For full details on the methodology and previous years’ results, see our 2020 and 2017 reports. Links to survey and code for this report can be found here. The dataset can be downloaded here.

Please cite this report as follows: Ladak, Ali; Anthis, Jacy Reese (2022). Animals, Food, and Technology (AFT) Survey: 2021 Update. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/3v6ku

Summary

The Animals, Food, and Technology (AFT) survey tracks attitudes towards animal farming and animal product alternatives in the US. As in previous iterations, we found strong opposition to various aspects of the animal farming industry, with a majority of people reporting discomfort with the industry (74.6%), and relatively strong support for a range of seemingly radical policy changes, such as banning slaughterhouses (49.1%), factory farming (52.7%), and animal farming as a whole (38.8%). Regional analysis indicated that the West North Central region (the nation’s “Agricultural Heartland”) has the least Animal Farming Opposition (AFO) and Animal Product Alternatives Support (APAS). While AFO in the US as a whole fell in 2020, it recovered close to its 2019 level in 2021, though the overall trend and the difference in AFO between 2017 and 2021 is not statistically significant.^[1] APAS has gradually fallen between 2017 and 2021, though this trend is non-significant.

Table of Contents

Introduction

In October 2021, we conducted the fourth iteration of the Animals, Food, and Technology (AFT) survey on attitudes towards animal farming and animal-free food with 1,532 US adults, census-balanced to be representative of age, gender, region, ethnicity, and income.^[2] Here we report:

1. The trends in responses between 2017 and 2021
2. The means and distributions from the 2021 survey
3. A regional breakdown of the key findings from the 2021 survey

Our methodology remained largely the same as in previous years and can be found in our 2017 and 2020 reports. Any deviations from this are included in the text. Links to survey analysis code for this report can be found here. The dataset can be downloaded here.

2017–2021 Trends

Figure 1 presents trends in the mean responses and confidence intervals for each survey question for the four years we have collected data, weighted to account for differences between our sample and the US population on age, gender, region, ethnicity, and income using the most recent American Community Survey census data. The chart also shows the trends in the two scales we developed from these questions: Animal Farming Opposition (AFO) and Animal Product Alternatives Support (APAS). Definitions of these and text of all questions can be found here.

Figure 1: Animals, Food, and Technology survey 2017–2021 trends. Please click on items on the legend to show trends for questions of interest. This figure is best viewed on a laptop or desktop screen.

The plots suggest that AFO has fluctuated over the period. After falling between 2019 and 2020, it recovered close to its 2019 level in 2021. However, regression analysis of AFO over time suggests that the overall trend in AFO between 2017 and 2021 was non-significant (b = 0.023, SE = 0.023, p = 0.313), and the difference between 2017 and 2021 is also non-significant (b = 0.13, SE = 0.07, p = 0.073). APAS gradually fell over the period, though this trend was also non-significant (b = -0.03, SE = 0.02, p = 0.162). The full results of the time trend analysis can be found here. We report the key trends below.

• There are significant increases in the belief that animals are equally capable of feeling pain as humans, and that respondents themselves purchase animal products from humane sources. There are also significant increases in the average amount that people would donate to animal non-profits and the proportion of respondents who have eaten a plant-based burger.
• There are significant decreases in the belief that respondents themselves and society as a whole should reduce their animal product consumption when the price of plant-based alternatives are the same. There are also significant decreases in the beliefs that diet is a personal choice, and that animal farming is an important social issue.
• There is a significant trend towards viewing factory farming opposition as a liberal rather than conservative issue.

2021 Results

Means and Distributions

Figure 2 presents the weighted means and distributions of responses for the questions in the 2021 survey.

Figure 2: Animals, Food, and Technology survey 2021 weighted means and distributions. Please use the dropdown menu to show results for questions of interest. The intervals for AFO score and APAS score are open on the left and closed on the right. This means, for example, that an AFO score of 2 will be included in the interval 1–2 and not 2–3. This figure is best viewed on a laptop or desktop screen.

We report key findings for respondents who expressed an opinion below.

• A majority of people, 74.6%, reported feeling some discomfort with the animal farming industry. 91.8% of people think animals have roughly the same capacity to experience pain as humans. 54.3% consider animal farming to be one of the most important social issues in the world today.
• There was relatively strong support for a range of policies: 52.7% of people are in favor of banning factory farming, 49.1% are in favor of banning slaughterhouses, and 38.8% are in favor of banning animal farming completely.
• While people on average believe that 66.1% of animals come from factory farms, a high number reported that they think farmed animals are treated well (57.3%), and an even larger number (78.4%) reported that their usual sources of animal products treat animals humanely.
• Relatively large proportions of respondents reported that they think people should consume fewer animal products (64.9%), and that they themselves are trying to reduce their animal product consumption (50.0%). However, 95.9% still think that eating animals or being vegetarian is a personal choice.
• 34.5% of respondents said that they were open to trying a vegetarian or vegan diet in the next few years. 46.4% of respondents said that they were only open to a meat-based diet in the next few years.

Regional Analysis

Figure 3 presents weighted means and confidence intervals for key variables, broken down by region. We present the data for the nine US census divisions, which strikes a balance between the level of detail and sample size in the regions.^[3] In the future we may combine regional data from the different survey waves to provide a larger sample and a more detailed breakdown (for example, by state).

Figure 3: Animals, Food, and Technology survey 2021 regional breakdown. Please hover over the map to view regional data. This figure is best viewed on a laptop or desktop screen.

We also conducted weighted t-tests to statistically test for differences across the regions. We report the key findings below. Note that these results describe raw differences between the regions and do not control for other factors, such as politics, that may contribute to the regional differences. Some of these results also do not hold after correcting for multiple comparisons.^[4] The full results, including results of regressions for AFO and APAS controlling for a range of demographic variables, can be found here.

• AFO was significantly lower in West North Central than in every other region except West South Central. This is unsurprising, given that the region is also known as the nation’s “Agricultural Heartland.” AFO was also greater in East North Central than in West South Central. APAS was significantly lower in West North Central than in all other regions except Mountain and New England. There were no significant differences in AFO or APAS between any of the other regions.
• Support for a ban on slaughterhouses was significantly lower in West North Central than in East North Central, New England, Pacific, and South Atlantic. Support was also significantly greater in East North Central than in Middle Atlantic and West South Central. In East North Central the confidence interval for support for a ban on slaughterhouses was entirely above 50%.
• Support for a ban on factory farming was significantly higher in East North Central and New England than in West North Central and West South Central. In both East North Central and New England the confidence interval for support for a ban on factory farming was entirely above 50%.
• Support for a ban on all animal farming was significantly lower in West North Central than in Pacific and East North Central. There were no other significant differences between the regions on this measure.
• Vegetarianism or veganism was significantly greater in South Atlantic than in East South Central, but there were no significant differences between any other regions. Openness to a vegetarian or vegan diet was significantly greater in East North Central than in East South Central and West North Central, and in South Atlantic than in East South Central. There were no significant differences between the regions in openness only to a meat only diet.