Many people would like to see better animal welfare and transparency in livestock farming. In recent years, agriculture has increasingly tried to be more open, for example by offering farm tours. Even though farm tours are well received or appreciated by the public, they are not really feasible for the vast majority of people because of hygiene requirements or accessibility. As an innovative approach to overcome these limitations, researchers at the University of Göttingen were the first to investigate the perception and potential of virtual farm tours. The results were published in the journal PLOS ONE.
A research group from the field of Marketing for Food and Agricultural Products recruited 17 students without agricultural backgrounds to participate in a qualitative study. After answering a short questionnaire, the participants watched a 360-degree video of a conventional pig fattening pen via a portable computer screen (tablet) and virtual reality glasses. They then reported back about their experiences via an interview.
Obey
Article URL : https://phys.org/news/2022-02-virtual-pig-farming-transparent.html