The food industry is one of the most serious sources of environmental pollution in Poland. The process of production of food articles, which entails the use of various raw materials, various auxiliary materials and technologies, leads to the generation of a number of pollutants in the form of solid and liquid wastes, dusts and gases. It should be noted that the condition of the natural environment has a decisive meaning for the production of food and, in particular, for the quality of food because food free from chemical impurities can be produced only in an uncontaminated environment. It is an important task, therefore, to determine conditions which stimulate food processing enterprises to launch pro-ecological ventures, and to identify barriers encountered in the process of implementation of these ventures. In order to analyse the aspects presented above surveys covering food processing enterprises active in Lubelskie voivodeship were carried out in March-August 2006. The results of the conducted surveys proved that legal regulations pertaining to environmental protection had the strongest influence on the enterprises' decisions to launch pro-ecological efforts. In turn, the difficulties or barriers to the implementation of pro-ecological ventures most frequently indicated by the respondents were: problems with setting aside means needed to finance such investments, the necessity to pay back credits and loans drawn for the implementation of pro-ecological investments, and growth in the current cost of operation of newly installed devices serving the protection of the natural environment.