New study: State animal welfare scale trumps previous seals of approval in Austria

Officially secured husbandry labeling that can be understood by means of a color scale would have a significantly positive influence on purchasing behavior, oekoreich calls on the minister to engage in dialogue

Vienna (OTS) – In Germany, Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir wants to push through a state animal husbandry label for meat, cheese and milk, even against resistance, he is convinced of the positive effects on consumer behavior. Pork is the first, the EU has approved labelling, and the food trade is following suit.

Food labeling has also been discussed in Austria for years, and its partial implementation was decided in the government program. But what about qualitative labeling regarding husbandry and animal welfare? Chiara Brammer pursued this question in her master’s thesis at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences.

The results bring new dynamics to the debate about animal welfare labelling. As the study shows, secured by a representative survey in cooperation with MindTake Research, a state-verified labeling, made easy to understand by a color scheme, would have a significant effect on purchasing behavior.

Animal welfare scale could support transformation processes

On the one hand, consumers would be willing to pay a higher price for products that are classified higher – and would avoid products from the lowest class, even if no alternative is available. The four-level animal welfare scale could therefore provide decisive support for transformation processes in agriculture.

„The findings of Chiara Brammer’s study prove that more transparency and credible information can have a strongly positive effect on our consumer behavior in terms of animal welfare and nature conservation. It is high time that politicians took up this and did not leave it to the corporations“ said Sebastian Bohrn Mena, spokesman for the initiative oekoreichsuccessor to the successful animal welfare people’s desire.

With this in mind, the oekoreich initiative, together with the author of the study, Chiara Brammer, invites the actors in the field to engage in dialogue, in particular the two responsible ministers, Norbert Totschnig and Johannes Rauch. Also with the “Austrian Consumer Dialogues: Food“ in autumn 2023 in Steyr, the issue of labeling will be discussed.

The results of the study can be oekoreich.com be read.