This Research Communication investigates how well U.S. dairy farmers understand the voting behaviour and willingness to pay of consumers for products with production traits relevant to animal health, welfare and biotechnology. Accurately understanding consumer behaviour is key to making sound production decisions and reducing risks. Comparing survey data with the literature shows that U.S. dairy farmers correctly assess consumer attitudes and behaviour over animal welfare practices like pain-controlled dehorning but could improve knowledge of attitudes towards antibiotic use and novel biotechnologies like gene editing.

As animal industry and animal advocacy groups debate how farm animals should be treated, little research has focused on the attitudes of consumers in the United States. This study utilises results of a representative telephone survey to measure consumer attitudes towards farm animal welfare, and investigates how these attitudes vary across individuals. The survey finds that consumers desire high standards of animal care, even if it raises food prices and involves government regulation. Support is particularly strong from females, Democrats, and residents of the Northeastern United States. To provide high standards of animal care, consumers as a whole perceive allowing animals to exhibit natural behaviours and exercise outdoors to be more important than protection from other animals, shelter, socialisation, and comfortable bedding. Consumers vary in their perceptions though, and are divided into three classes: Naturalists, Price Seekers, and Basic Welfarists. Naturalists place great importance on allowing animals to exhibit natural behaviours and exercise outdoors, and comprise 46% of the sample. Price Seekers, comprising 14% of the sample, are primarily concerned with low prices. Basic Welfarists make up 40% of the respondents, and value animal welfare but perceive it can be achieved by simply providing food, water, and treatment for injury and disease. This last group perceives amenities, such as access to outdoors and ability to exhibit natural behaviours, unimportant for the well-being of farm animals.

Free-range egg producers face continuing problems from injurious pecking (IP) which has financial consequences for farmers and poor welfare implications for birds. Beak-trimming has been practised for many years to limit the damage caused by IP, but with the UK Government giving notification that they intend to ban beak-trimming in 2016, considerable efforts have been made to devise feasible housing, range and management strategies to reduce IP. A recent research project investigated the efficacy of a range of IP-reducing management strategies, the mean costs of which came to around 5 pence per bird. Here, the results of the above project's consumer survey are presented: consumers’ attitudes to free-range egg production are detailed showing that, whilst consumers had a very positive attitude towards free-range eggs, they were especially uninformed about some aspects of free-range egg production. The contingent valuation technique was used to estimate the price premium consumers would be prepared to pay to ensure that hens do not suffer from IP: this was calculated as just over 3% on top of the prevailing retail price of free-range eggs. These findings reinforce other studies that have found that whilst consumers are not generally well-informed about certain specific welfare problems faced by animals under free-range conditions, they are prepared to pay to improve animal welfare. Indeed, the study findings suggest that producers could obtain an additional price premium if they demonstrate the welfare provenance of their eggs, perhaps through marketing the eggs as coming from birds with intact beaks. This welfare provenance issue could usefully be assured to consumers by the introduction of a mandatory, single, accredited EU-wide welfare-standards labelling scheme.

Wilful ignorance is a documented human behaviour whereby people deliberately avoid information. Although much work has documented consumer attitudes toward farm animal welfare, few studies have questioned whether people even want to know how farm animals are raised. Using an internet survey of 1,000 subjects from the US state of Oklahoma, it is shown that around one-third admit to being wilfully ignorant regarding pork production. One-third also chose to look at a blank screen rather than a picture of how pregnant hogs are housed. Avoidance of guilt is shown to be a motivator for this behaviour.

In January 2020, the United States implemented a federal bioengineered labeling standard for food products that contain genetically modified material set to go into effect in January 2022. This bioengineered label indicates which products contain detectable levels of genetic material that have been modified through lab techniques that cannot be achieved in nature. An already existing alternative to the bioengineered label is the Non-GMO Project verified label which has been on the market since 2007, and indicates products free of genetically modified material through lab techniques. As consumers are now confronted with multiple labels pertaining to information related to genetic engineering, it is important to understand how people interpret these labels as it can lead to a greater understanding of how they inform consumer choice. We conducted a survey with 153 biology and environmental studies undergraduate students at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, asking questions about participants' views on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and related terminology, corresponding food labels and how these labels influence their purchasing decisions. Results demonstrated a lack of awareness of the bioengineered label compared to the Non-GMO Project verified label. Additionally, individuals associated ‘bioengineered’ and ‘genetically modified’ with differing themes, where ‘bioengineered’ was more often associated with a scientific theme and ‘genetically modified’ was more often associated with an agricultural theme. There was also a discrepancy in how individuals said these labels influenced their purchases vs how the labels actually influenced purchasing decisions when participating in choice experiments. While the majority of participants reported that neither the Non-GMO Project verified label nor the bioengineered label influenced their purchasing decisions, in choice experiments, the majority of respondents chose products with the Non-GMO Project verified label. This study can give insight into overall perceptions of different terminologies associated with genetic engineering, in addition to how these labels are interpreted by consumers, and how they could affect purchasing decisions with the implementation of the new bioengineered label.

Defending social and political positions other than those that a company's clients might support has always been an avoidable risk. However, this practice, called ‘corporate activism,’ has gradually been integrated into the strategies of organizations. The object of this work is thus to understand the antecedents of corporate activism from the consumer's point of view. To understand this, we carry out structural equation modeling (SEM) based on a sample of 1,521 consumers. The results demonstrate that: (i) institutional credibility, corporate credibility, and authenticity act as antecedents of corporate activism; (ii) corporate credibility has a positive influence on corporate activism, while institutional credibility has a negative impact. These findings represent an interesting and novel contribution that helps to understand how these types of high-risk strategies should be adopted. The application of these results could enable companies to determine the conditions that favor a positive evaluation of corporative activism by consumers and avoid the use of such strategies in less favorable situations.

Although consumers' interest in organic products has increased in recent years, the total demand for these products is still small in most countries. This mismatch between the positive perception of these products and their limited final demand is the so-called intention-behavior gap. The aim of this study is twofold. The first aim is to evaluate the effect of self-reported attitudes toward organic foods in the willingness to pay (WTP) for these products. Second, we analyze the effects of these self-reported attitudes in the final purchasing decision when consumers are asked to evaluate several food attributes simultaneously. The results show that self-reported attitudes toward organic products are useful predictors of higher WTP and can be arranged in different categories (range 15.2–20.1%). However, when a conjoint analysis of different food attributes was conducted, the segment of pro-organic consumers reported that the origin of the product was more important for them than the production system. This opens a new debate about the advisability of promoting the joint use of both labels (organic and origin labels) to engage pro-organic consumers.

A mailed questionnaire wasr used to assess consumer concerns and potential consumption response attributable to the introduction of bovine somatotropin (bST). Responses from 605 households in Virginia are described and analyzed. Logit models were estimated to identify which issues shape consumers' decisions to alter milk purchases contingent on the introduction of bST and to determine whether socioeconomic characteristics explain consumers' attitudes toward these issues. Estimates based on survey responses point toward sizable reductions in fluid milk purchases if bST is introduced. Large retail price reductions are predicted to be insufficient to offset these estimated decreases. Consumer education and marketing strategies are discussed.

What are the main factors affecting consumption of poultry meat? Can buying behaviour and consumption attitudes be altered by a context that seems to be lastingly affected by the presence of avian influenza? This paper proposes some answers to these questions by taking into account the geographical diversity of consumption and its recent evolution in Europe. Relatively low and competitive pricing of poultry compared to other meat, the absence of cultural or religious obstacles, and dietary and nutritional (protein) qualities are the main factors explaining its attractiveness. Others factors underly consumers' attraction to poultry. Firstly, during the various health crises consumers' attention has been focused on production methods (feed, animals' well-being, etc.) and on reliability of information. Interest in 'approved local' products, whose appeal is based on the credibility-taste combination, has consequently spread in Europe. Secondly, consumption has developed around more elaborate products incorporating two types of service: a saving of preparation time ('ready-to-eat' food) and a diversification of places of consumption (catering outside the home).The main trends within poultry's consumption have not been changed by the avian influenza episode. Tendencies noted during the last decade and described in the article are anticipated to remain the same.

In Australia, the retail value of organic food production was estimated at A$250 million, with farm-gate value at around A$90 million and exports at around A$40 million, in 2002. The current share of organic sales in total food sales in Australia is about 1%. The growth rate in organic production was forecast to continue at 10–30% per annum. Despite the positive outlook, there are consumer concerns about product recognition and product integrity. To understand how demand for organic products is changing, it is important to investigate consumer attitudes and knowledge about these issues. The objective of this study was to identify issues that may hinder or promote demand. Given the qualitative nature of these issues, we used a focus group study to probe consumers. While focus group results are a qualitative approach and not intended to be generalizable, the results suggest directions for future research. The participants raised concerns about the use of chemicals, the treatment of farm animals and the environmental impact of food production. Organic food consumers were found to be more knowledgeable about organic foods, as well as being more tolerant of higher prices and inaccessibility. The results also suggest that increasing consumers' awareness of organic farming and certification, as well as the availability of organic foods, may be the most effective way of moving organic foods into mainstream.

A mail survey was used to gather information from the main food buyer in random households in southeast Missouri to analyze consumer preferences for locally grown food. A majority of shoppers in the region were not aware of the state's AgriMissouri promotion program. Consumers defined locally grown not as a statewide concept but as a narrower regional concept that could cross state boundaries. Most important when purchasing produce were quality and freshness, and most consumers perceived local produce at farmers' markets to be of higher quality and lower price. Farm households were not significantly different from other households in the region and did not show a preference or willingness to pay a price premium for local food products. Food buyers who were members of an environmental group had higher education and income and were more likely to purchase organic food and more willing to pay a higher price for local produce. Households in which someone was raised on a farm, or had parents who were raised on a farm, had a preference for locally grown food and were willing to pay a price premium for it. Marketing local products should stress quality, freshness, and price competitiveness, and appeal to environmentalists and those with a favorable attitude towards family farms.

This study assesses consumer perceptions of sustainably produced foods and evaluates whether a supermarket point-of-purchase intervention could increase shoppers' awareness of a campaign designed to promote purchases of sustainably produced foods. The in-store intervention involved the promotion of sustainably produced apples labeled with the Midwest Food Alliance's (MWFA) seal of approval. Minnesota consumers were surveyed at two eastern metropolitan area intervention stores and one eastern metropolitan area comparison store. The in-store campaign lasted 8 weeks and involved individually labeled apples, point-of-purchase materials, and weekly food demonstrations. Prior to campaign initiation, baseline surveys were administered to consumers in two test stores and one comparison store. Follow-up surveys were mailed to these same consumers upon conclusion of the campaign intervention. Independent samples t-tests comparing change from baseline to post intervention indicated that a statistically higher percentage of consumers in the test-market group had heard of the Midwest Food Alliance campaign. Furthermore, a statistically higher percentage of the test-market shoppers reported seeing signs and labels promoting the MWFA, indicating that the promotion had some impact. Baseline data gathered from all consumers indicated that foods produced with sustainable practices were important to consumers; however, food characteristics of freshness, taste, safety and healthfulness were most important. The majority of consumers reported that they would be willing to pay 10–30% more for selected sustainably produced foods. Research results indicated that an 8–week in-store intervention was effective at increasing consumer awareness of the MWFA. However, a more powerful intervention (including a longer promotion period with more labeled foods) may be needed to induce shoppers to increase their purchases of sustainably produced foods promoted by the MWFA.

To gain an understanding of UK consumer attitudes and beliefs regarding starchy foods and their dietary role, a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behaviour was developed and sent out to a UK consumer sample (n 800). The content focused on attitudes and beliefs towards starchy foods, perceived barriers towards increasing their intake (e.g. cost, habit, social influences), perceptions of personal and recommended starchy food intake, intention to increase starchy food intakes in the future and socio-demographic information. Responses (n 414) indicated that consumers have highly divergent attitudes and beliefs regarding starchy foods. These foods are seen as nutritious and good for one's health, but also as high in energy and not helping to control weight, and the overall intention to increase starchy food intake was extremely low. Possible barriers towards increasing starchy food intake were the perceptions that personal starchy food intakes were already high, beliefs that starchy food intakes should be reduced to achieve a healthier diet, and the view that personal starchy food intakes did not need to be changed any further, because (depending on attitude) individual's intakes had already been increased or reduced. The model including attitude and subjective norm had the best fit for predicting reported intention to increase starchy food consumption, with attitude being the strongest contributor. Addition of the factor ‘family's liking of starchy foods’ significantly improved the model. For reported starch intake, the model including attitude had the best fit, and addition of other factors did not improve the model. These findings indicate that health promotion strategies aimed at increasing complex carbohydrate intakes should take these perceptions into consideration; however, further work is required to examine how these potential barriers can best be addressed in practice.

Although consumers have a high opinion of locally grown produce, they do not consider origin as important as other factors in produce selection. Inconvenience is a major barrier to purchasing local produce. In a rural community in Maine, the Farm Fresh Project tested an intervention designed to exploit consumers' high regard for locally grown produce and also overcome the inconvenience of buying it. Each week for six weeks in the summer of 1997, employees at three worksites were offered tastings of locally grown produce, information about the produce, and an opportunity to order it at their workplaces. Changes in purchases of locally grown produce were compared with changes among employees at three matched control worksites. More than a quarter of workers at intervention worksites ordered produce through the project. Significant numbers of employees at intervention worksites who had not bought locally grown produce earlier in the summer bought it at outlets in the community during the four weeks following the intervention. Visits to the community farmers' market, purchases at roadside stands, pick-your-own purchases, and purchases of locally grown produce, both overall and at locations other than at the farmers' market, increased significantly in the intervention group. Among workers at control sites, only roadside stand purchases increased significantly. It appears that the opportunity to taste and purchase locally grown produce at a convenient venue, the workplace, motivated consumers to overcome barriers to purchasing locally grown produce at less convenient venues outside of the workplace. Temporary farm stands at workplaces may offer a promising new direct market for farmers.