World meat consumption patterns: An overview of the last fifty years (1961–2011)

Driven by economic development and urbanisation, protein consumption has surged worldwide over the last 50 years, rising from 61 g per person per day in 1961 to 80 g per person per day in 2011. This contribution analyses the apparent convergence of dietary models worldwide with respect to the proportion of Animal-Based Protein (ABP) and especially meat in intake. By using FAO data for 183 countries over the period 1961–2011, the authors show the connection between annual per capita GDP and the level of ABP (R2 = 0.62) and meat consumption(R2 =0.62). They emphasise the surge in ABP intake in emerging countries (China, Brazil) which has partly replaced plant protein. However, for similar degrees of economic development, the composition of ABPs and the position of meatwithin this category vary significantly among countries, suggesting that historical, geographical, cultural and religious factors may be involved

Social- and Self-Image Concerns in Fair-Trade Consumption: Evidence from Experimental Auctions for Chocolate

Can social interactions be used to encourage the consumption of fair-trade products? Social interactions may alter purchase behavior by triggering either self-image concerns (when one sees others' decisions without being seen) or social-image concerns (when everybody sees everyone else). A laboratory experiment is designed to identify separately these concerns, using real auctions for normal and fair-trade chocolate, controlling for taste and packaging differences. The analysis of the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for both types of chocolate reveals that both social- and self-image matter: subjects pay a higher premium for fair-trade chocolate when their decisions are made public. This premium is sensitive to information received about the premia paid by other subjects, even when decisions are private. The higher premium in public auctions results from a lower WTP for normal chocolate, rather than a higher WTP for fair-trade chocolate. Subjects are also much more sensitive to information about others' choices that relaxes the moral or social norm constraining their own choice. We thus conclude that social interactions cannot be used to nudge consumers into fair-trade consumption, at least for ordinary products such as chocolate

La révélation expérimentale des préférences des consommateurs

Sur des marchés très segmentés où l'information joue un rôle considérable, l'estimation des consentements à payer pour des produits ayant des caractéristiques spécifiques est une question centrale. Les méthodes de l'économie expérimentale ont pour but d'inciter les individus à révéler leurs consentements à payer dans un environnement où l'apport d'information est contrôlé. Appliquées à différents types de produits (aliments contenant des OGM, vin, Champagne, …), dont on révèle progressivement les caractéristiques, ces méthodes permettent de comprendre la contribution de chaque caractéristique à la valeur globale attribuée aux produits testés. Elles permettent aussi de mesurer l'impact sur les choix d'un apport d'information sur les propriétés nutritionnelles ou sanitaires des aliments.

The effect of shape and cooking duration on preference and consumption of carrots in preadolescent children

Background and objectives : Vegetables are one of the most difficult categories of food to introduce in children’s diet (Cooke & Wardle, 2005) and children’s low consumption of vegetables is pointed as a major source of public health concern in many developed countries. A better understanding of children sensory preferences could help to improve children’s vegetables acceptance

Les caractéristiques des repas selon les groupes sociaux

Characteristics of meals of social groups - From an analysis of the datas of a survey on the meals of French people, this research reveals some informations concerning social differences of food practices especially of characteristics of meals, and of the kind of food used according to varied occasions

Les caractéristiques des repas selon les groupes sociaux

Characteristics of meals of social groups - From an analysis of the datas of a survey on the meals of French people, this research reveals some informations concerning social differences of food practices especially of characteristics of meals, and of the kind of food used according to varied occasions

Le concept d'agro-alimentaire : intérêt et limites

This paper discusses the usefulness of the concept of agribusiness for economic research on food industry. In the mid-fifties in the USA, and in the mid-sixties in France, the concept of agribusiness was introduced to cope with problems relating to the evolution of agriculture. This concept turned out to be relevant to research on three different problems : insertion of agriculture in highly industrialized economies, industrialization of food, and development of capitalist relations of production in agriculture. To carry out the analysis of the accumulation of capital in industry, the concept of agribusiness seems to provide a good framework, especially explaining the specific characteristics of this sector (dominating agriculture, constraints on food prices). Actually, the use of the concept raises more theorical questions than answers

Young consumers’ preferences for water-saving wines: an experimental study

Freshwater scarcity is becoming one of the most pressing issues of the global environmental sustainability, and agriculture is the main responsible of that scarcity. During the last decade, there has been an increasing consumers’ environmental concern about the impact of food production on water usage. This paper investigates young consumers’ preferences towards water saving wines and the determinants of willingness to pay (WTP) for these products. Data were collected through an experimental auction mechanism in Italy by assessing young consumers’ willingness to pay for three different wines (i.e. conventional-no water saving label, water saving front-of-pack labelled and water saving back-of-pack labelled). Young consumers’ (N=200) characteristics related to their personal values, pro-environmental attitudes, wine habits, labeling attitudes and socio-demographics were also collected. Results reveal that on average young consumers are willing to pay higher prices for water saving labeled wines. Additionally, wine consumption frequency, label trust and use as well as consumers’ environmental-friendly attitude have a positive effect on willingness to pay for these wines. The current study offers valuable insights to policy makers and wine producers for product differentiation and for more efficiently targeting campaigns towards young consumers, in order to increase sustainability-labeled wine consumption

Estructura de preferencias de los consumidores de vino y actitudes hacia los vinos con denominación de origen. El caso de Castilla-La Mancha

[EN] This paper covers a dual objective. On the one hand, the relative importance was determined of the wine attributes that influence the formation of consumer preferences in Castilla-La Mancha. On the other, consumer attitude was analysed towards wine with Castilla-La Mancha’s most important Designation of Origin (D.O.) certifications (D.O. La Mancha and D.O. Valdepeñas), compared with the best-known wine in the national ambit (D.O. Rioja). As a result of the first objective, the most relevant attributes are price, colour (red, white), certification and origin, in this order. The second objective shows that D.O. La Mancha and D.O. Valdepeñas are considered cheaper wines, of habitual consumption and a lower prestige image, while D.O. Rioja wines are seen as prestigious and expensive, so their consumption is considered appropriate for special occasions.[ES] El trabajo ha cubierto un doble objetivo, por un lado se ha determinado la importancia relativa de los atributos del vino que influyen en la conformación de las preferencias de los consumidores de Castilla-La Mancha, y por otro se ha analizado la actitud de los consumidores hacia los vinos con certificación de Denominación de Origen (D.O.) más importantes de Castilla-La Mancha (D.O. La Mancha y D.O. Valdepeñas), con respecto al más conocido en el ámbito nacional (D.O. Rioja). Como resultado del primer objetivo, los atributos más relevantes son el precio, el color (tinto, blanco), la certificación y el origen, por este orden, y del segundo objetivo, se obtiene que la D.O. La Mancha y la D.O. Valdepeñas son percibidas como de vinos más baratos, de consumo más habitual y con una menor imagen de prestigio, mientras que los vinos de la D.O. Rioja son percibidos como vinos de prestigio y caros, por lo que su consumo se considera apropiado para ocasiones especiales.Bernabéu, R.; Olmeda, M.; Díaz, M. (2005). Wine consumer preference structure and attitudes towards designation of origin. The case of Castilla-La Mancha. Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales - Agricultural and Resource Economics. 5(9):57-80. doi:10.7201/earn.2005.09.03SWORD57805

L'évolution des associations de consommateurs et leur impact sur les industriels

The general subject of the relationship between agents in the food industry is tackled here from the particular angle of the action of consumer associations in France. After a brief outline of their history, showing that the phenomenon of « consumerism » has deep roots, the action of these associations is considered from three points of view : defence, information, representation of consumers. This action is then analysed from the point of view of its impact on earlier agents : the processing industries, professional circles and distributors. Although few studies have been carried out in this field, it is evident that modifications in the behaviour of firms are slight. The phenomenon principally affects the big firms which are able to adapt, and all the more so that marketing theorists work out new concepts that will enable the firms to take into account the consumers' long-term social aspirations