All these surveys have to be approached with the maximum of scepticism, but the result does seem to accord with common-sense.
People everywhere want to buy meat raised without antibiotics and that is what they will get, whatever the vets' financial interests. That's capitalism in action.
The problem created by veterinary greed and recklessness, in the absence of external supervision, is now biting back to give farming a problem: "How do you raise with pigs without antibiotics?"
The trite answer is "With difficulty"
The real answer is that you have to change the systems, mostly backwards to earlier models: no single ownership of pigs at many locations, reduced movement of people between farms, not least vets and no import or export of live pigs or semen. Spread of disease has to be reduced, to allow pigs to be raised without antibiotics.
The veterinary livestock business will change. The front line will virtually disappear. If they have no antibiotics there is little they can do and they won't be allowed to go from farm to farm for fear of spreading disease.
The veterinary establishment will have to be reformed and changed.
Trade media comment here
USA: consumers prefer meat raised without antibiotics
10-Jul-2012 (today)June 2012/ Consumer Reports/ USA.
http://www.consumerreports.org/
According to a recent nationwide poll conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, 86 percent of consumers indicated they thought that meat raised without antibiotics should be available in their local supermarket...
...82 percent said they would buy it if it were available.
Meat and poultry raised without antibiotics does not have to be expensive.
Studies over the last decade have indicated that raising meat and poultry without antibiotics could be accomplished at minimal cost to the consumer-about 5 cents extra per pound for pork and less than a penny per pound extra for chicken.
