According to Understanding Retailers’ Animal Welfare Priorities, sponsored by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA),  retail decision-makers interest in stocking products with animal welfare claims is increasing, but there is also much confusion about these claims.

The survey was sent to 300 supermarket decision makers and 40 qualitative interviews were conducted.  Seventy-percent of the respondents that stock products with animal welfare claims, indicated the sale of those products has increased over the last three years. The most popular claim is organic, followed by all-natural, certified organic, pasture raised, grass-fed, and then antibiotic free (to view the full list, click on the report). While the findings highlight the sales of these products are increasing, they also highlight those making decisions for supermarkets are confused about the meaning of animal welfare claims. As an example, 95 percent of the respondents indicated “cage-free” was a strong claim for chicken meat, despite that cages are not used to raise chickens for meat.