Consumers’ valuation of sustainability labels on meat

Ellen Van Loo, Vincenzina Caputo, Rodolfo Nayga and Wim Verbeke

Food Policy, 2014, vol. 49, issue P1, 137-150

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Animal welfare; Carbon footprint; Choice experiment; Food labeling; Free range; Organic food; Sustainable food; Willingness to pay (WTP) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (87)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:49:y:2014:i:p1:p:137-150

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.07.002

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