9 pages., Online via UI electronic subscription., A choice experiment was used to evaluate the U.S. public's willingness to pay for egg attributes including housing system, color, size, and certifying agency. A significant difference in willingness to pay for hen housing systems was found using video information treatments describing hen housing systems. Participants were indifferent between hen housing systems when they viewed video treatments describing hen housing systems. However, they clearly preferred the cage-free system when they viewed no video treatments. "Results point towards potential public misunderstanding of the costs and benefits associated with the "cage-free" egg label designation."
10 pages., Online via UI electronic subscription., Researchers surveyed 423 students enrolled in agriculture, business, and communication design courses at two universities, as well as Facebook users. Responses involving identified food recalls were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Findings indicated that recall concern, propensity to reduce consumption beyond the recall parameters, and media reliance held strong, direct effects on broad consumption changes.
9 pages., Online via UI electronic subscription, Content analysis of 160 articles from four national U.S. newspapers, the largest regional paper in Iowa, and the Associated Press revealed that the recall was framed both as a failure of government oversight and as an instance of poor production practices by the farmers in question. Particular media focus was given to the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act and the FDA Egg Rule. Relatively little media attention was given to industrial agriculture as a causal frame or the purchasing of "alternative" eggs as a potential response.
9 pages., Online via UI electronic subscription, Researchers reported on their analysis of a case of scandal concerning "set-style yogurt and jelly event" reporting by a micro-blog (i.e., we media) from "opinion leaders." Findings suggested that we media greatly increased dissemination of the voices of "opinion leaders" and triggered large-scale communication of food safety messaging to the public. "We media could be an effective tool to improve the food-safety status of the market."
8 pages., Online via UI electronic subscription., Researchers measured farmer demand for a new agricultural technology , a triple-layered hermetic storage bag which reduces storage loss from insect pests and neutralizes aflatoxin contamination in grain. Findings revealed a highly elastic demand that that the wholesaler could increase profit by lowering the price. Farmers who had prior awareness of the bag were willing to pay 20% more on average than those previously unaware of it. Farmers' valuation of the bags was not significantly different based on the medium (text, audio, or video) through which they received the information.
