Are two reasons better than one? How natural and ethical appeals influence consumer preferences for clean meat

Clean meat shows great potential as an alternative to conventional meat and may help to mitigate sustainability problems stemming from the meat industry. However, this novel method of producing meat is currently being met by consumer hesitancy due to perceptions of unnaturalness and feelings of disgust. While prior research has shown that appeal positioning based on naturalness and ethicality, for example, may enhance the acceptance of clean meat, these findings are limited because prior research has only examined different appeals in isolation, and no research has explored the psychological mechanism underlying the effect of these appeals. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine how a joint appeal based on both natural and ethical aspects of clean meat is more effective in enhancing consumer preference. Specifically, two experiments were conducted among participants from the US (n = 302) and the UK (n = 303) to examine whether a joint appeal is more effective than a single appeal focusing on either naturalness or ethicality, and no appeal. Extending the current literature, our findings show that the joint appeal increases the effectiveness of the communication, with participants in this condition showing a significantly higher preference toward the product when compared to those in the single-appeal or no-appeal conditions. The results also demonstrate that disgust and compassion underlie the effect of the joint appeal on consumer preference. Taken together, the current research provides insights to enhance the effectiveness of marketing interventions in promoting consumer preference for and acceptance of clean meat.     

The importance of origin as a quality attribute for beef: results from a Scottish consumer survey

Perception of country of origin and purchasing habits for beef were examined for urban and rural Scottish consumers. Origin was identified as being as important as intrinsic quality cues of colour and leanness, with rural consumers giving more weight to origin than urban ones. Most consumers interpreted ‘Scotch Beef’ and ‘British Meat’ label logos as evidence that the beef animals were ‘born, raised and slaughtered in Scotland or Britain’ respectively. The logos were taken as indicators of quality and safety. Both urban and rural respondents had higher agreement levels with Scotch beef as a safer, higher quality and more expensive commodity than British meat. Rural consumers made more use of butcher shops for purchase, but both groups sought butcher beef for quality reasons and supermarket sources because of convenience.     

Buyer preferences for sheep and goats in southern Nigeria: A hedonic price analysis

A survey of two rural markets in southwest Nigeria over 14 months showed that supplies, sales and prices of sheep and goats varied widely during the period with a sharp peak during the Muslim festival of' Eid-el-Kabir and a smaller peak during the Christmas-New Year period. Local West African Dwarf (WAD) sheep and goats and northern Y'ankasa sheep and Red Sokoto goats were traded in the markets and animals were purchased for rearing, trading, ceremonies, butchering/catering, sacrifice, and festivals. There were significant differences between species/breeds purchased for various purposes. A hedonic price model was fitted to determine factors influencing price. After adjustments were made for age, weight, sex, time of transaction and market, WAD sheep commanded higher prices than WAD goats and Red Sokoto goats for all purposes except for butchering/catering; Red Sokoto goats commanded similar or lower prices than WAD goats depending on the purpose for purchase; and Y'ankasa sheep, principally purchased for the Eid-el-Kabir festival, commanded marginally higher prices than WAD sheep. The market share of WAD sheep is currently small and is under competition from northern sheep and goats, so increased production of WAD sheep in the south will benefit both producers and consumers in the area. In general, the results indicate that buyers have preferences for specific breeds and species for specific purposes, so producers and sellers may benefit by targeting specific buyer categories and times of the year.     

Food Values Applied to Livestock Products

Food values have been proposed in previous research as a method of identifying stable constructs of consumer preference. We conducted an online survey of 1950 US respondents using best–worst scaling applying the concept of food values to four specific meat and dairy products: ground beef, beef steak, chicken breast, and milk. We test the applicability of general food values to specific products, while further discovering the nature of heterogeneity of values by defining classes of respondents. Our findings suggest that the general food values previously proposed apply well to specific products of the livestock industry. We also found that the differences between consumer classes were driven primarily by price sensitivity, with many of the most important and least important values remaining the same.     

Enhancing Poultry Industry Competitiveness: Consumer Perspective on Chicken Meat Quality Based on Sensory Characteristics

The increasing demand for chicken meat has caused producers to increase their productivity through enhanced production techniques. Further increase in demand for quality meat products has been predicted in the country. This study seeks to investigate factors that influence consumer perception toward chicken meat quality. Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 569 consumers at selected shopping malls located in Klang Valley areas. The majority of the respondents perceived quality as an important criterion for buying decisions. The finding revealed that nine factors have influenced consumer perception on meat quality, namely color, size, springiness, chicken aroma, fatty/oily taste, sweetness, visible fat, tenderness, and fibrousness. Among these factors, tenderness was found to be the most important criterion that influenced consumer preference toward chicken meat quality during buying decisions. Good production practices and proper marketing strategies are among recommendations to poultry industry players toward fulfilling consumer demand for good quality chicken meat.     

How New Consumers’ Consumption Patterns Caused Changes in Food Distribution Channels in Croatia

In general, channels of meat distribution in Croatia include (a) direct sale in open market area; (b) local stand-alone butcher shops that co-operate with some farms offering their meat there; (c) chains of butcher shops; (d) supermarkets and hypermarkets; (e) the channel of Horeca (hotels, restaurants, snack bars). The whole Croatian meat market has 300,000 tons estimated value, but it has met with changing trends in consumption because consumers have less time for home-prepared meals. Moreover, consumers prefer one-stop shopping and large-scale retailers due to their variety of merchandise offered. The main goal of the article is to find whether new consumption patterns affect the way of butchering and the choice of distribution channels in the case of the Croatian meat market. Therefore, the qualitative research among consumers and meat distributors in three Croatian regions was conducted. The research reveals consumers’ meat outlet preferences.     

原子荧光光谱法测定肉类罐头中总砷含量不确定度的评定

对原子荧光光谱法测定肉类罐头中总砷含量不确定度进行评定。分析了产生不确定度的主要来源,以咸牛肉罐头为例,分析了整个测量过程产生的不确定度,取包含因子为2得扩展不确定度为0．002mg／kg,总砷含量的标准不确度最终结果为（0．024~0．002）mg／kg。为有效地控制用该方法测定肉类罐头中总砷含量的质量提供可靠的理论依据。     

Consumers’ avoidance of information on red meat risks: information exposure effects on attitudes and perceived knowledge

In accordance with cognitive dissonance theory, individuals generally avoid information that is not consistent with their cognitions, to avoid psychological discomfort associated with tensions arising from contradictory beliefs. Information avoidance may thus make risk communication less successful. To address this, we presented information on red meat risks to red meat consumers. To explore information exposure effects, attitudes toward red meat and perceived knowledge of red meat risks were measured before, immediately after, and two weeks after exposure. We expected information avoidance of red meat risks to be: positively related to (1) study discontentment; and (2) positive attitudes toward red meat; and negatively related to (3) information seeking on red meat risks; and (4) systematic and heuristic processing of information. In addition, following exposure to the risk information, we expected that (5) individuals who scored high in avoidance of red meat risks information to change their attitudes and perceived risk knowledge less than individuals who scored low in avoidance. Results were in line with the first three expectations. Support for the fourth was partial insofar as this was only confirmed regarding systematic processing. The final prediction was not confirmed; individuals who scored high in avoidance decreased the positivity of their attitudes and increased their perceived knowledge in a similar fashion to those who scored low in avoidance. These changes stood over the two-week follow-up period. Results are discussed in accordance with cognitive dissonance theory, with the possible use of suppression strategies, and with the corresponding implications for risk communication practice.     

Can China’s meat imports be sustainable? A case study of mad cow disease

Rising demand and constrained domestic production have challenged the meat consumption in China. To fill the gap between domestic demand and supply, China imports an increasing volume of meat products from the international market. However, outbreaks of animal diseases can jeopardize China’s ability to meet its need for consumable meat. This article investigates the impact of animal disease outbreaks on the sustainability of China’s meat imports by using the episode of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United States in 2003 as a case study. Our results show that China’s meat imports are becoming more diversified and sustainable. The outbreak did have significant negative impacts on beef imports from the United States. During the epidemic, not only was China able to increase beef imports from other major exporters, but it also increased imports of other animal products such as edible offal and pork. Our findings indicate that international trade can serve as a reliable source to meet China’s soaring meat consumption.