America Says YES! to Humane Treatment of Farm Animals
Announcing the results of our Humane Heartland Farm Animal Survey
We believe that all animals – those in our homes, those in service to our country, and those on our nation’s farms and ranches – deserve humane treatment. Yet more than 90 percent of the 10 billion animals in U.S. agriculture are not raised under independently audited, science-based animal welfare standards. In fact, one of the last great humanitarian frontiers is the treatment of farm animals, which is why we created the nation’s first Farm Animal Program to ensure that they have the food, water, space, good environment, and good treatment they need and deserve.
We know we’re not alone in this feeling. To gauge what America thinks of this important issue, we recently asked for your thoughts on farm animal welfare in the United States. Now, we’re excited to give you a preview of some of the topline results, which will be distributed nationwide next week, along with a selection of comments from you, our supporters, on the importance of treating farm animals humanely. Gratifyingly, an overwhelming majority of the people we surveyed are committed to seeing that farm animals are treated humanely because it is the right thing to do.
American Humane Association conducted an online survey to let people sound off on their views about farm animal welfare in the United States. After reading each and every one of the 2,634 responses we received, we have now published the survey results, giving a heartening look at the emerging views about the use of animals in American agriculture. An overwhelming majority of respondents (84%) are “extremely interested” in the humane treatment of farm animals, and nearly nine in ten (89%) are “very concerned” with farm animal welfare in the United States. Nearly two in three (74%) said they were “very willing” to pay more for humanely raised meat, dairy, and eggs. When asked how much they would be willing to pay for those products, 34 percent said between 10-20 percent more and another 28 percent are willing to pay 20-30 percent more – backing up their principles with their pocketbooks.
American Humane Association, through its Humane Heartland™ program, offers the oldest, largest, and fastest-growing farm animal welfare program in the country. The enlightened producers with whom we work are deeply committed to raising animals in the most humane way possible, and do so by adhering to our more than 200 science-based standards, tailored to the each species we audit. The producers recognize that not only is this the best way to do things, it’s the right thing to do. The number of labels on the products we buy in the grocery store can be confusing and sometimes do not tell the full story. But every product you see bearing our American Humane Certified™ seal of approval means that the farmers have gone to great lengths to earn it. Americans who do choose to eat eggs, dairy and meat are demanding, now more than ever, humane choices that are in line with their values. Americans have a right to eat what they choose, but no one has the right to treat animals inhumanely. More and more people agree with us on this important issue.
Learn more about Humane Heartland and its Farm Animal Welfare Program.
