Study of the knowledge and perceptions of a sample of portuguese and french consumers regarding animal welfare in food-producing animals

• Autor(a) principal: Tisseront, Léa Marie Elise
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/49084
• topic: Animal production; Animal welfare; Consumer; Foodstuffs of animal origin; Knowledge; Perception; Alimentos de origem animal; Bem-estar anima; Conhecimentos; Consumidor; Percepção; Produção animal

In recent years, the growing interest of consumers in the quality of food of animal origin has allowed several advances regarding farm animal welfare (AW) with a real evolution in legislation. Through the different means of information and communication, consumers have become more demanding and critical of production systems and have begun to value products with greater respect for the environment and animals. In this way, new food challenges have emerged, with the evolution of food choices, and also the emergence of new diets. In order to evaluate the attitudes and perceptions of Portuguese and French consumers regarding animal welfare in food-producing animals, two identical questionnaires, in Portuguese and French, were disseminated through the social networks. In total, 339 answers were collected. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used for the treatment of the data obtained. The Portuguese and French panels presented, in both cases, a majority of female respondents, under 31 years old, with a high education level (college). A high interest in obtaining more information on the production method and the welfare of livestock was observed. The participants recognised the importance of good practices and especially the sensitivity of animals in livestock farming. Most of them considered that new legislation and European harmonisation of the existing legislation was necessary to further protect animals. Participants also considered necessary to have a wider offer of certified products. Several socio-demographic characteristics were found to have a statistically significant influence on participants' perceptions and attitudes, such as gender on the willingness to pay more for the implementation of animal welfare-friendly practices (p Portugal = 0.001; p France = 0.006), as well as the diet on the level of knowledge (p Portugal = 0.005; p France = 2e-07). In both countries, consumers pointed out the quality and origin of products as the most important criteria. This study further highlighted correlations between socio-economic determinants and consumers’ perceptions and attitudes. Thus, lower class participants seemed less sensible about AW, and less willing to pay more for certified products. Additionally, vegans and vegetarians declared to have more knowledge on farming conditions and were more likely to pay for AW certified products. Gender had an influence in both panels on the willingness to pay more for AW certified products. These findings shed light on the changing attitudes and behaviours of French and Portuguese consumers towards their purchasing habits of foodstuffs of animal origin (FAO), indicating a growing emphasis on responsible consumption to address emerging food production challenges and environmental concerns.