Published 28/08/2007

Compassion in World Farming is urging shoppers to pay an honest price for meat.

With meat prices set to rise, Compassion in World Farming is urging consumers to look beyond price alone and to choose meat that has been produced ethically to higher animal welfare standards.

The cheap meat culture so popular with major supermarket chains and consumers has been built on factory farming systems developed over the last 50 years at the cost of animal welfare. Now, with the rising cost of wheat and animal feed due to bad weather in key grain-growing areas and the rising demand for cereals from the biofuel industry, even the price of factory-farmed meat is set to rise.

Rowen West-Henzell, Food Policy Manager said: 'A rise in meat prices will hopefully help people to understand the reality behind meat production.

'If people want our farmers to be able to farm well and to invest in higher welfare for their animals, they have to pay an honest price for meat - even if it means eating better meat less often.'

Compassion in World Farming would like to see increased prices bring real benefit to farm animals, ensuring farmers can provide them with plenty of space, outdoor access and a comfortable area to lie down in.

The price of meat has been kept artificially low for years, made possible by low-welfare factory farming systems and perpetuated by supermarket competition on price.

To find out more about the true cost of cheap meat visit our factory farming section.