America loves Thanksgiving – the holiday that celebrates family traditions, togetherness and gratitude for the unparalleled bounty we enjoy. While the “First Thanksgiving” was a celebration of a successful harvest and survival, the abundance of the modern Thanksgiving is a testament to the work of today’s farmers and ranchers and advances in how they raise their animals. At the American Humane Association, we will be going to Capitol Hill today to brief Congress about and celebrate The Humane Table Thanksgiving.
A new American Humane Association survey of 5,900 Americans shows overwhelming popular support for the humane treatment of farm animals and humanely raised food. The 2014 Humane Heartland™ Farm Animal Survey, the second annual survey we’ve conducted, reveals that more than nine in 10 respondents (94.9 percent) were very concerned about farm animal welfare, up from 89 percent in our 2013 study. More than three-quarters (75.7 percent) said they were very willing to pay more for humanely produced eggs, meat and dairy products, up from 74 percent last year.