A new Purdue University survey indicates that consumers appear to be more willing to live with higher pork prices if they are the result of meeting animal welfare standards like California’s Prop 12.

In the nationwide survey, consumers said they would scale back their purchases if pork prices went higher. But fewer of them would cut back on buying pork if Prop 12 was the reason for the increase. A small segment of survey respondents said they would buy even more pork in that case.

“We saw responses that suggest animal welfare is more important to consumers than previously thought,” said Elijah Bryant, a research analyst at Purdue. “Even though the hypothetical price increase is the same size, fewer consumers would decrease their spending on pork knowing the price increase was caused by animal welfare regulations.”

The Purdue survey results will get tested on January 1 when Prop 12 is fully implemented.