In China, public support for animal welfare doesn’t align with consumer behavior, as many care but won’t pay extra for ethical products.
Research shows a gap between citizens’ attitudes towards animal welfare and their consumer behavior. What does this gap look like in the Chinese context, and how can we address it?
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the Chinese public’s awareness of the role of farmed animal welfare in human health and food quality, leading in 2022 to the introduction of welfare standards for killing animals for disease control purposes. Despite this, China lacks comprehensive farmed animal welfare laws, and there’s relatively little research on animal welfare in China compared to Europe, Oceania, and North America. International research has shown a gap between people’s attitudes towards animal welfare as citizens and their behavior as consumers, with more people expressing an interest in animal welfare than considering it when making purchases. This study explored such a gap in the Chinese context.
Researchers surveyed 5,284 people in 119 areas of mainland China on their attitudes and behavior, and analyzed the impact of demographic factors including gender, age, education, monthly income, area of residence, occupation, and region. The survey measured three aspects of attitude:
- cognitive attitude, encompassing thoughts, and beliefs about farmed animal welfare;
- affective attitude, encompassing emotions; and
- behavioral attitude, encompassing intended behaviors.
Before responding to different questions, participants were asked to imagine either that they were shopping for animal products at a store, or that they were attending a community meeting to discuss farmed animal welfare polices. They rated their agreement or disagreement with each survey item on a scale of 1 to 5.
The results showed most participants (58%) were more positive towards farmed animal welfare when they answered as citizens (in the community meeting scenario) than when they answered as consumers (in the shopping scenario). Women, people living in urban areas, and people with higher education levels were more positive towards animal welfare as consumers. Lower income people expressed greater care and sympathy for animals, but were less likely to pay more for animal products.
Nearly half (49%) of the participants expressed concern for farmed animals, 60% believed people are justified in opposing intensive farming practices, and 87% believed farmed animals experience both physical sensations and emotions. However, only 32% believed that they should be treated with dignity, and 92% don’t think they have the same right to life as humans. In terms of the three aspects of attitude, the results suggested that people’s affective attitude did not differ based on whether they responded as consumers or citizens. People scored more positively in their cognitive attitude as consumers, and more positively in the behavioral attitude as citizens.
The survey echoed previous studies which found that, although the majority in China hold positive attitudes towards animal welfare, there’s limited knowledge about animal welfare, and concern for animal welfare is driven by its perceived positive impact on food quality and safety. Replicating findings in North America and Germany, participants also tended to be ‘free-riders,’ meaning they won’t individually pay an increased price for higher animal welfare if cheaper products are available, but would support policies that would enforce a price increase for everyone.
The researchers cautioned that their study had some limitations: for example, it could have more accurately reflected the distribution of the Chinese population, or measured more demographic factors. Also, before completing the survey, participants were given a document explaining the Five Freedoms concept of animal welfare: this could have biased their responses in being more positive towards animal welfare, because people tend to answer surveys in a way that they believe others will view favorably (also known as social desirability bias).
Overall, the study showed that although a gap exists in China between attitudes and consumer behaviour, the Chinese public is receptive to learning more about animal welfare, for example via promotional initiatives. There’s also an opportunity for the Chinese government to address the free-rider problem by instituting farmed animal welfare standards and laws.
Original source: https://faunalytics.org
https://www.animalagricultureclimatechange.org/china-opens-skyscraper-pig-factory-farm/
