Farm Pigs in Canada: So, What Do People Think They Eat?

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a survey released today by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Maple Leaf Foods, two-thirds of Canadians (65%) believe that pigs on Canadian farms are fed a vegetarian mixture of grains or cereals, while just under two-in-ten (17%) believe that most farm pigs get a mixed diet including meat or meat by-products.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between November 20th and 22nd, 2001 on behalf of Maple Leaf Foods. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

• Regionally, residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (74%), and Quebec (74%) and Albertans (70%) are most likely to say that this is the case. While those in Ontario (61%), Atlantic Canada (61%) and British Columbia (57%) are less likely to mention this.
• Middle aged (73%) and older (68%) Canadians are more likely to say this than younger (55%) Canadians.

While just under two-in-ten (17%) believe that most farm pigs get a mixed diet including meat or meat by-products, and just over one-in-ten (13%) say that food scraps are the most common feed for farm pigs in the country.

• Residents of British Columbia (26%) and Atlantic Canada (23%) are more likely to say that pig feed includes meat or meat by-products.
• This view is also more likely held by younger (24%) Canadians than by older (14%) or middle aged (13%) Canadians.
• While residents of Ontario (17%) are more likely than those in any other region to believe that food scraps are the most common pig-feed in Canada.
• Younger (18%) Canadians are also more likely to cite food scraps as the most common form of feed for farm pigs.

To view the complete release and tables, please download the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900