Introduction Animals in Ethical Consumerism Symposium The importance of 'attention to animals' in 'ethical consumption'. The status of animal welfare issues within the context of the movement in the UK. Introduction Ethical Consumer is an independent, not-for-profit, research co-operative, founded in 1987 and based in Manchester, UK. Our mission is to make global business more sustainable through consumer pressure. We do this by providing information to consumers which enables them to take ethical issues into account when making purchasing decisions. Introduction Ethics – is a word used to describe that area of human activity whereby right or good or moral choices are discussed. We can observe these discussions occurring in societies all around the world. Introduction Ethics – is a word used to describe that area of human activity whereby right or good or moral choices are discussed. We can observe these discussions occurring in societies all around the world. “But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy.” PLUTARCH (40 to 120 A.D. approx.) Introduction In the late 20th century particularly, it has been possible to observe a growth in ethical conversations about consumer product choices. We can observe this using three main methods. Consumer surveys Actual buying behaviour Looking at the activities of civil society organisations (CSOs) eg PETA, RSPCA, CIWF Today we will use all of these to understand UK consumers acting on animal issues. Introduction In the UK our research at Ethical Consumer we categorise observed behaviours of consumers as trying to address ethical issues in four main areas: Environmental isssues Human rights issues Animal issues Political issues (such as tax avoidance by corporations) Introduction Ethical Consumer Magazine Early Ranking Table from 1989 What I'm going to talk about today UK consumers and their CSOs are active across probably more than 100 ‘animal issues’ at any one time...seeking to address particularly cruel practices. To make the discussion manageable, I will mainly focus on intensive or ‘factory farming’ with some passing references to animal testing. What I'm going to talk about today We are looking at the experience of ethical consumers in the UK trying to addresses animal issues. I will do this in three main sections: A: Five key stages in challenging unethical markets B: A case study – changing egg production in the UK C: Dietary responses to animal isses – including vegetarianism and veganism ….and then end with some conculsions... A Challenging unethical markets Stage 1 – Boycotts In the late 1980s there was a rapid growth of consumer boycotts against cosmetics companies testing products on animals. These boycotts were successful to some degree. Amongst many others: Avon announced an end to its testing in 1989. L’Oreal announced an end to its testing in 1994. Gillette announced an end to its testing in 1997. A Challenging unethical markets Stage 2 – Surveys Companies and campaigners, wanting to understand this upsurge in activism began to survey consumers. They found that concerns around animal cruelty extended far beyond the 2-5% of vegetarians in the country to be a mainstream concern on some issues. In 1991 Mintel found that: 50% of UK consumers opposed animal testing of cosmetics 20% of UK consumers opposed factory farming In 1990 surveys by CIWF showed: 86% in favour of banning pig confinement cages 67% in favour of banning battery egg production A Challenging unethical markets Stage 2 – Surveys A Challenging unethical markets Stage 3 – Working with ethical companies A Challenging unethical markets Stage 4 – 1994 – 2004 developing ethical labelling schemes 1994 - RSPCA launched its Freedom Foods Label (after failures to prosecute ‘battery egg’ farmers) 1998 – The leaping bunny label goes international A Challenging unethical markets Stage 5 – Publishing rankings or league tables B - Changing egg production in the UK In 1990, 90% of egg production in the UK was from ‘battery hens’ in small cages. 10% was from ‘free range’ hens. Now, in 2016, more than 50% of all eggs sold in the UK are from free range hens. How did we get there? B - Changing egg production in the UK Boycotts In the 1980s UK campaigners called for consumers to boycott battery eggs. However, free range eggs were hard to find. It was hard to grow beyond the 10% of dedicated consumers. B - Changing egg production in the UK Labelling Schemes The RSPCA Freedom Foods label fell short of requiring Free Range – but gave farmers an incentive to change. Organic farms introduced very high standards for welfare of hens laying organic eggs and began labelling these. B - Changing egg production in the UK Challenging the marketing of factory farmers CIWF began a campaign to ‘tell us the whole truth about battery eggs’ A CIWF survey showed that 58% if people think that battery eggs sold as ‘Farm Fresh’ or ‘Country Fresh’ were misleading. The Co-op supermarket voluntarily labels its eggs as ‘intensively produced’ In 1995 the UK Government announces support for the idea of the term ‘eggs from caged hens’. B - Changing egg production in the UK Pressure increases In 1997 Tesco labels its eggs ‘Eggs from caged hens’. M&S becomes the first supermarket to only sell free range eggs. We call this ‘ethical choice editing’. In 2016 three supermarkets only sell free range eggs: M&S, Co-op and Waitrose. B - Changing egg production in the UK Regulators begin to help The EU introduced mandatory ‘method of production labelling’ in 2004, the result of an enormous Europe-wide campaign effort. Experts believe consumers started switching to free range after rules made farmers state how their eggs were produced. This trend has gathered pace despite free range costing four pence more on average than caged varieties.. B - Changing egg production in the UK The situation now Cramped battery cages were banned across the EU in 2012, but animal welfare experts agree that new and so-called improved “enriched” cages are not a great deal better. However, about 51 per cent of all eggs produced in the UK are free-range – laid by hens that enjoy unlimited daytime access to runs that have vegetation, and at least four square metres of outside space per bird. The RSPCA estimates they are used to rear 16 million hens in Britain to produce eggs mainly for the catering industry. The situation in the UK is more or less replicated in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Scandinavian countries.. B - Changing egg production in the UK And in the future My name’s Lucy, I’m 14 years old and thanks to 480,000 people like you supporting my petitions every major UK supermarket has pledged to be cage free by 2025. C- Dietary responses to animal issues Vegetarianism and veganism People who self-identify as vegetarian or vegan can now be observed across most modern cultures. In many countries, between 2 and 5 percent of the population, self-identify in this way. India appears to be a significant exception, where around 30% of people refrain from eating meat. C- Dietary responses to animal issues Survey data – reasons for becoming vegan Vegans in New Zealand quote the following reasons for becoming vegan: animal rights (93.3%), environmental (62.5%) and health (55.5%) Sixty-nine percent in a 2016 US survey said they chose to eat a vegan diet to support the ethical treatment of animals Not all vegetarianism and veganism is about ethical choices though, since a significant number of people are choosing a meat-free diet for personal health reasons. C- Dietary responses to animal issues Survey data – Reducing meat consumption A 2013 survey on meat consumption in the UK found: 25% British public have cut back on meat in the past year 34% are willing to consider eating less meat There has been a significant increase in the awareness of the environmental impact of eating meat, from 14% in 2007 to 31% in 2013 Young people in particular have increased their awareness oof the environmental impact from 8% in 2007 to 40% in 2013 17% of young people don’t eat any meat at all Animal welfare was the primary concern for people considering eating less meat. C- Dietary responses to animal issues C- Dietary responses to animal issues Campaigning around diet In the same way that we have observed campaigning around particular methods of food production such as battery eggs, vegetarian and vegan CSOs are also using multiple tools to drive adoption of these dietary forms. Veg soc and Vegan soc labels. Boycott campaigns C- Dietary responses to animal issues D - Conclusions “Factory farming is still the dominant method of food production globally Around two thirds of farm animals worldwide are currently factory farmed, reared in systems that are dependent on cereal and soya feeds for fast growth and high yields.” CIWF 2015 This will continue to drive opposition from animal rights campaigners around the world. D - Conclusions However, over the last ten years, the unsustainability of diets based on intensively reared animals has increasingly become the focus of scientific as well as ethical concern. This covers two main areas: Climate Impacts D - Conclusions Antibiotic use and the rise of resistant organisms: D - Conclusions Is is possible that a new 21st century combination of: Animal welfare campaigners, and Campaigners for environmental sustainability Will drive a new, rational approach to food production, which works for animals, the environment and people. If we have time – there is a new 2016 campaign video around intensive pig farming in the UK which combines this approach. http://farmsnotfactories.org/ D - Conclusions It is the rise of industrialisation and the globalisation of markets that has driven many ethical consumer behaviours, as people around the world seek to protect the environment, humans and animals from the effects of businesses seeking to reduce prices to compete. Consumers buying ethically can offer a systemic response to these systemic problems, but they can be helped by governments intervening to make companies disclose fully and fairly the methods and approaches to production that they use. D - Conclusions “If we pursue our habit of eating animals, and if our neighbour follows a similar path, will we not have need to go to war against our neighbour to secure greater pasturage, because ours will not be enough to sustain us, and our neighbour will have a similar need to wage war on us for the same reason?” Socrates: 470-399 BC Thank You More information available at: www.ethicalconsumer.org
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