The trend for higher welfare food continues in Britain, as Institute of Grocery Distribution findings show twice as many shoppers the number of shoppers buying RSPCA Freedom Foods products has doubled in the past four years. Almost half (48%) of Britons questioned also said animal welfare is “very important” to them when choosing meat. image expired

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s recently announced that its sales of Freedom Food products had risen by 10 per cent in the past year.

The IGD’s findings also revealed that Egg laying hens, followed by meat chickens and beef cattle are the animals about which shoppers are most concerned.

However, although many expressed concern for animal welfare, only 35 per cent of chicken and pork buyers said they would be prepared to pay extra for knowing that the farm inspections were conducted by independent assessors to assure better welfare.

The RSPCA said it is responding to the findings by launching a new online Freedom Food advertising campaign to promote higher animal welfare standards and tackle consumer concerns about the way animals are farmed. The advert will focus on chicken, as the most commonly farmed animal, and will run from 10th October across a variety of websites.