Speaking at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) Annual Conference in San Antonio on Tuesday, April 12, Glynn Tonsor, Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University shared results of a study he conducted along with Dr. Nicole Olynk at Purdue University that shows media coverage of animal welfare does, impact meat demand.
“The beef industry is less sensitive to this than the pork and poultry industry, but all three species tend to lose because the main response is if you have an increase in media attention there is an exit from the meat industry to non-meat food expenditures,” Tonsor said. “That impact is a little stronger in the poultry industry, it is negative and significant for the pork industry and the substitution out of meat influences all three species.”
The Kansas State ag economist also says the longevity of these impacts can last up to 2 quarters.
“You could debate if that is long or not,” said Tonsor. “But the impact of an increasing article count, or new articles on this issue last up to six months, some would say that’s a lot longer than they would guess, but it’s not a three year impact.”
Audio: Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University (2:55 MP3)
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