10 animal welfare observations from restaurant consumers

A diverse consumer focus group from the Kansas City metro area revealed that while they are concerned about the welfare of animals raised for food, it is not what is most important to them when making decisions to dine out.

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fabiennew, Freeimages.com
fabiennew, Freeimages.com

A diverse consumer focus group revealed that while they are concerned about the welfare of animals raised for food, it is not what is most important to them when making decisions to dine out.

The focus group, assembled during the Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit in Kansas City, Missouri, consisted of eight members. Of those eight people, one was raised on a farm, and only two others said they even knew farmers. However, six of eight said they feel very positive about farmers and ranchers and the way they treat their animals. All say they eat meat and all are residents of the greater Kansas City area.

The panel members, who all acknowledged they frequently dined out, were asked a variety of questions at the summit by Don Phipps, owner, Applied Marketing Research, about their dining out choices and how animal welfare is a factor.

Animal Ag Alliance Focus Group

Don Phipps, owner, Applied Marketing Research, asks members of a focus group their opinions about how animal welfare factors in when making dining decisions. | Roy Graber

Here are 10 notable observations shared on May 3 by the focus group members:

  1. “I put (animal welfare) to the back of my mind. I know it’s not right the way the animals are treated, but at the same time, the (most important) concern remains that it tastes good.”
  2. “Local meat is a lot easier to trust than the packaged stuff in the grocery store. You know how that animal is treated.”
  3. “I think all of us have probably seen something on Facebook, whether it’s chickens or cows and how they are being treated moving from the farm to where they’re being slaughtered. I think that’s concerning in itself, that they can’t (transport animals) in a more humane manner."
  4. “Back in the time when you could produce your own food, you did it in a little more humane way, but in today’s society, we have a billion people on the planet, and the only way they can get chicken when they want it is to mass produce it. … I don’t have a problem with that. I feel like that’s what those creatures are here for."
  5. “I raised some animals before I raised sons and they’re a lot of work. There’s a lot of creatures (specifically predators) out there that want to eat chicken. Everyone wants to eat chicken.”
  6. “(Animal welfare concerns haven’t) taken me to the point to become vegan, because currently my pocket doesn’t allow me to follow through with that.”
  7. “I’m grateful for what (farmers) do. I certainly appreciate it. It’s a hard job and it’s not for everybody.”
  8.  "People talk about a 40-hour work week, (farmers) have that done by Wednesday."
  9. “It’s not a meal without meat.”
  10. “For some reason, the bigger the animal the worse I feel for them, just because they are bigger. I feel like they can feel more, just like a chicken versus a cow. That might not be true, but that’s how I feel.”
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