Consumers’ valuation of sustainability labels on meat

• Published in: Food policy Vol. 49; pp. 137 - 150
• Main Authors: Van Loo, Ellen J., Caputo, Vincenzina, Nayga, Rodolfo M., Verbeke, Wim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2014; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Animal rights; Animal welfare; Belgium; Carbon footprint; Choice experiment; Consumer behavior; Consumers; Environmental impact; Ethics; Europe; Food labeling; Food policy; Food products; Free range; Labels; Logos; Meat; Natural & organic foods; Organic food; Organic produce; Purchasing; Sustainability; Sustainable food; Willingness to pay; Willingness to pay (WTP); Belgium; Free range; Willingness to pay (WTP); Organic food; Animal welfare; Food labeling; Sustainable food; Carbon footprint; Choice experiment
• ISSN: 0306-9192; 1873-5657
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.07.002

•Studies preferences for organic, free range, animal welfare, carbon footprint labels.•Uses choice experiment data and a random parameter logit model with error component.•Identifies and quantifies taste- (or preference-) based consumer segments.•Meat consumers favor free range claims over the other sustainability claims studied.•Hypothetical EU animal welfare logo emerges as the second most preferred. There are various sustainability certifications and claims for food products that focus on environmental or ethical benefits. These claims empower consumers to make informed purchasing decisions that take environmental and ethical considerations into account. This paper compares consumers’ preferences for four types of sustainability claims related to organic meat, free range, animal welfare and carbon footprint. Using a choice experiment on a chicken breast product, our results show that nine in every ten Belgian consumers favor free range claims, which are also valued the most highly, attracting premiums ranging from 43% to 93%. Our study also shows that a vast majority of consumers (87%) would welcome the introduction of an EU level animal welfare label. The carbon footprint labels and the organic labels are less appealing to consumers, who have lower willingness to pay for these labels. Belgian consumers prefer the national Belgian organic food logo, certified by a private organization, to the newly-introduced EU organic food logo.