They're right you know, people will pay more for high animal welfare standards
The National Farmers Union and others argue that we British not only will but positively gasp over the opportunity to pay more for our food if that means higher animal welfare standards. Thus imports of meats produced to lower standards should be banned - no free trade for you!
He said: “People have got more into provenance and wanting to know where their food comes from. The food scares of the late Eighties, early Nineties like mad cow disease and foot and mouth really woke people up in this country to thinking about what they’re eating. And now people are willing to pay a little bit more for good food. People think ‘I can go to Tesco and buy a chicken for £2.50’ and ask why a shop like mine is selling them for £12.
“Well, if you want a free-range chicken, it’s taken two-to-three times as long to rear it and it’s been fed properly and housed properly and that costs money. We find that people maybe eat a little bit less but they want to eat a little bit better and they are willing to pay for it. You’d go to a shop and buy a top-quality suit because you’re going to a wedding, so why not buy top-quality food when you want something really special or if you value your health.”
The truth being that some people are making very good livings meeting those demands for high standards. But, equally clearly, this is a niche taste, niche suppliers for niche markets.
This being the argument for free markets of course, free of import restrictions and bans. For only when the market is indeed free can each niche be served, the different utilities maximised. Those who actively desire the high standards can currently gain them at their relevant cost. This ability will not disappear with freedom. But with that liberty so also will those worried more about the monetary cost than anything else gain their desires.
That is, it’s the very fact that some Britons desire those high standards, others either do not or don’t particularly, which means we should be having that free trade. Because only when the consumer can make a choice are they both free and also at liberty to maximise their own utility.
After all, those who want to pay £12 for a chicken can. But why should those who prefer £2.50 have to?