Il concetto di “benessere animale” per i consumatori italiani: risultati di una indagine nazionale.

Introduction Consumers are paying more attention to industrial farming practices, which are often associated with food quality. This study aims at showing the main results of a survey carried out in order to investigate opinions and perceptions of Italian consumers about "farm animal welfare" in industrial supply chains. Materials and methods A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of Italian consumers using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) method between April and May 2019. Results A total of 1,004 questionnaires were collected. According to consumers’ opinions, the concept of “farm animal welfare” includes several elements: physical-spatial (adequate spaces, good nutrition), emotional (absence of suff ering), natural (possibility to express natural behaviours). Most respondents agree that 1) high quality food can derive only from free-range animals (81.4%) and 2) that their food choices can contribute to improving farm animal welfare (77.3%). Conclusions Results off er important indications for the implementation of communication strategies aimed at informing the citizen about the methods of industrial farming and at promoting informed choices to consumers.