IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aesc11/108953.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Consumer attitudes towards sustainability attributes on food labels in the UK and Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Saunders, Caroline M.
  • Guenther, Meike
  • Tait, Peter R.
  • Kaye-Blake, William
  • Saunders, John
  • Miller, Sini
  • Abell, Walter L.

Abstract

With current concerns about climate change and the general status of the environment, there is an increasing expectation that products have sustainability credentials, and that these can be verified. Labelling is a common method of communicating certain product attributes to consumers that may influence their choices. There are different types of labels with several functions. The aim of this study was to investigate consumers‟, attitudes, knowledge and preferences towards certain sustainability claims on food products across countries; particularly attitudes towards the display of the reduction of carbon emissions were examined in this research. A web-based consumer survey undertaken in the United Kingdom and Japan showed similarities between consumers in the UK and Japan regarding desired label claims of environmental product information. Differences across these countries were observed in terms of the knowledge about certain environmental and social issues such as carbon footprint and sustainability. This information on consumers‟ attitudes will assist industries and firms to identify market opportunities, in particular assessing the methods by which carbon footprinting measures can be incorporated alongside information on other sustainability criteria in product ma

Suggested Citation

  • Saunders, Caroline M. & Guenther, Meike & Tait, Peter R. & Kaye-Blake, William & Saunders, John & Miller, Sini & Abell, Walter L., 2011. "Consumer attitudes towards sustainability attributes on food labels in the UK and Japan," 85th Annual Conference, April 18-20, 2011, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 108953, Agricultural Economics Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aesc11:108953
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.108953
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/108953/files/15saunders_guenther_kaye_miller_tait.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.108953?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Johnston, Robert J. & Roheim, Cathy A. & Donath, Holger & Asche, Frank, 2001. "Measuring Consumer Preferences For Ecolabeled Seafood: An International Comparison," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 26(1), pages 1-20, July.
    2. McCluskey, Jill J. & Grimsrud, Kristine M. & Ouchi, Hiromi & Wahl, Thomas I., 2003. "Consumer Response to Genetically Modified Food Products in Japan," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(2), pages 222-231, October.
    3. Jayson L. Lusk & Jutta Roosen & John A. Fox, 2003. "Demand for Beef from Cattle Administered Growth Hormones or Fed Genetically Modified Corn: A Comparison of Consumers in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(1), pages 16-29.
    4. Grimsrud, Kristine M. & McCluskey, Jill J. & Loureiro, Maria L. & Wahl, Thomas I., 2002. "Consumer Attitudes Towards Genetically Modified Foods In Norway," 2002 Annual meeting, July 28-31, Long Beach, CA 19818, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    5. McCluskey, Jill J. & Loureiro, Maria L., 2003. "Consumer Preferences And Willingness To Pay For Food Labeling: A Discussion Of Empirical Studies," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 34(3), pages 1-8, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Banterle, Alessandro & Cavaliere, Alessia & Ricci, Elena Claire, 2012. "Food labelled Information: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Preferences," 2012 International European Forum, February 13-17, 2012, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 144960, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    2. Villas-Boas, Sofia B & Taylor, Rebecca & Krovetz, Hannah, 2016. "Willingness to Pay for Low Water Footprint Food Choices During Drought," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt9vh3x180, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    3. Sackett, Hillary & Shupp, Robert & Tonsor, Glynn, 2016. "Differentiating “Sustainable” From “Organic” And “Local” Food Choices: Does Information About Certification Criteria Help Consumers?," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 4(3), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Feucht, Yvonne & Zander, Katrin, 2017. "Consumers’ attitudes on carbon footprint labelling. Results of the SUSDIET project," Thünen Working Paper 266396, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut (vTI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    5. Villas-Boas, Sofia B & Copfer, Jackie & Campbell, Nica, 2021. "Preferences for Sustainability and Supply Chain Essential Worker Conditions: Survey Evidence during COVID-19," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt0nv2n39w, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    6. Hannah Krovetz & Rebecca Taylor & Sofia B. Villas-Boas, 2018. "Willingness to Pay for Low Water Footprint Foods during Drought," NBER Chapters, in: Agricultural Productivity and Producer Behavior, pages 251-291, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Mamouni Limnios, Elena & Schilizzi, Steven G.M. & Burton, Michael & Ong, Angeline & Hynes, Niki, 2016. "Willingness to pay for product ecological footprint: Organic vs non-organic consumers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 338-348.
    8. Feucht, Yvonne & Zander, Katrin, 2017. "Consumers' attitudes on carbon footprint labelling: Results of the SUSDIET project," Thünen Working Papers 78, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    9. Sporleder, Eva M. & Kayser, Maike & Friedrich, Nina & Theuvsen, Ludwig, 2014. "Consumer Preferences for Sustainably Produced Bananas: A Discrete Choice Experiment," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 17(1), pages 1-24, February.
    10. Banterle, Alessandro & Cavaliere, Alessia & Ricci, Elena Claire, 2013. "Food Labelled Information: An Empirical Analysis," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 3(2), pages 1-15, January.

    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. Marco A. Palma & Alba J. Collart & Christopher J. Chammoun, 2015. "Information Asymmetry in Consumer Perceptions of Quality-Differentiated Food Products," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 596-612, November.
    2. McCluskey, Jill J. & Loureiro, Maria L., 2003. "Consumer Preferences And Willingness To Pay For Food Labeling: A Discussion Of Empirical Studies," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 34(3), pages 1-8, November.
    3. Jeff Luckstead & Heather A. Snell & Lawton Lanier Nalley & Rodolfo M. Nayga & Joshua Sarpaning, 2022. "A multi‐country study on consumers' valuation for child‐labor‐free chocolate: Implications for child labor in cocoa production," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 1021-1048, June.
    4. Delmond, Anthony R. & McCluskey, Jill J. & Yormirzoev, Mirzobobo & Rogova, Maria A., 2018. "Russian consumer willingness to pay for genetically modified food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 91-100.
    5. Caswell, Julie A. & Joseph, Siny, 2007. "Consumer Demand for Quality: Major Determinant for Agricultural and Food Trade in the Future?," Working Paper Series 7390, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Resource Economics.
    6. Lusk, Jayson L. & Jamal, Mustafa & Kurlander, Lauren & Roucan, Maud & Taulman, Lesley, 2005. "A Meta-Analysis of Genetically Modified Food Valuation Studies," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 30(1), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Kaneko, Naoya & Chern, Wen S., 2005. "Willingness to Pay for Genetically Modified Oil, Cornflakes, and Salmon: Evidence from a U.S. Telephone Survey," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 37(3), pages 1-19, December.
    8. Tait, Dr Peter & Saunders, Prof Caroline & Guenther, Meike & Rutherford, Paul, 2013. "Valuing environmental sustainability attributes of food products in India and China: decomposing the value of New Zealand’s ‘Clean-Green’ brand," 2013 Conference, August 28-30, 2013, Christchurch, New Zealand 187036, New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    9. Hu, R. & Deng, H., 2018. "A Crisis of Consumers’ Trust in Scientists and Influence on Consumer Attitude," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276047, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Jeff Luckstead & Rodolfo M. Nayga & Heather A. Snell, 2023. "US domestic workers' willingness to accept agricultural field jobs," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(3), pages 1693-1715, September.
    11. Lin, William W. & Somwaru, Agapi & Tuan, Francis C. & Huang, Jikun & Bai, Junfei, 2005. "Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Biotech Foods in China," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19569, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    12. Tonsor, Glynn T. & Olynk, Nicole & Wolf, Christopher, 2009. "Consumer Preferences for Animal Welfare Attributes: The Case of Gestation Crates," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(3), pages 713-730, December.
    13. Nguyen, Ly & Gao, Zhifeng & Anderson, James L., 2022. "Regulating menu information: What do consumers care and not care about at casual and fine dining restaurants for seafood consumption?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    14. Kristine M. Grimsrud & Robert P. Berrens & Ron C. Mittelhammer, 2006. "A Mixture Model of Consumers' Intended Purchase Decisions for Genetically Modified Foods," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 3(23), pages 1-11.
    15. Kaneko, Naoya & Chern, Wen S., 2005. "Consumer Acceptance of Genetically Modified Foods in Taiwan: Is Positive Discount the Same as Negative Premium?," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19491, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    16. Satoko Kubota & Hirotsugu Sawano & Hiroichi Kono, 2017. "Japanese consumer preferences for additive-free wine labeling," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    17. Mirzobobo Yormirzoev & Ramona Teuber & Daniil Baranov, 2018. "Is Tajikistan a Potential Market for Genetically Modified Potatoes?," Economy of region, Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 1(1), pages 216-226.
    18. Matsumoto Shigeru, 2004. "Consumers' Responses to Front vs. Back Package GM Labels in Japan," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 1-25, April.
    19. Brécard Dorothée & Lucas Sterenn & Pichot Nathalie & Salladarré Frédéric, 2012. "Consumer Preferences for Eco, Health and Fair Trade Labels. An Application to Seafood Product in France," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-32, April.
    20. Guillaume P. Gruère & Colin A. Carter & Y. Hossein Farzin, 2008. "What labelling policy for consumer choice? The case of genetically modified food in Canada and Europe," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 41(4), pages 1472-1497, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ags:aesc11:108953. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aesukea.html .

    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.