IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v33y2008i6p489-496.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Getting consumers to eat more whole-grains: The role of policy, information, and food manufacturers

Author

Listed:
  • Mancino, Lisa
  • Kuchler, Fred
  • Leibtag, Ephraim

Abstract

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines were unique because they offered quantitative recommendations for consumption of whole-grains. This case study examines the hypothesis that the changed recommendations were responsible for the recent increase in retail sales and consumption of whole-grain food products. We find that release of the Dietary Guidelines and related media attention did increase availability and sales of whole-grain foods. A large impact on consumption occurred through reformulation of existing products, induced by competition among food suppliers. This study reveals the key role product reformulation plays in inter-firm competition and in realization of dietary changes recommended by public policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Mancino, Lisa & Kuchler, Fred & Leibtag, Ephraim, 2008. "Getting consumers to eat more whole-grains: The role of policy, information, and food manufacturers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 489-496, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:33:y:2008:i:6:p:489-496
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306-9192(08)00053-5
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Putnam, Judy & Allshouse, Jane & Kantor, Linda Scott, 2002. "U.S. Per Capita Food Supply Trends: More Calories, Refined Carbohydrates, and Fats," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 25(3), pages 1-14.
    2. Capps, Oral, Jr. & Schmitz, John D., 1991. "A Recognition Of Health And Nutrition Factors In Food Demand Analysis," Western Journal of Agricultural Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Ippolito, Pauline M & Mathios, Alan D, 1995. "Information and Advertising: The Case of Fat Consumption in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(2), pages 91-95, May.
    4. Chern, Wen S & Loehman, Edna T & Yen, Steven T, 1995. "Information, Health Risk Beliefs, and the Demand for Fats and Oils," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 77(3), pages 555-564, August.
    5. Lin, Biing-Hwan & Yen, Steven T., 2007. "The U.S. Grain Consumption Landscape: Who Eats Grain, in What Form, Where, and How Much?," Economic Research Report 55967, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Christèle Moutou & Gary W. Brester & John A. Fox, 1998. "US consumers' socioeconomic characteristics and consumption of grain-based foods," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 63-72.
    7. Buzby, Jean C. & Farah, Hodan A. & Vocke, Gary, 2005. "Will 2005 Be the Year of the Whole Grains?," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, pages 1-6, June.
    8. Golan, Elise H. & Kuchler, Fred & Krissoff, Barry, 2007. "Do Food Labels Make a Difference? Sometimes," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, pages 1-8, November.
    9. Mancino, Lisa, 2005. "Going With the Grain: Consumers Responding to New Dietary Guidelines," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, pages 1-2, November.
    10. Deborah J. Brown & Lee F. Schrader, 1990. "Cholesterol Information and Shell Egg Consumption," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 72(3), pages 548-555.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Getu Hailu & John Cranfield & Rawlin Thangaraj, 2010. "Do U.S. food processors respond to sweetener-related health information?," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 348-368.
    2. Rimal, Arbindra & Balasubramanian, Siva K. & Moon, Wanki, 2004. "Two-Stage Decision Model Of Soy Food Consumption Behavior," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 20096, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    3. Paudel, Laxmi & Adhikari, Murali & Houston, Jack E., 2005. "Assessing the Impacts of Low Carbohydrate Related Health Information on the Market Demand for US Vegetables," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19541, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    4. Aldrich, Lorna, 1999. "Consumer Use of Information: Implications for Food Policy," Miscellaneous Publications 330083, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Adhikari, Murali & Paudel, Laxmi & Houston, Jack E. & Paudel, Krishna P. & Bukenya, James O., 2006. "The Impact of Cholesterol Information on Meat Demand: Application of an Updated Cholesterol Index," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 37(2), pages 1-10, July.
    6. Emily Oster, 2020. "Health Recommendations and Selection in Health Behaviors," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 143-160, June.
    7. Chang, Hung-Hao & Just, David R., 2007. "Health Information Availability and the Consumption of Eggs: Are Consumers Bayesians?," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 32(1), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Martinez, Stephen W., 2013. "Introduction of New Food Products With Voluntary Health- and Nutrition-Related Claims, 1989-2010," Economic Information Bulletin 145319, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Chen, Shu-Ling & Chern, Wen S. & Lin, Yi-Ru & Liu, Kang Ernest, 2015. "Effects of food safety and health risk information on demand for food in Taiwan," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205452, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Junmin Wan, 2004. "Responses of Consumers to the Mandatory Disclosure of Information: Evidence from Natural Experiments in Japanese Inter-brand Cigarette Demands," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 04-13-Rev, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics, revised Feb 2006.
    11. Lin, Biing-Hwan & Yen, Steven T., 2005. "Consumer Knowledge, Food Label Use and Grain Consumption," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19557, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    12. Moon, Wanki & Balasubramanian, Siva K. & Rimal, Arbindra, 2011. "Health claims and consumers' behavioral intentions: The case of soy-based food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 480-489, August.
    13. Moon, Wanki, 2002. "Estimating The Effect Of Health Knowledge In The Consumption Of Soy-Based Foods," 2002 Annual meeting, July 28-31, Long Beach, CA 19681, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    14. Emily Oster, 2018. "Behavioral Feedback: Do Individual Choices Influence Scientific Results?," NBER Working Papers 25225, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Wildner, S. & Cramon-Taubadel, S.v., 2000. "Die Bedeutung von Veränderungen der Nachfrage für die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des Agrarsektors: erste Ergebnisse einer neuen Nachfrageschätzung," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 36.
    16. Chern, Wen S. & Zuo, Jun, 2006. "Impacts of Fat and Cholesterol Information On Consumer Demand: Application of New Indexes," Working Papers 28321, Ohio State University, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics.
    17. Variyam, Jayachandran & Blaylock, James R. & Smallwood, David, 1998. "USDA's Healthy Eating Index and Nutrition Information," Technical Bulletins 184379, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    18. Kim, Sam-Ryang & Chern, Wen S. & Jones, Eugene, 1998. "Impact Of Health Information On Demand For Fats And Oils In Japan: Cointegration And A Complete Demand System Approach," 1998 Annual meeting, August 2-5, Salt Lake City, UT 20802, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    19. Antonovitz, Frances & Liu, Donald J., 1996. "A HEDONIC PRICE STUDY OF PESTICIDES IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES; Proceedings of the Fifth Joint Conference on Agriculture, Food, and the Environment, June 17-18, 1996, Padova, Italy," Working Papers 14389, University of Minnesota, Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy.
    20. Variyam, Jayachandran N. & Blaylock, James R. & Smallwood, David, 1997. "Diet-Health Information and Nutrition: The Intake of Dietary Fats and Cholesterol," Technical Bulletins 156800, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:33:y:2008:i:6:p:489-496. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.