Farm Animal Welfare, Consumer Willingness to Pay, and Trust: Results of a Cross‐National Survey

Abstract Higher animal welfare standards increase costs along the supply chain of certified animal‐friendly products (AFP). Since the market outcome of certified AFP depends on consumer confidence toward supply chain operators complying with these standards, the role of trust in consumer willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for AFP is paramount. Results from a contingent valuation survey administered in five European Union countries show that WTP estimates were sensitive to robust measures of consumer trust for certified AFP. Deriving the WTP effect of a single food category on total food expenditure is difficult for survey respondents; hence, a budget approach was employed to facilitate this process.