Most British adults (69%) believe factory farming puts profits ahead of taking care of the climate and our environment, according to new research commissioned by Compassion in World Farming.
The research, conducted by YouGov, covered 13 countries and was carried out to coincide with the launch of Compassion in World Farming’s new End of the Line for Factory Farming campaign, supported by NGOs, individuals and celebrities.
The poll found that British adults believed factory farming puts profits ahead of animal welfare (81%) and the health of people who eat animal products (66%).
Additionally, it revealed that only one in two British adults (55%) were aware that the livestock sector produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the transport sector.
The 13 countries polled were Brazil, Czechia, Egypt, France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the US, and the UK.
The research, conducted in October 2022, revealed that adults in France were the most likely to agree that factory farming puts profits before climate and the environment (76%) and animal welfare (81%), the same proportion as the UK.
“Our research shows that the British public aren’t convinced by industry propaganda that factory farming is ‘necessary to feed the world’,” said Dr Nick Palmer, head of Compassion in World Farming. “Big meat companies prop up a highly profitable system without accounting for the climate, health and animal welfare impacts they cause.”
It comes as the organisation has launched a new End of the Line campaign designed to “end this cruel and destructive practice and to transform our food system,” said Palmer.
The campaign has been supported by actor Brian Cox, X-Men 2 star Alan Cumming and Jane Goodall, among others.
“Tackling climate change is one of the most important undertakings of our time – but to turn the tide on this crisis, we need to address its root causes – and animal factory farming is one of them,” said Cox. “Far beyond the suffering it inflicts on animals, intensive farming is threatening the very future of our planet.”
As part of the campaign, bicycle billboards were launched at popular landmarks alongside the creation of a multi-language petition platform designed to encourage world leaders to end factory farming through a global agreement.
This announcement comes as a report from the Animal Equality and Animal Law Foundation found that just one in 300 complaints about animal welfare at UK farms led to prosecution during the past four years.
The charities found that fewer than 3% of UK farms are inspected on average annually and there is only one inspector in place for every 205 farms.
It also found, following the analysis of covert investigations inside farms and slaughterhouses, over 69% resulted in no subsequent formal enforcement action.
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