more ethical farms.
This is about what your values are—what you care about. Yes,
