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      Consumers’ Concerns and Perceptions of Farm Animal Welfare

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          Abstract

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          In the current socioeconomic situation, consumers’ concerns about farm animal welfare can prevent them from buying some products, and this influences the sustainability of intensive systems. Consumers perceive the need to increase the level of welfare in farm animals, despite the fact that their level of knowledge about farming and animal welfare issues is relatively low. Consumers concerns are not equally distributed among the different farm species, nor is there consistency in the willingness to pay to enhance animal welfare. Therefore, farmers, businesses, and members of the food chain need to be informed of the evolution of public perceptions and consumer concerns to make informed decisions that help them improve their sustainability, social responsibility, and public credibility, which will allow them to maintain their social license through social ethical approval.

          Abstract

          In this paper, we explore the evolution of consumers’ perceptions and concerns about the effects that intensification of production systems could have on the welfare of farm animals. Despite the differences in definitions of animal welfare that make perceptions about this complex subject extremely variable, there is a growing perception that farm animal welfare should be protected and improved. There is an increasing appreciation of animal welfare parameters over other quality attributes, and animal-friendly products are considered healthier, safer, tastier, more hygienic, authentic, environmentally friendly, and traditional by many consumers. The willingness to pay for the increases in price that higher levels of farm animal welfare could produce could be promoted by means of adequate information about management and housing conditions of the different farming species. Welfare-friendly products that are properly labeled with clear information provided by an internationally accepted, transparent, and traceable monitoring system will increase consumers’ confidence in the food chain participants. Both consumers and citizens have the opportunity to improve the welfare of millions of farmed animals now and in the future, consumers by assuming their responsibility at the buying point, purchasing welfare-friendly products, and citizens by driving legislation to achieve some minimum standard of welfare conditions that could meet animals’ needs.

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          Most cited references95

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          Food security and sustainable intensification.

          The coming decades are likely to see increasing pressures on the global food system, both on the demand side from increasing population and per capita consumption, and on the supply side from greater competition for inputs and from climate change. This paper argues that the magnitude of the challenge is such that action is needed throughout the food system, on moderating demand, reducing waste, improving governance and producing more food. It discusses in detail the last component, arguing that more food should be produced using sustainable intensification (SI) strategies, and explores the rationale behind, and meaning of, this term. It also investigates how SI may interact with other food policy agendas, in particular, land use and biodiversity, animal welfare and human nutrition.
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            Comparison of consumer perceptions and preference toward organic versus conventionally produced foods: A review and update of the literature

            Growing interest in organic agriculture has prompted numerous studies that compare various aspects of organic and conventionally produced foods. This paper provides a comprehensive evaluation of empirical studies comparing organic products and conventionally grown alternatives. The emphasis is on key organic consumer demand and marketing issues, including: (1) the implications of an economic definition of organically grown food for consumer demand; (2) attributes that shoppers consider most when comparing organic with conventionally grown products; (3) level and characteristics of consumer knowledge and awareness about organic food; (4) assessment methods and characteristics of organic consumer attitudes and preferences; (5) size of price premium and characteristics of consumers’ willingness-to-pay for organic products; and (6) profile of organic consumers. Overall, although there is some knowledge and awareness about organic products, consumers are not consistent in their interpretation of what is organic. Secondly, while consumers typically understand the broad issues about organic foods, many tend not to understand the complexities and niceties of organic farming practices and organic food quality attributes. Uncertainty regarding the true attributes of organic, and skepticism about organic labels, part of which stems from reported cases of (inadvertent) mislabeling, and product misrepresentation, and partly because of nonuniform organic standards and certification procedures, may hold some consumers back from purchasing organic. Thirdly, concern for human health and safety, which is a key factor that influences consumer preference for organic food, is consistent with observed deterioration in human health over time and, therefore, motivates consumers to buy organic food as insurance and/or investment in health. Fourthly, the proportion of consumers who are willing to pay a price premium for organic food decreases with premium level. On the other hand, premiums tend to increase with (combinations of) preferred attributes. In addition, demand tends to depend more on the price differential with respect to conventionally grown products, than on actual price. In contrast to sensitivity of demand to changes in price, income elasticity of demand for organic foods is generally small. Finally, it is important for policy analysts and researchers to note that organic fresh fruits and vegetables currently dominate the organic consumer's food basket. Furthermore, it is not clear whether frequent buyers consider particular organic products (e.g., organic meat) as normal goods, or if consumers consider such products as luxury goods.
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              Consumer perception and the role of science in the meat industry.

              The relationship between consumer perception of quality and the food industry's drive to satisfy consumer needs is complex and involves many different components. Science and innovation play a major role in equipping the industry to respond to consumer concerns and expectations. This paper examines the main elements of consumer perception of meat with focus on the red meat sector. Emphasis is placed on perception at point of sale particularly the intrinsic quality cues of colour, packaging and degree of visual fat. The state of the art developments in increasing consumers' perception at this point are discussed. Experienced quality cues such as tenderness and flavour are well known as being of immense importance to consumers at point of consumption. The latest technological developments to enhance the quality experienced by consumers are discussed. The use of pre-rigor restraining techniques offers the industry a method for changing its conventional procedures of processing beef for instance. Background cues of safety, nutrition, animal welfare and sustainability are also discussed. Finally opportunities and challenges facing the industry are outlined. It is concluded that the meat industry needs to invest in and embrace an innovation agenda in order to be sustainable. It must utilise emerging scientific knowledge and take a more proactive role in setting out a research agenda.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Animals (Basel)
                Animals (Basel)
                animals
                Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI
                MDPI
                2076-2615
                27 February 2020
                March 2020
                : 10
                : 3
                : 385
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Animal Production Department, Veterinary Faculty, University of León, Campus de Vegazana, 24071 León, Spain
                [2 ]Medicine, Surgery and Anatomy Veterinary Department, Veterinary Faculty, University of León, Campus de Vegazana, 24071 León, Spain; jramirogonzalez@ 123456unileon.es
                [3 ]Production and Health Animal, Public Health Veterinary and Science and Technology of Food Department, Veterinary Faculty, Cardenal Herrera-CEU University, C/Tirant lo Blanc, 7, 46115 Alfara del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain; juan.lomillos@ 123456uchceu.es
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: marta.alonso@ 123456unileon.es ; Tel.: +34-636-960-731
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3810-0176
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8976-3332
                Article
                animals-10-00385
                10.3390/ani10030385
                7143148
                32120935
                815e6147-98f6-4efe-917f-f3a048cdeabb
                © 2020 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 31 January 2020
                : 25 February 2020
                Categories
                Review

                animal welfare,consumer,concerns,farming,perceptions
                animal welfare, consumer, concerns, farming, perceptions

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