Nearly half of people who buy vegan food do it for animal welfare-related reasons, according to a new report.
Health Research International research revealed that 47 percent of consumers who purchase plant-based food and drink do so because they feel it is “very important” or “extremely important” for the animals.
Health and environmental reasons were also motivators, with 53 percent of study participants strongly agreeing with the statement that eating vegan food “helps to prevent disease.” Forty-four percent of participants said they also ate plant-based foods for environmental and sustainability reasons, according to a press release.
Animal Welfare Concerns
People are becoming more concerned about animal welfare. Last year, World Animal Protection conducted research around the world to find out consumer thoughts on factory farming pigs.
According to the results, 70 percent of 10,000 people surveyed felt that the conditions of pigs on many factory farms were both upsetting and wrong. Many said they would consider changing their shopping habits after seeing images of pigs on factory farms cramped into small pens. They were also told that many pigs are castrated and have their tails docked without pain relief.
Across the U.S., 98.3 percent of pigs are raised in factory farm conditions, as well as 70.4 percent of cows, 99.8 percent of turkeys, 98.2 percent of egg-laying hens, and 99.9 percent of chickens raised for meat.
A more recent report revealed that concerns over animal suffering could seriously impact the meat industry. It noted that Australian animal agriculture could see a loss of $3.8 billion by 2030 due to animal welfare-related concerns.
A number of celebrities have spoken out against the conditions of animals in the factory farming industry. Earlier this year, 17-year-old vegan musician Billie Eilish posted leaked footage from a dairy farm to her Instagram story. In the video, farm workers were violent towards cows and their calves, who are separated from their mothers shortly after they are born.
She said in the story, “if you can watch the videos that I just posted and not give a [expletive] that it’s YOU contributing by LITERALLY EATING the creatures that are being fully tortured just for your pleasure. I feel sorry for you.”
