Different shades of grey: Compromise products to encourage animal friendly consumption

Contemporary production and consumption are often characterised by negative externalities, for example regarding animal welfare. Despite consumer concerns about animal welfare standards in livestock production systems, the market share of organic meat is still low. The current paper investigates to what extent a more differentiated product assortment including “compromise alternatives”, providing consumers with more options to trade-off animal welfare against other attributes, increases the choice share of meat produced at beyond-regulatory standards for animal welfare. Results from a choice experiment in The Netherlands reveal considerable heterogeneity in consumer preferences regarding the trade-off between animal welfare level and price level. Two out of six segments, typically consumers with a lower education level and shoppers at discount supermarkets, are not or hardly prepared to pay a price premium for welfare enhanced meat. Two other segments show a preference for small increases in animal welfare level and associated costs. The remaining two other segments seem to reflect “protestors” against mainstream meat production in that they hold negative attitudes, beliefs and feelings regarding the consumption of conventionally-produced meat, either by turning to meat produced at high animal welfare standards (including meat replacement products) or by reducing meat consumption. It is concluded that an assortment that better caters for this heterogeneity in consumer preference by including “compromise meat products” is of the benefit to both the individual consumer (preferences), the animal (animal welfare levels) and the meat sector (clientele).     

Extrinsic attributes of red meat as indicators of quality in Europe: an application for market segmentation

Consumers give increasing importance to the extrinsic quality attributes of meat in response to rising concerns on safety, health, convenience, ethical factors, etc. The role that attributes such as animal feeding assurance, environmentally friendly production, respect for the animal welfare, etc. play in the consumer quality evaluation process has not been studied enough. The objectives of this article were: to evaluate the importance of several extrinsic quality attributes of red meat to consumers in five European regions; to analyse the relationships between the attitude towards these attributes, available cues and factors or motivations that are important to consumers when buying meat; and to identify groups or segments of consumers according to the importance of extrinsic quality attributes. The most important extrinsic attributes found were animal feeding and origin. Environmentally friendly production and animal welfare considerations were also important. Animal feed assurance was an indicator of safety and nutritious/ healthy meat but origin was not. For some groups of consumers, respect for the environment and animal welfare were also related to healthy/safe meat. The range of attitudes consumers hold towards extrinsic attributes could constitute an opportunity to develop consumer-led meat products and further market segmentation.     

Consumers' preferences for beef in the Spanish region of Extremadura: a study using conjoint analysis

The study of consumers' preferences is of great interest in the beef sector, where the BSE crisis generated deep changes in the basic conditions of demand for meat and in the behaviour of consumers. Previous qualitative research showed that ‘price’, ‘origin’, ‘production system’ and ‘labelling’ were the main attributes affecting preferences for beef in Extremadura (SW Spain). The data were obtained by a survey carried out between February and April 2002 with a sample of 575 regular consumers of beef. Conjoint Analysis has been used to estimate the relative importance of those attributes and to determine the existence of consumer segments with similar preference profiles. Results show that the origin of the product is the most important attribute for the choice of beef, followed by quality labelling, production system and price. Three groups of consumers were identified through cluster analysis, according to their preferences for beef. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

How does animal welfare taste? Combining sensory and choice experiments to evaluate willingness to pay for animal welfare pork

Although consumers show considerable interest in higher animal welfare, the market share for such products remains low. To provide consumers with a choice regarding different levels of animal welfare, animal welfare labels have been developed. Such product options are intended to serve as intermediate products between conventional products and more expensive organic options that are often associated with high animal welfare standards. This study aims to evaluate whether information about animal welfare practices affects consumers’ liking and willingness to pay (WTP) for a pork product. Using a within-subject design with three evaluation rounds (blind, expectation, and full information) we combine hedonic liking where subjects rate four different types of ham with a choice experiment. Hams differ in the animal husbandry conditions during the rearing and fattening process: conventional rearing, a specific treatment of mother sows, a general animal welfare label, and organic production. Results show an effect of information on consumers’ sensory evaluation of the different products, although products were evaluated to be similar in the blind condition. Consumers rated the organic product higher than those with animal welfare labels while the conventional option had the lowest liking scores. Results from the choice experiment concur with the hedonic rating. Estimates indicate that consumers are willing to pay more for ham bearing a general animal welfare or organic label in the expectation and full information condition. Consequently, information regarding animal welfare affects both consumers’ hedonic liking and WTP for ham.     

The impact of fat content,production methods and carbon footprint information on consumer preferences for minced meat

Growing concern over the environmental impacts and other credence characteristics of food has resulted in increasing interest in the quality attributes of meat products in Finland. The aim of this study was to provide information on the relative preferences of consumers for minced meat attributes. Using a choice experiment, we examined whether the meat type, method of production, fat content, price and presence of carbon footprint information have an impact on consumer choice. A low fat content was found to have a particularly positive effect on the choice of a minced meat product. The carbon footprint information had a significant impact on the meat type-specific consumer preferences: the popularity of beef products decreased and of pork products increased when the footprint information was presented to the consumers. Six heterogeneous consumer classes were identified with latent class analysis: price-conscious (23% of the respondents), fat content-conscious (23%), ideological but passive (17%), content with conventional (14%), beef-preferring (12%) and method of production -conscious consumers (11%). Consumers were generally willing to pay more for a low fat content, but the relative willingness to pay estimates were largely dependent on the consumer groups: premiums for organic and animal welfare-oriented production methods also existed. These attributes could thus represent good means for differentiating minced meat products. The impact of carbon footprint information on the willingness to pay estimates was relatively low.     

Role of sustainability attributes and occasion matters in determining consumers’ beef choice

This study aims to evaluate the influence of socio-environmental attributes on the purchase intention of and the willingness to pay for beef, based on data from Brazilian consumers, using a discrete choice analysis model. Different consumption situations were analysed to check the influence of functional versus recreational/hedonic beef choice. Sixteen (16) hypothetical products were generated in eight (8) scenarios regarding the different socio-environmental attributes of beef. The findings confirm the importance of animal welfare and traceability in the decision-making process for beef purchase. The frequency of consumption, gender, and the presence of a known/familiar brand also influence the beef choice when making a functional (day-to-day) purchase, compared to a recreational/hedonic (barbecue) purchase. The study suggests that the beef industry and retailers should better explore various aspects of greenhouse gas emissions and animal welfare and highlight them in their communication strategies. Investigating the trade-offs between socio-environmental attributes allows a more in-depth evaluation of these attributes and contributes to the literature.     

Aspects of quality related to the consumption and production of lamb meat. Consumers versus producers

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the different evaluations made by the agents at either end of the lamb meat chain, i.e. producers and consumers, in relation to the parameters that consumers use when purchasing lamb meat and the factors that affect the production of quality lamb meat. In addition, consumer segments that can be targeted for action by the different agents in the chain were examined. The study was carried out in Aragón, a region in north east Spain that is a producer and consumer of lamb meat. 371 surveys were carried out on purchasers of lamb meat and 49 surveys on sheep farmers. Bivariant analyses and a cluster analysis were performed. The results suggest that there are certain congruencies and divergences between producers and consumers. Also, a segment of consumers for whom the hygiene and sanitary conditions on the farm, animal welfare and the environment are of great importance were found.     

Factors associated with consumer perception and conduct toward certified beef from Brazil

The aims of this study were to establish a relationship between consumers’ socioeconomic aspects, key meat attributes, and consumer perception and conduct toward traced beef in Brazil. The authors applied a structured form in 52 supermarkets in eight Brazilian cities, through interviews with 2.949 consumers, in 2012. Federal or state inspection stamp was the attribute that most influenced the consumers’ purchase decision (14.1%). Most of the interviewees (57.3%) had never heard about bovine traceability. Among those who had heard about bovine traceability, 63.2% would be willing to pay more for beef with certified origin. Consumers with higher education and income had a better knowledge about this type of certification, as well as older consumers, and therefore they would be willing to pay more for certified beef. This research suggests that educational level was the reason that most influenced Brazilian consumers during beef purchase.     

Consumer choice of broiler meat: The effects of country of origin and production methods

An increasing interest and concern among consumers in the ways in which food is produced has led to a need for differentiation in production methods in directions valued by consumers. In this study we used a choice experiment to analyse the importance of the production method, such as organic production and methods emphasising animal welfare or consumer health, and country of origin on the selection of broiler meat by Finnish consumers. The results revealed very strong positive perceptions of domestically produced broiler products. The effect of production method was significant but minor. Emphasising animal welfare in production particularly increased the probability of consumer choice. We also tested the effect of providing production information either in labels or verbally, and found that well-established labels have positive impacts whereas non-familiar labels may be counter-productive. Latent class analysis revealed the heterogeneity of consumer preferences, but did not facilitate the profiling of consumer groups based on socioeconomic data.     

Effect of information about animal welfare on consumer willingness to pay for yogurt

This study aimed to verify whether consumers confirm their willingness to pay extra costs for higher animal welfare standards in a situation where a potential purchase performed by consumers, such as the Vickrey auction, is used. A 104-member consumer panel was asked to rate its willingness to pay (WTP) for plain and low-fat yogurts in 3 information conditions: tasting without information (blind WTP), information about animal welfare without tasting (expected WTP), tasting with information about animal welfare (actual WTP). Information was provided to the consumers under the form of labels indicating the level of animal cleanliness and freedom of movement (5-point scale, from poor to very good). Consumers were influenced by information about low standards of animal welfare (low cleanliness and low freedom of movement) and moved their willingness to pay in the direction of their expectations. However, the discrepancy between expectancy and actual WTP was not totally assimilated, indicating that WTP was also expressed in relation to other aspects (e.g., the sensory properties of the products). Conversely, the information concerning high standards of animal welfare (high cleanliness and high freedom of movement) was able to affect expectancy but had an effect on actual WTP only when the most acceptable yogurt was offered to the consumers. In the case of discordant information on animal welfare, partly indicating high levels of welfare (freedom of movements) and low levels of welfare (cleanliness), expected WTP was always lower than blind WTP. However, when the least acceptable product was presented, they completely assimilated their actual WTP to the expectations. Conversely, with the most acceptable yogurt, no assimilation occurred and sensory properties prevailed in orienting consumer WTP. Within each product, consumers expressed a higher WTP for products with labels indicating high welfare standards as compared with yogurts with labels reporting intermediate and low welfare standard. These results show that information about animal welfare, if given to the consumers, can be a major determinant of consumer WTP for animal-based food products. However, information about high standards of animal welfare should be paired with products presenting a good eating quality.     

Profile and effects of consumer involvement in fresh meat

This study investigates the profile and effects of consumer involvement in fresh meat as a product category based on cross-sectional data collected in Belgium. Analyses confirm that involvement in meat is a multidimensional construct including four facets: pleasure value, symbolic value, risk importance and risk probability. Four involvement-based meat consumer segments are identified: straightforward, cautious, indifferent, and concerned. Socio-demographic differences between the segments relate to gender, age and presence of children. The segments differ in terms of extensiveness of the decision-making process, impact and trust in information sources, levels of concern, price consciousness, claimed meat consumption, consumption intention, and preferred place of purchase. The two segments with a strong perception of meat risks constitute two-thirds of the market. They can be typified as cautious meat lovers versus concerned meat consumers. Efforts aiming at consumer reassurance through quality improvement, traceability, labelling or communication may gain effectiveness when targeted specifically to these two segments. Whereas straightforward meat lovers focus mainly on taste as the decisive criterion, indifferent consumers are strongly price oriented.     

Consumers wine preferences according to purchase occasion: Personal consumption and gift-giving

We tested the hypothesis that individuals may act differently when buying a bottle of wine for themselves than they do when buying wine as a gift. Using a between-subject design, we estimated the differences in consumer preference for these two occasions. We conducted a choice experiment on 618 Italian wine consumers and included the attributes of price, geographical indication (i.e. IGT, DOC, or DOCG), organic claim, and brand (i.e. famous producer or a non-famous producer). By applying an error component random parameters logit model, we detected relevant differences between the two scenarios in terms of the relative importance of the studied attributes. The gift-giving scenario was further investigated using a latent class model, which identified three segments of consumers; we profiled these according to personal attitudes and wine knowledge. Our results show a relevant heterogeneity among consumers’ preferences for the gift-giving scenario, with geographical indication having a low impact and brand and organic claim playing a pivotal role. This study provides relevant insights for winemakers and retailers regarding diversifying marketing strategies.     

Labelling information demanded by European consumers and relationships with purchasing motives, quality and safety of meat

Meat labelling can be an important way of informing the consumer on the quality attributes of meat. However, the type of information consumers demand is not well known and there is a lack of consumer-oriented information. Thus, meat labelling requires special attention. The objectives of this paper were: to identify the type of information that is most demanded by European consumers on beef and lamb labelling; to analyse the relationships between the importance of informational cues and other aspects concerning consumer attitudes towards meat consumption and meat quality, and socio-demographic characteristics; and to identify groups of consumers according to their labelling preferences. The information cues considered most important related to the deadline for meat consumption and the origin of meat. Other important cues were nutritional information, maturation time, name of cut and, especially for beef consumers, information on the system of production and on the traceability and the quality control of the meat. Some groups or segments of consumers were identified that had significant differences in relation to the type of information demanded, purchasing motives, quality preferences, sources of information on quality they trusted most and socio-economic features. They could be briefly profiled as: 'quality/safety orientated'; 'traditional'; 'quality unconcerned/ convenience-driven' and 'origin motivated' consumers.     

Credence quality coordination and consumers' willingness-to-pay for certified halal labelled meat

This paper reports on halal credence quality coordination and Muslim consumers' willingness to buy and pay for certified halal labelled meat at the supermarket and the Islamic butcher. Cross-sectional data were collected through a survey with 202 Muslim consumers in Belgium. Findings indicate that more acculturated and female consumers are more in favour of purchasing certified halal labelled meat in a supermarket. Important conditions are that supermarkets can provide a guarantee of separating halal from non-halal meat and of the organisation of adequate verification and control. Results further show that more Muslim consumers are willing to pay a price premium (of 13% on average) for halal labelled meat at the Islamic butcher shop than at the supermarket. The higher the importance attached to a certified halal label and the more distrust in the actual halal meat status, the higher the likelihood that a Muslim consumer is willing to pay a higher price for certified halal labelled meat at the Islamic butcher shop. Gender and generation determine the actual premium Muslim consumers are willing to pay.     

Animal welfare and society concerns finding the missing link

Young adults in developed countries are distanced from agriculture and the meat industry needs to do a better job of communicating with them. A major welfare concern is slaughter without stunning. Other concerns, such as poor stunning or high levels of bruising, can be easily corrected by management who is committed to maintaining high standards. Another concern is biological system overload, occurring when animals are bred for more productivity. Researchers and industry need to determine optimum production levels instead of maximums. Retailers are major drivers of animal welfare standards enforcement and they respond to pressure from both activists and consumers.     

The effect of food deprivation prior to slaughter on performance, behaviour and meat quality

The effects of repeated food deprivation, prior to slaughter, on performance, feeding behaviour and meat quality of pigs was examined. Three experimental treatments were compared. In treatment 1 pigs had ad libitum access to feed up to the point of loading on the day of slaughter. Treatment 2 involved a 12-h fast prior to slaughter and treatment 3 involved a 20-h fast prior to slaughter. Pigs were slaughtered on a weight basis therefore each pen was emptied over a period of weeks. This meant some pigs experienced repeated food deprivation. The feeding pattern of pigs which were deprived of food for 12 h was very similar to that observed before feed restriction. Pigs which were deprived of food for 20 h spent significantly more time at the feeder post fasting. This was particularly marked during the first 2–3 h when access to feed was restored. Feed deprivation for 12 h prior to slaughter did not adversely affect performance, carcass weight, meat quality or welfare in the present study. Fasting for 20 h reduced carcass weight by 1 kg, which was not statistically significant but could result in financial losses related to carcass weight. The negative effects on meat quality, of repeated feed deprivation, resulted from slower growth rates rather than feed deprivation per se.     

Influence of Pre-Slaughter Process on Pork Quality: An Overview

Handling practices prior to slaughter have significant influence in the stress level and animal welfare of pigs, and consequently, in the final meat quality. This paper reviews current knowledge about ante mortem factors (fasting period, farm handling, mixing, loading, unloading, transport, lairage conditions, and driving to the stunner) related to the live animal that influence pork quality with special emphasis on technological quality attributes. The development in slaughter technologies and their practical applications in pig slaughterhouses are described. In spite of genetic effects and slaughter techniques, poor pre-slaughter operations lead frequently to an increase of physiological and physical stress in pigs. Ante mortem factors, such as lairage time or moving pigs into the slaughter rooms, and inadequate design of slaughterhouse facilities have an important effect on pig stress, affecting meat quality after slaughter. Some recommendations to guarantee animal welfare and obtain the best meat quality are reviewed.     

Functional and organic eggs as an alternative to conventional production: a conjoint analysis of consumers' preferences

BACKGROUND: In the current context of growing consumer demand for foodstuffs that are healthy and safe and that are obtained in a manner respectful to the welfare of animals, the analysis of consumer preferences towards attributes of this type takes on particular importance. These trends are especially clear in the case of the consumption of eggs because of their strong negative association with cholesterol levels and their extremely intensive systems of production. The introduction of variants that are more in harmony with current consumer demands represents an interesting market alternative. RESULTS: The present study was aimed at investigating the preferences of Spanish consumers for these alternative types of egg that are entering the market. The survey was conducted with 361 consumers from October 2007 to March 2008. The conjoint analysis allowed us to estimate the relative importance of the main attributes that affect consumer preferences for eggs and to distinguish segments of consumers with similar preference profiles. CONCLUSION: It was found that price is the most important attribute determining consumer preferences, followed by the hens' feed and their rearing conditions. It was also found that only some groups of consumers are willing to pay the premium necessary for alternative methods of production. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of liking,information and consumer characteristics on purchase intention and willingness to pay more for a fat spread with a proven health benefit

Purchase intention and ‘willingness to pay more’ for a relatively new spreading fat with a proven health benefit were compared with those of an established spread by a panel of consumers (n=70). Unlabelled assessment showed that the two spreads differed significantly in liking for taste, in-mouth texture and overall liking. Label information (identity, price and nutritional benefit) had a significant effect on intention to buy, especially when combined within higher liking. Main reasons for ‘buying’ and ‘not buying’ the spread with the proven health benefit were ‘healthy’ and ‘high price’, respectively. Consumers were willing to pay more for the new spread but at a level below its current retail price, although this was significantly higher when combined with higher liking. Gender, age, health concern and nutritional knowledge had mostly interactive effects on purchase intent, with females, older subjects and those with high health concern having higher purchase intent for the proven health benefit label. ‘Willingness to pay more’ level was also higher for these sub-groups and for those with higher nutritional knowledge, but effect sizes were less than those due to differences in liking.