Detailed Results For India From Faunalytics’ Study Of BRIC Countries

भारत से विस्तृत परिणामों के लिए यहां क्लिक करें

Faunalytics recently completed a cross-national comparative study of attitudes toward farmed animals in the U.S. and the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

A summary of the comparisons between the five countries is available here. This follow-up report provides full tables of results for India. It includes:

• Tables 1-6: An overall breakdown of survey responses for people from India (these can also be found in the main report, but more detail is included here);
• Tables 7-12: A breakdown of survey responses for people from India by gender;
• Tables 13-18: A breakdown of survey responses for people from India by age; and
• Tables 19-24: A breakdown of survey responses for people from India by region.
• Table 25: Survey items in English and Hindi.

Key Findings

Some of the most noteworthy findings from the results for Indian respondents include:

1. India has far more vegetarians and vegans than any other country surveyed. This is due to the prevalence of religious vegetarians in that country. Previous research has shown that vegetarianism is far more common among the upper Hindu castes than the lower castes and non-Hindus (Yadav & Kumar, 2012). In addition, although the majority of Indians eat chicken, fish, dairy, and eggs, the consumption of beef and pork was far lower than in other countries. (See main report for details comparing the countries.)
2. Despite the large number of Indians who abstain from animal products, pro-animal attitudes were relatively weak: Indians were generally less likely to give pro-animal responses than people from Brazil, Russia, or the U.S. Speculatively, this suggests that avoiding certain animal products for religious reasons does not necessarily generalize to an ethical stance toward animal welfare. Advocates in India may wish to consider how to encourage those generalizations.
3. Just over half of Indians (52%) would support a law that would require farmed animals to be treated more humanely. However, another one in five (18%) would oppose such a law—the highest of any of the BRIC countries. This division may speak to the seeming contradiction between the sacred status of cows in Hinduism and India’s position as a major exporter of beef (e.g., The Atlantic, 2015).
4. Women in India generally hold more pro-animal attitudes and beliefs than men (as do women across all the surveyed countries). Women are also less likely to eat pork, but more likely to consume dairy products than men.
5. Indian respondents in the youngest age group (18-24) tended to have less pro-animal attitudes and beliefs than older Indians. For instance, they were the least likely to agree that farmed animals suffer like humans do or that eating meat directly contributes to animal suffering. They were also the least likely to think it is important that farmed animals are well cared for.
6. Another age gap appeared between Indians under or over 45, with respect to diet. Indian respondents under 45 were significantly more likely to eat chicken and beef than older respondents. Indian respondents aged 55 or older were the most likely to abstain from all animal products. These age-related patterns suggest a troubling trend in India. Younger generations may be moving away from vegetarian/vegan cultural traditions. Animal advocates need to counter this potential trend by targeting young Indians.
7. People from the North of India are significantly more likely to be vegan or vegetarian than those from other regions. Advocates may wish to target this region using social norms—calling attention to a common behavior in order to influence other people’s.

Methodology

The study methodology is described in more detail in the main report. Data were collected in May and June of 2018 from an urban representative sample of 1,004 Indians. The data were weighted to improve their representativeness.

For the results by demographic group, it is important to remember that small differences between groups are likely not meaningful, because they could occur by chance. Estimates of statistical significance—indicating which differences are large enough to be meaningful—are not provided in this report.

In each demographic section, we provide a rule of thumb for interpreting which differences are meaningful, which should be sufficient for most purposes. However, if exact information about significance is required, please contact Faunalytics.

Participants were presented with nine survey items as part of this study. These items, which are shown in English and Hindi at the end of this report, were carefully designed, translated, back-translated, and checked by native speakers to maximize equivalence between countries and languages. Indian respondents had the choice of completing the survey in English or Hindi.

Overall Results for India

The tables below show the results for all Indian respondents.

Table 1. Beliefs about Animal Suffering in India

Table 2. Attitudes toward Farmed Animal Welfare in India

Table 3. Perceived Social Norms in India

Table 4. Support for Welfare Reform in India

Table 5. Diet in India

Table 6. Diet Change in India

Results by Gender in India

The tables below show the results for Indian respondents by gender. Note that small differences between men’s and women’s responses may not be meaningfully different. In particular, differences of less than 5% may be due to chance.

Table 7. Beliefs about Animal Suffering by Gender (India)

Table 8. Attitudes toward Farmed Animal Welfare by Gender (India)

Table 9. Perceived Social Norms by Gender (India)

Table 10. Support for Welfare Reform by Gender (India)

Table 11. Diet in the Past Year by Gender (India)

Table 12. Diet Change in the Last Three Months by Gender (India)

Results by Age in India

The tables below show the results for Indian respondents by age group. Note that small differences between age groups’ responses may not be meaningfully different. In particular, differences of less than 10% may be due to chance.

Table 13. Beliefs about Animal Suffering by Age (India)

Table 14. Attitudes toward Farmed Animal Welfare by Age (India)

Table 15. Perceived Social Norms in Country by Age (India)

Table 16. Support for Welfare Reform by Age (India)

Table 17. Diet in the Past Year by Age (India)

Table 18. Diet Change in the Last Three Months by Age (India)

Results by Region in India

The tables below show the results for Indian respondents by region. Note that small differences between regions’ responses may not be meaningfully different. In particular, differences of less than 10% may be due to chance.

There were fewer than 50 respondents from Northeast India so that region is excluded from the tables. Such a small sample does not represent a wide enough cross-section of the population to be considered statistically reliable.

Table 19. Beliefs about Animal Suffering by Region (India)

Table 20. Attitudes toward Farmed Animal Welfare by Region (India)

Table 21. Perceived Social Norms in Country by Region (India)

Table 22. Support for Welfare Reform by Region (India)

Table 23. Diet in the Past Year by Region (India)

Table 24. Diet Change in the Last Three Months by Region (India)

Survey Instrument

The table below shows the nine items included in the survey as they were written in Hindi. Indian respondents had the choice of completing the survey in English or Hindi.

Table 25. Survey Items in English and Hindi