Consumer Preferences for Willful Ignorance on Animal Welfare Practices Used in Swine Production

Abstract

Animal welfare issues have become more prevalent in the last decade, along with the amount of information consumers are receiving on farm animal production practices. Consumers are constantly being exposed to advertising containing information on animal welfare through various media outlets. Although some consumers may desire this information, others may not. Many participants in the food industry are catering to those who desire information, leaving those in the latter group at a disadvantage. Using swine as the farm animal of choice, we use specific questioning techniques to mitigate social desirability and affirmation bias to better gauge Oklahoma population’s desire for willful ignorance on swine production practices. In this survey we find that at least a quarter of respondents openly express the desire for willful ignorance when asked directly. However, this percentage increases to one third when respondents are asked indirectly. This finding shows that a significant portion of the population prefer to remain willfully ignorance and not receive information on farm animal production practices. When asked directly, respondents also reflect that they prefer willful ignorance for two main reasons: they trust the farmers and have more important issues to focus their time on. However, when asked indirectly respondents state that guilt aversion also plays a high role in their desire to remain willfully ignorant. Although consumers may be reticent to admit it, guilt aversion and the negative emotions that come with such information keep them from desiring information on farm animal production practices.