title: Mexican consumers' perceptions and attitudes towards farm animal welfare and willingness to pay for welfare friendly meat products.
abstract: Increasing concerns about farm animal welfare have led to an increase in the availability of welfare-friendly-products (WFP), but little is known about how much more consumers are willing-to-pay (WTP) for WFP or about their buying trends in Latin America. In this study, a survey was given to 843 meat consumers in the city of Toluca, Mexico. The results show that consumers were interested in farm animal welfare issues and their ethical, sociological and economic implications, as in Europe. The people surveyed also conveyed a high level of empathy with animal feelings and emotions, however they clearly demanded more information and regulations related to farm animal welfare. The majority of respondents expressed that they were WTP more for properly certified WFP, but mostly based on the benefits in terms of product quality and human health. If the demand for WFP begins to increase in Mexico, the supply chain should consider a certification system to guarantee product origin based on current conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Division of Biological and Health Sciences, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Lerma Campus, State of Mexico, Mexico. Electronic address: g.miranda@correo.ler.uam.mx.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Miranda-de la Lama
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural and Rural Sciences, Autonomous University of Mexico State, Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico.
authors.forename: L X
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Estévez-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Business, Universidad Libre, Socorro, Santander, Colombia.
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Sepúlveda
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Division of Biological and Health Sciences, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Lerma Campus, State of Mexico, Mexico.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Estrada-Chavero
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science, Division of Biological and Health Sciences, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Lerma Campus, State of Mexico, Mexico.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rayas-Amor
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, E.T.S.I.A. Polytechnic University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villarroel
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Production and Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: María
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000827:Animal Welfare; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004522:Educational Status; D000072480:Farms; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008461:Meat Products / Q000191:economics*; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Animal welfare; Attitudes; Consumers; Mexico; Perceptions; Welfare friendly products