Meat, Dairy, Egg Consumption

An opinion poll conducted at a European poultry technical seminar found that nearly a third of nutritionists, veterinarians, and other industry experts believe that the European Union (EU) program to reduce salmonella contamination in eggs and poultry flocks will put the competitiveness of EU poultry producers at risk.

According to research by Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), more than 80% of the total U.S. adult population show some type of "green motivation." Moreover, the number of consumers who are "sustainability active" has increased since 2004 and now extends to several consumer segments identified by NMI.

Consumer demand for more humanely raised and healthier foods has led to labels such as "cage free," "no antibiotics used," and "no hormones administered." However, these labels typically cover only a single aspect of the product's origin and may be redundant or misleading. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has categorized these different labels and surveyed their availability among the U.S.'s top 23 grocery chains.

Australians are voting with their wallets regarding the way that chickens for meat consumption are raised, with three in five Australians choosing chickens that are "free to roam outside in paddocks and guaranteed to not contain growth hormones."

Business consulting firm Deloitte's survey of U.S. consumers found that, to improve their buying decisions, consumers want their foods to clearly display key information (including the food's country of origin), even if this means additional cost to the consumer.

Higher standards of animal welfare can provide positive benefits to producers and consumers, but producers by themselves are unlikely to maximize either animal or social welfare. Consequently, government involvement is warranted to ensure that the interests of consumers who care about animal welfare are considered. This paper analyzes the economic benefits of improving the welfare of "broiler" chickens.

This Canadian study sought to identify the attitudes, health-related behavior, "social adjustment," and perceptions of personal health among both vegetarian and omnivorous teenagers, with the goal of determining specific characteristics related to vegetarianism.

A study of 1,500 Chinese women showed those who ate a "meat-sweet" diet were twice as likely to develop breast cancer compared with those on a vegetable-based diet.

Dutch supermarket chains, Aldi and Lidl announced that they will only sell meat from pigs which have not been castrated due campaigns by animal welfare groups. An estimated three million piglets are castrated each year in the Netherlands.

This brief overview of the International Egg Commission's (IEC) meeting in Shanghai, China summarizes recent developments in the North American egg industry. Animal welfare concerns continue to effect the egg industry in both Canada and the United States, but they do not currently have a major impact on consumers or the market in Mexico.