1 - 16 of 16
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
2. Mexican consumers' perceptions and attitudes towards farm animal welfare and willingness to pay for welfare friendly meat products
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Miranda-de la Lama, G.C. (author), Estévez-Moreno, L.X. (author), Sepúlveda, W.S. (author), Estrada-Chavero, M.C. (author), Rayas-Amor, A.A. (author), Villarroel, M. (author), and María, G.A. (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2017-03
- Published:
- USA: Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 4 Document Number: D10180
- Journal Title:
- Meat Science
- Journal Title Details:
- 125 : 106–113
- Notes:
- 8 pages., Via online journal., Increasing concerns about farm animal welfare have led to an increase in the availability of welfare-friendly-products (WFP), but little is known about how much more consumers are willing-to-pay (WTP) for WFP or about their buying trends in Latin America. In this study, a survey was given to 843 meat consumers in the city of Toluca, Mexico. The results show that consumers were interested in farm animal welfare issues and their ethical, sociological and economic implications, as in Europe. The people surveyed also conveyed a high level of empathy with animal feelings and emotions, however they clearly demanded more information and regulations related to farm animal welfare. The majority of respondents expressed that they were WTP more for properly certified WFP, but mostly based on the benefits in terms of product quality and human health. If the demand for WFP begins to increase in Mexico, the supply chain should consider a certification system to guarantee product origin based on current conditions.
3. Which communication channels shape normative perceptions about buying local food? An application of social exposure
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Witzling, Laura (author), Shaw, Bret (author), and Trechter, David (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-02-22
- Published:
- USA: Springer
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 7 Document Number: D10273
- Journal Title:
- Agriculture and Human Values
- Journal Title Details:
- 36(3): 443–454
- Notes:
- 12 pages., via online journal, We examined how information from multiple communication channels can inform social norms about local food purchasing. The concept of social exposure was used as a guide. Social exposure articulates how information in social, symbolic, and physical environments contributes to normative perceptions. Data was collected from a sample in Wisconsin. Results indicated that information from communication channels representing symbolic, social, and physical environments all contributed to normative perceptions. We also found that for individuals who frequent farmers’ markets, information from some communication channels was relatively less strongly associated with injunctive norms. It may be that when first-hand, experiential information is available to inform norms, individuals rely less on information available through other communication channels. Future work might further explore how farmers’ markets foster information sharing in communities, as such information may contribute to normative perceptions.
4. What influences consumer evaluation of genetically modified foods?
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Pham, Nguyen (author) and Mandel, Naomi (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019
- Published:
- Sage
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 18 Document Number: D10499
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
- Journal Title Details:
- 38(2): 263-279
- Notes:
- 18 pages., via online journal., Genetically modified (GM) foods have attracted a great deal of controversy. While some consumers and organizations regard GM foods as safe, many other consumers and organizations remain concerned about their potential health risks. The results of three studies suggest that consumers respond differently to persuasive messages regarding GM foods on the basis of their preexisting attitudes. Weak anti-GM consumers tend to comply with a variety of pro-GM messages. In contrast, strong anti-GM consumers exhibit message-opposing behavior. Moreover, they respond just as negatively to a safety message (claiming that GM foods are safe) as to a risk message (claiming that GM foods are unsafe). The mechanism underlying these effects is consumers’ perceived health risk. A benefit message claiming that GM foods are beneficial (e.g., more nutritious than their conventional counterparts) is a better alternative for strong anti-GM consumers. Finally, the results suggest that persuasive messages do not significantly change pro-GM consumers’ evaluations of these foods.
5. “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”: how ethical beliefs influence consumer perceptions of “blue” aquaculture products?
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Banovic, Marija (author), Reinders, Machiel, J. (author), Claret, Anna (author), Guerrero, Luis (author), and Krystallis, Athanasios (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019
- Published:
- Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 18 Document Number: D10530
- Journal Title:
- Food Quality and Preference
- Journal Title Details:
- 77: 147-158
- Notes:
- 12 pages., via online journal., Respecting ethical beliefs of consumers is an important precondition for food manufacturers in their attempt to improve their positioning in the European food market. Based on a cross-cultural survey of 2511 European participants, this research demonstrates how ethical beliefs affect consumer perceptions of “blue” (i.e. environmentally friendly) aquaculture products. The study further emphasises that the positive effect of ethical beliefs on purchase intention operates via an indirect route mediated by consumers’ trust in a product category. Consumer involvement has limited moderation effect on the above relationships. To expand its “blue” business, a key policy recommendation to aquaculture product manufacturers and policy makers is to urge stable and reliable standards of control in environmentally responsible aquaculture production so that consumers can rely on the information source and increase their trust in aquaculture products.
6. Farmers prevailing perception profiles regarding GM crops: a classification proposal
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Almeida, Carla (author) and Massarani, Luisa (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2018
- Published:
- SAGE Journals
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 32 Document Number: D10598
- Journal Title:
- Public Understanding of Science
- Journal Title Details:
- 27(8), 952–966
- Notes:
- 15 pages., via online journal., Genetically modified organisms have been at the centre of a major public controversy, involving different interests and actors. While much attention has been devoted to consumer views on genetically modified food, there have been few attempts to understand the perceptions of genetically modified technology among farmers. By investigating perceptions of genetically modified organisms among Brazilian farmers, we intend to contribute towards filling this gap and thereby add the views of this stakeholder group to the genetically modified debate. A comparative analysis of our data and data from other studies indicate there is a complex variety of views on genetically modified organisms among farmers. Despite this diversity, we found variations in such views occur within limited parameters, concerned principally with expectations or concrete experiences regarding the advantages of genetically modified crops, perceptions of risks associated with them, and ethical questions they raise. We then propose a classification of prevailing profiles to represent the spectrum of perceptions of genetically modified organisms among farmers.
7. Pesticide residues in food: attitudes, beliefs, and misconceptions among conventional and organic consumers
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Koch, Severine (author), Epp, Astrid (author), Lohmann, Mark (author), and Böl, Gaby-Fleur (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2017-12
- Published:
- International Association for Food Protection, Des Moines, Iowa
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 38 Document Number: D10699
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Food Protection
- Journal Title Details:
- 80(12): 2083-2089
- Notes:
- 7 pages., via online journal., Pesticide use and pesticide residues in foods have been the subject of controversial public discussions and media coverage in Germany. Against this background, a better understanding of public risk perceptions is needed to promote efficient public health communication. To this end, this study captures the German public's perception of pesticide residues in foods. A representative sample of the population aged 14 years and older (n = 1,004) was surveyed via computer-assisted telephone interviewing on their attitudes and knowledge with regard to pesticide residues. Based on questions regarding their typical consumer behavior, respondents were classified into conventional and organic consumers to identify differences as well as similarities between these two consumer types. As assessed with an open-ended question, both organic and conventional consumers viewed pesticides, chemicals, and toxins as the greatest threats to food quality and safety. Evaluating the risks and benefits of pesticide use, more than two-thirds of organic consumers (70%) rated the risks as greater than the benefits, compared with just over one-half of conventional consumers (53%). Concern about the detection of pesticide residues in the food chain and bodily fluids was significantly higher among organic compared with conventional consumers. Only a minority of respondents was aware that legal limits for pesticide residues (referred to as maximum residue levels) exist, with 69% of organic and 61% of conventional consumers believing that the presence of pesticide residues in foods is generally not permitted. A lack of awareness of maximum residue levels was associated with heightened levels of concern about pesticide residues. Finally, general exposure to media reporting on pesticide residues was associated with more frequent knowledge of legal limits for pesticide residues, whereas actively seeking information on pesticide residues was not. The possible mechanisms underlying these findings are discussed.
8. Greenwashing and environmental communication: Effects on stakeholders' perceptions
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Torelli, Riccardo (author), Balluchi, Federica (author), and Lazzini, Arianna (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-07
- Published:
- Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 78 Document Number: D10823
- Journal Title:
- Business Strategy and the Environment
- Notes:
- 15 pages., via online journal., Since the first Earth Day in the 1970s, corporate environmental performance has increased dramatically, and cases of greenwashing have increased sharply. The term greenwash refers to a variety of different misleading communications that aim to form overly positive beliefs among stakeholders about a company's environmental practices. The growing number of corporate social responsibility claims, whether founded or not, creates difficulties for stakeholders in distinguishing between truly positive business performance and companies that only appear to embrace a model of sustainable development. In this context, through the lens of legitimacy and signalling theory, we intend to understand and assess the different influences that various types of misleading communications about environmental issues have on stakeholders' perceptions of corporate environmental responsibility and greenwashing. Stakeholder responses to an environmental scandal will also be assessed. The hypotheses tested through a four‐for‐two design experiment reveal that different levels of greenwashing have a significantly different influence on stakeholders' perceptions of corporate environmental responsibility and stakeholders' reactions to environmental scandals.
9. Are social embeddedness associated with food risk perception under media coverage?
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Zhen, Yan (author), Huang, Zu-hui (author), Wang, Yu (author), and Zhou, Jie-hong (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-08
- Published:
- Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 78 Document Number: D10827
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Integrative Agriculture
- Journal Title Details:
- 18(8): 1804–1819
- Notes:
- 16 pages., via online journal., raceability system has received wide attention in solving food safety issues, via which food information could be tracked back to producer/farmers. Consumers need to obtain this information from producers or social networks, trust in the information, and consequently assess perceived risks, especially when food scandals are exposed to the media. In this study, we introduce the social embeddedness theory to understand how consumers' social activities affect their risk perceptions on traceable food. Specifically, we investigate how risk perceptions are predicted by the interpersonal relationships, organizational level and social-level relationships. Results show that the interpersonal relationships were associated with lower levels of risk perceptions, while organizational and social relationships impacted consumer's risk perceptions at middle and higher levels, respectively. Results also show that the “ripple effect” extended to effect of risk events with negative information, however, did not exist for the group exposed to positive information. Potential food safety implications have been proposed to identify for effective risk mitigation under media coverages.
10. Analysis of the consumer’s perception of urban food products from a soilless system in rooftop greenhouses: a case study from the Mediterranean area of Barcelona (Spain)
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Ercilla-Montserrat, Mireia (author), Sanjuan-Delmás, David (author), Sanyé-Mengual, Esther (author), Calvet-Mir, Laura (author), Banderas, Karla (author), Rieradevall, Joan (author), and Gabarrell, Xavier (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-09
- Published:
- Springer New York LLC
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 83 Document Number: D10839
- Journal Title:
- Agriculture and Human Values
- Journal Title Details:
- 36(3): 375–393
- Notes:
- 19 pages., via online journal., Soilless crops are commonly used in rooftop agriculture (RA) because they easily adapt to building constraints. However, acceptance of the produce derived from this system may be controversial. This paper evaluates consumers’ acceptance of food from RA in Mediterranean cities, focusing on the quality of the product, production system, and consumers’ motivations. We surveyed 238 respondents on the UAB university campus as potential consumers. The survey was distributed via an Internet-link that was provided along with a sample of tomatoes from RA. The results showed that most people approved the quality of RA products and perceived them to be local and fresh (94%). The respondents exhibited acceptance of soilless-produced tomatoes and considered them to be environmentally better than conventionally produced ones (69%). Cluster analysis revealed that consumers with high income levels and a university education had a better perception of the quality and proposed a higher price for RA products, but no difference was found regarding their environmental perception of this products. Moreover, people who possessed more information about the product also had a higher perception of the quality and production system (it was perceived to be environmentally friendly) and would pay more for them. The main concerns of consumers were related to food safety and the social impact of RA. Additional research is needed to improve the sustainability of RA, and the applied measures should be communicated to potential consumers to enhance their acceptance and success.
11. In the belly of the “beast”: s look at Monsanto’s public engagement awakening
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Charlebois, Sylvain (author) and Van Acker, Rene (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2015
- Published:
- Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 93 Document Number: D10864
- Journal Title:
- Public Relations Review
- Journal Title Details:
- 42(1): 223-225
- Notes:
- 3 pages., via online journal, This study is motivated by the importance of communication with societal stakeholders when food is involved. This case adopts an internal view of Monsanto's challenge of engaging with consumers and the broader public when discussing biotechnologies and specifically, genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Multiple interviews were conducted at Monsanto's world headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, to understand the challenges within the organization in terms of their public persona and why and how they want to change it.
12. Development of strategies for effective communication of food risks and benefits across Europe: Design and conceptual framework of the FoodRisC project
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Barnett, Julie (author), McConnon, Aine (author), Kennedy, Jean (author), Raats, Monique (author), Shepherd, Richard (author), Verbeke, Wim (author), Fletcher, Jon (author), Kuttschreuter, Margôt (author), Lima, Luisa (author), Wills, Josephine (author), and Wall, Patrick (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2011
- Published:
- BioMed Central
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 102 Document Number: D10910
- Journal Title:
- BMC Public Health
- Journal Title Details:
- 308
- Notes:
- 9 pages., via online journal., European consumers are faced with a myriad of food related risk and benefit information and it is regularly left up to the consumer to interpret these, often conflicting, pieces of information as a coherent message. This conflict is especially apparent in times of food crises and can have major public health implications. Scientific results and risk assessments cannot always be easily communicated into simple guidelines and advice that non-scientists like the public or the media can easily understand especially when there is conflicting, uncertain or complex information about a particular food or aspects thereof. The need for improved strategies and tools for communication about food risks and benefits is therefore paramount. The FoodRisC project ("Food Risk Communication - Perceptions and communication of food risks/benefits across Europe: development of effective communication strategies") aims to address this issue. The FoodRisC project will examine consumer perceptions and investigate how people acquire and use information in food domains in order to develop targeted strategies for food communication across Europe.
13. Short food supply chains from a social media marketing perspective: a consumer-oriented study in Spain
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Elghannam, Ahmed (author) and Mesias, Francisco (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-03
- Published:
- Bononia University Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 121 Document Number: D11092
- Journal Title:
- New medit: Mediterranean journal of economics, agriculture and environment
- Journal Title Details:
- 18(1): 79-90
- Notes:
- 12 pages., via online journal., The increasing use of internet, especially the proliferation of social networks has offered companies of all sectors the opportunity to keep in contact with their consumers; getting their feedbacks and complains on a daily basis and even to create short online chains enabling consumers to buy their products. This trend is found to be rather limited in the case of food products. The main objective of this article is to deal with consumer’s perceptions towards the potential use of social media to create online short supply chains for food. Projective techniques (Sentence completion tasks) have been used in this study. As, they allow researchers to uncover motivations, emotions and beliefs that drive consumer’s perception and behavior which may not be detected by straightforward questioning. The findings of this study have allowed to obtain insight into those aspects that consumers regard as opportunities or barriers of such potential short food chains. The main aspect is to put food enterprises in the picture about what is going on in consumer’s mind. This might open new possibilities for food businesses to develop a new short food chain.
14. Misleading or informing? Examining the effects of labeling design on consumers' perception of gluten-free products and wheat safety
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Cantrell, Kimberly (author), Li, Nan (author), Meyers, Courtney (author), Akers, Cindy (author), and Association for Communication Excellence (ACE)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-02
- Published:
- United States: New Prairie Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 131 Document Number: D11301
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Applied Communications
- Journal Title Details:
- 104(1)
- Notes:
- 18 pages., via online journal, As food products marketed as “gluten-free” become increasingly popular, many consumers start to exclude sources of gluten (e.g., wheat, barley, and rye) from their diets for both medical and non-medical purposes. The grain industry is facing a growing challenge to (re)boost consumers’ confidence in the healthiness and safety of its commodities. Using 561 participants recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk workers’ panel, this study implemented a 2 (pretzels vs. potato chips) * 2 (positive- vs. negative- frame) * 2 (wheat image vs. no wheat image) experiment to examine the effects of gluten-free labels on consumers’ perceived healthiness and safety of wheat, perceived benefits of labeled products, and their evaluation of the shown labels. Results showed that consumers evaluate the gluten-free labels most positively when they appear on products that could have contained gluten. For products that are naturally gluten-free, adding a gluten-free label only decreased consumers’ confidence in such labels. The presence of gluten-free labels increased consumers’ perceived benefits of the labeled products when they do not contain any misleading information (e.g., image of a wheat head). However, some gluten-free labels could have negative impacts on consumers’ perceptions of the healthiness and safety of wheat. Overall, food producers and marketers might have undervalued consumers’ literacy and overestimated their susceptibility to marketing strategies. We discussed the implications for food marketers, regulators, and communicators.
15. "You call that meat?" Investigating social media conversations and influencers surrounding cultured meat
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Specht, Annie R. (author), Rumble, Joy N. (author), Buck, Emily B. (author), and Association for Communication Excellence The Ohio State University
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-02
- Published:
- United States: New Prairie Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 131 Document Number: D11302
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Applied Communications
- Journal Title Details:
- 104(1)
- Notes:
- 23 pages., via online journal, Cultured meat has yet to reach store shelves but is nonetheless a growing issue for consumers, producers, and government regulators, many of whom have taken to social media to discuss it. Using a conceptual framework of social cognitive theory and issues management, this qualitative content analysis investigated social-media discourse surrounding the topic of cultured meat in the United States by describing the content of the discussion in late 2018 and identifying individual influencers and communities of influencers engaged in the discussion. Data were collected from Twitter using listening platform Sysomos MAP. The thematic analysis revealed eight themes: legality and marketing, sustainability, acceptance, business, animal concerns, science and technology, health concerns, and timeline, and indicated that conflicting views and questions about cultured meat exist among conversation participants. Top influencers included philanthropists, government officials, journalists and writers, and animal-welfare advocates. These influencers were grouped into four distinct communities based on interactions with each other and other users. The topics identified in the analysis provide insight into ways in which communicators can enter these conversations, and influencer communities represent groups of users whose broad reach could more easily transmit pro-agriculture messages.
16. Identifying Generational Differences to Target Extension Programming when Discussing Genetic Modification
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Beattie, Peyton (author), Lamm, Alexa J. (author), Rumble, Joy N. (author), and Ellis, Jason D. (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2018
- Published:
- United States: The American Association for Agricultural Education
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 131 Document Number: D11320
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Agricultural Education
- Journal Title Details:
- 59(3) : 154-168
- Notes:
- 15 pages., via online journal, Genetic modification (GM) science has received considerable pushback from consumers despite the research finding GM products are safe for consumption. This may be partly due to the disconnect between consumers and farms since most consumers are disconnected from the farm by at least three generations. The largest consumer population is composed of millennials, which is the generation furthest removed from the farm which may mean they need to be educated differently about GM science than other generations. The purpose of this research was to determine if there were generational differences regarding the perceived attributes of GM science to inform the development of extension programs designed to educate consumers about GM science. A survey was used to collect consumers’ perceptions of GM science. The respondents were grouped into generational classifications and perceptions between groups were compared. The findings revealed generations do perceived GM science differently and extension programs should be designed for specific generational audiences.