Restaurant visit
Four out of ten want information about animal husbandry on the menu
Should restaurants include information about animal husbandry on their menus? Consumers are divided on the issue. However, when it comes to another question about meat, the result is clear.
What type of husbandry does the pig from which the schnitzel comes from? Many people in Germany would like more information about animal husbandry when visiting a restaurant. 39 percent would like corresponding information in the menu. This is shown by a survey by the market research company Yougov on behalf of the German Press Agency.
However, consumers are divided on the issue. 35 percent would like no information on the menu. 20 percent don’t care, everyone else doesn’t say anything. Yougov surveyed around 2,000 people aged 18 and over on the topic on December 11th and 12th.
What is striking about the results is that younger people in particular want to learn something about animal husbandry when they visit a restaurant. Every second person between the ages of 18 and 35 says this. However, it is less important to people over 55. Only a good 30 percent want to know how an animal was kept.
55 percent willing to pay more
For most people, when eating meat dishes in a restaurant, how an animal was raised plays a role. For two thirds it is important to be offered meat from higher farming levels – for example with more space and exercise. Only for a quarter this is unimportant or less important. A good half of people are also willing to pay more for meat from higher farming levels (55 percent).
In supermarkets, there has long been widespread voluntary “keeping style” labeling by retail chains. From summer 2025, a mandatory state logo will be added – initially only for fresh pork. Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) is aiming to expand this to include the catering industry.
According to a draft from the SPD and the Greens, information about how animals are kept should also be included in menus, price lists or notices. The Bundestag will deal with the draft for the first time on Friday – but it is uncertain whether it will be passed before the new election. The catering industry rejected new labeling requirements for animal husbandry.
dpa
Source: Stern
