Shoppers would pay more for higher-welfare meat, study finds

British shoppers would collectively pay billions of pounds more each year for meat, milk and eggs produced under higher animal welfare standards, according to new research from the University of Reading.

The study, led by agricultural economist Richard Bennett, introduces a groundbreaking tool that assigns economic value to animal welfare improvements – potentially transforming how supermarkets, farmers and policymakers assess welfare reforms.

“For too long, animal welfare has been difficult to factor into policy decisions because we lacked a standardised way to measure its value,” said Prof Bennett. “This research finally provides that tool.”

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Prof Bennett presented the findings of his study at a Universities Federation for Animal Welfare online seminar on Thursday (30 October).

The new system gives each farming system a welfare score from 0 to 100, based on expert assessments of animals’ physical health, mental wellbeing and opportunities for natural behaviour.

These scores are then linked to what 3,000 UK households said they would pay for improvements.

Among the findings:

Pork: Eliminating farrowing crates could raise welfare scores from 27 to 47 – valued at £1.4bn a year, or £2.52 a kg of pork.

Chicken: Allowing more space for a bird would be worth £997m a year, or 92p a chicken.

Eggs: Moving all caged hens to free-range could bring an extra £496m a year, about 20p an egg.

Milk: Cutting lameness in dairy cows from 30% to 5% would be valued at £1.bn annually, equal to 11p a litre.

Public backing for better welfare was overwhelming – 85% of respondents said society has a moral duty to protect farm animals, and 86% supported stronger regulation.

Prof Bennett said the method finally allows government departments to compare welfare improvements against costs “using real public preferences, not assumptions”.

He added: “Farmers, retailers and policymakers can now see where welfare improvements truly represent good value for money.”

The study (PDF) was commissioned by Defra and conducted at the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development at the University of Reading.

Defra commissioned this research to better understand consumer preferences around farm animal welfare.

It said the report highlights the additional amount shoppers are willing to pay for improvements in animal welfare, rather than indicating the cost of producing higher-welfare products.