DETROIT – The National Chicken Council (NCC) revealed a new survey on June 3 at the 2019 Sustainable Brands Conference showing how much consumers understand sustainable food practices relating to broiler chicken production.

According to the results, 51 percent of the people surveyed are moderately knowledgeable about chicken’s impact on the environment and chicken production while 71 percent are moderately knowledgeable about chicken production.

The NCC survey also said that sustainability topics in the industry like water usage, greenhouse gas emissions and water impact still have limited knowledge from the consumer.

When it comes to purchasing decisions, surveyors put environmental impact (34 percent) almost even with animal welfare concerns (37 percent). However, the leading categories continued to be taste at 82 percent and price at 65 percent when it comes to purchasing choices. 

“As sustainability in agriculture continues to be a hot topic among US shoppers, benchmarking perceptions and attitudes related to broiler chicken production and its impact on the environment is key to helping the industry better communicate with consumers,” said Tom Super, spokesperson for the National Chicken Council. “Based on what we hear, we can deliver accurate information to consumers and influencers in ways that will help them better understand industry-wide welfare and environmental standards that are core to the American-raised chicken they buy and eat.”

Following the survey, the NCC produced a new Chicken Check In that profiles sustainable chicken farmers.

This online survey was taken by 1,000 people in the United States between the age of 18-64 from Jan. 14-23, 2019.