Hamburger Pork Chop Deli Ham Chicken Wing $7.12 $5.03 $4.23 $3.59 $2.20 $2.15 $1.72 $2.59

Transcription

1 FooDS FOOD DEMAND SURVEY Volume 3, Issue 4: August 14, 2015 About the Survey FooDS tracks consumer preferences and sentiments on the safety, quality, and price of food at home and away from home with particular focus on meat demand. FooDS is a monthly on-line survey with a sample size of at least 1,000 individuals, weighted to match the US population in terms of age, gender, education and region of residence. See the online technical document for more details. MEAT DEMAND Willingness-to- Pay Last Year: August 2014 Last Month: July 2015 Steak Chicken Breast Hamburger Pork Chop Deli Ham Chicken Wing Beans & Rice Pasta $7.01 $5.05 $4.32 $4.16 $2.68 $2.10 $2.08 $3.36 $7.12 $5.03 $4.23 $3.59 $2.20 $2.15 $1.72 $2.59 August 2015 $8.03 $5.81 $4.93 $4.42 $3.18 $2.92 $3.07 $3.97 % change (July - August) 12.78% 15.51% 16.55% 23.12% 44.55% 35.81% 78.48% 53.28% In August, willingness-to-pay (WTP) increased for all products, particularly non-meat products. Among meat products, WTP for deli ham witnessed the highest percentage increase, with an increase of approximately 45%. WTP for all products reached their highest point this month since the beginning of FooDS in May FOOD EXPENDITURES Current weekly Current weekly Anticipated change in at Anticipated change away from at home away from home home in next 2 weeks home in next 2 weeks August 2014 $93.22 $ % -1.41% July 2015 $94.74 $ % -1.40% August 2015 $98.96 $ % -1.32% % change (July - August) 4.45% 4.79% Food expenditures for food eaten at home increased 4.45% from July to August and food expenditures for food purchased away from home increased 4.79% relative to last month. Consumers expect lower meat prices than they did a month ago, and they report expecting to buy about the same amount of meat as last month.

2 Consumer Expectations FooDS Page 2 AWARENESS & CONCERN TRACKING Salmonella, GMO, and E. coli were the most visible issues in the news over the past two weeks. Awareness decreased amongst all issues over the past month with the exception of Salmonella. The largest percent decrease from July to August was seen in gestation crates. Salmonella, E. coli, and antibiotics were ranked as the top three concerns during August. The largest percent increase in concern from last month was for Salmonella, pink slime, and cloning. The largest percent decrease in concern was for greenhouse gas and animal welfare. Awareness of Food Issues

3 Concern for Food Issues FooDS Page 3 GENERAL FOOD VALUES Taste, safety, and nutrition were consumers most important values when purchasing food this month. Consumer values remained similar to those in past months, with a decrease in perceived value of appearance and origin, and an increase in perceived value of nutrition. Similar to previous months, consumers reported that their main challenge was finding affordable foods that fit within their budget. Finding time to cook at home and finding food children will eat remained the least pressing challenges. 5.35% of participants reported having food poisoning, a 12.01% decrease from July. Consumer Challenges Consumer Values

4 Four new ad hoc questions were added to the survey this month. FooDS Page 4 The first question was designed to tests knowledge of meat cuts and stated: Match the pictures of the following cuts of meat to the animal in which it came from. Participants were to match six different cuts of meat to the proper livestock, either a cow, pig, or chicken. The majority of participants correctly matched the rib-eye and ground beef to the cow, the ham slices and bacon to the pig, and the drumstick and chicken wing to the chicken. A small number of participants made incorrect matches. 6.15% of participants matched the ham slices to the cow and 5.34% of participants also matched the bacon to the cow. About 4% of participants matched the photo of a rib-eye to the pig and just over 2% of participants matched the ham slice to chicken. Meat Cuts from Various Food Animals

5 FooDS Page 5 The second question was asked, A restaurant is considering different antibiotic policies related to the sourcing of their animal products. Which of the following policies would you support or oppose the restaurant implementing for the farmers who supply their animal products? Six statements were provided and participants could respond support or oppose. Approximately 77% of participants oppose the statement The farmer can use antibiotics for growth promotion. About 75% of respondents opposed the statement The farmer can use antibiotics for any purpose they deem reasonable. A majority of participants supported the statements The farmer can use antibiotics for disease prevention and 80% supported a policy in which The farmer can use antibiotics to treat sick animals. Antibiotic Policies in Animal Products

6 FooDS Page 6 Third, half of the participants were asked: Plant breeders are working on developing genetically engineered crops that are resistant to disease, faster growing, and/or more tolerant to temperature changes. To what extent do you support or oppose the following types of crop breeding? The vast majority of respondents answered Neither for each of the four statements. For those who had an opinion, strongly oppose, ranked highest at 22.15% for the statement Transferring genes from one variety of crop into another variety within the same species using genetic engineering technologies. Strongly oppose was also ranked the highest at 22.64% for the statement, Using gene editing techniques to turn off the expression of a gene. Again, approximately 25% of participants strongly opposed the statement Transferring genes from another species into the crop. However, approximately 25% of participants somewhat support the statement Transferring genes from one variety of crop into another variety within the same species using traditional crop breeding methods. Genetically Engineered Crops

7 FooDS Page 7 Lastly, the second half of the participants were asked: Livestock breeders are working on developing genetically engineered animals that are resistant to disease, faster growing, and/or more tolerant to temperature changes. To what extent do you support or oppose the following types of livestock breeding? Strongly oppose was ranked highest by 30.62% of participants for the statement Transferring genes from one animal breed into another breed within the same species using genetic engineering technologies. Approximately 34% of respondents stated they neither opposed nor supported the statement Using gene editing techniques to turn off the expression of a gene. About 37% of respondents stated the strongly oppose the statement Transferring genes from another species into the animal. The majority of respondents, 30.18%, stated the neither opposed nor supported the statement Transferring genes from one animal breed into another breed within the same species using traditional animal breeding methods. Genetically Engineered Livestock

8 FooDS Page 8 Genetically Engineered Crops & Livestock