Sweden has relatively strict requirements for animal welfare from a European perspective. These create added value for Swedish animal products but can also entail higher production costs and higher prices for consumers. In this project, we conduct a literature review to investigate consumers' interest and willingness to pay for good animal welfare. Through a systematic literature search, we identify relevant studies from the scientific literature focusing on Swedish consumers. We compile the results of these studies and relate them to recently conducted Swedish consumer surveys to map the interest in animal welfare in Sweden. To gain a general understanding of the interest in animal welfare abroad, we also analyse a selection of studies from countries other than Sweden. The results from the literature review are used to examine whether an animal welfare labelling could enhance the competitiveness of Swedish animal products in Sweden and abroad. We also discuss how factors other than consumer interest, such as the proportion of imported meat, might affect the effectiveness of an animal welfare labelling.

The project is a commission from the governmental inquiry 'Enhanced competitiveness for food producers and strong animal protection' and will be completed in 2024.