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College Student Perceptions of Animal Welfare and Production Agriculture Practices at a Small Historical Black University
With young adults today being further removed from the farm and exposed to negative press associated with a myriad of agriculture-related issues, it has become increasingly important for the animal agriculture industry to educate tomorrow’s consumer today. Therefore, the objective of this study was to measure perceptions of college students on animal welfare and production agriculture topics. College students (n = 163) from Lincoln University, a small Historically Black University, representing a wide-array of majors and ranging academically from freshman to graduate level, were surveyed to determine their perceptions of animal welfare and production agriculture practices. A 5-point Likert-type response format scale was utilized, with “strongly agree” scored as five and “strongly disagree” scored as one. Cronbach’s alpha tests discerned reliability of each scale and “Animal Welfare”, “Genetically Modified Organisms”, and “Agriculture” were sufficient (α ≥ 0.70) for further analysis with independent-samples t-tests. Students that participated were 44% female, 37% male (19% not indicated), and 89% stated they were between the ages of 18-23. Percentage of students that were raised in an urban or suburban area was 61%. Students reported being 43% African American, 33% Caucasian, 6% other ethnicities and 18% did not indicate their ethnicity. Collectively there were 38% freshman, 29% sophomores, 18% juniors, 9% seniors, 1% graduate students, and 5% did not indicate their year of school. Male and female attitudes differed only for the “Genetically Modified Organisms” scale. Females indicated significantly (P = 0.03) more negative attitudes toward “Genetically Modified Organisms” than males did. African American and Caucasian participants differed only in their attitudes toward “Agriculture” with Caucasian participants signifying more (P < 0.01) positive attitudes than African American participants. Rural students expressed more (P < 0.03) positive attitudes toward “Agriculture” and “Genetically Modified Organisms” than urban students. Overall student’s attitudes were close to neutral on topics of “Animal Welfare”, “Genetically Modified Organisms”, and “Agriculture”, but perceptions did differ by gender, ethnicity, and size of hometown with Caucasian men from rural areas exhibiting the most positive perceptions. Unquestionably, male and female students of any ethnicity, from urban, suburban, or rural settings, should be educated on all aspects of agriculture including focus on animal welfare and agriculture production practices.
Keywords: agriculture, animal welfare, student survey