animals
A icle
Eu opean Consume s’ Willingness o Pay o Red Mea
Labelling A ibu es
Emilia Cube o Dudinskaya 1,* , Simona Naspe i 2,* , Geo gios A senos 3, Emmanuelle Ca amelle-Hol z 4,
Te hi La ala 5, Daniel Ma in-Collado 6, S e ano O sini 7, Emel Oz u k 1and Ra aele Zanoli 1,*


Ci a ion: Cube o Dudinskaya, E.;
Naspe i, S.; A senos, G.;
Ca amelle-Hol z, E.; La ala, T.;
Ma in-Collado, D.; O sini, S.; Oz u k,
E.; Zanoli, R. Eu opean Consume s’
Willingness o Pay o Red Mea
Labelling A ibu es. Animals 2021,11,
556. h ps://doi.o g/doi:10.3390/
ani11020556
Recei ed: 20 Janua y 2021
Accep ed: 17 Feb ua y 2021
Published: 20 Feb ua y 2021
Publishe ’s No e: MDPI s ays neu al
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ia ions.
Copy igh : © 2021 by he au ho s.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land.
This a icle is an open access a icle
dis ibu ed unde he e ms and
condi ions o he C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion (CC BY) license (h ps://
c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/
4.0/).
1Depa men o Ag icul u al, Food and En i onmen al Sciences (D3A), Uni e si àPoli ecnica delle Ma che,
Via B ecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, I aly; [email p o ec ed]
2
Depa men o Ma e ials, En i onmen al Sciences and U ban Planning (SIMAU), Uni e si àPoli ecnica delle
Ma che, Via B ecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, I aly
3Facul y o Ve e ina y Medicine, A is o le Uni e si y o Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 393, GR-54124 Thessaloniki,
G eece; [email p o ec ed]
4The F ench Li es ock Ins i u e/Ins i u de l’Ele age (IDELE), Campus INRA—Chemin de Bo de Rouge,
CEDEX, BP 42118-31321 Cas ane Tolosan, F ance; [email p o ec ed]
5Na u al Resou ces Ins i u e Finland (Luke), P.O. Box 2, FI-00791 Helsinki, Finland; e [email p o ec ed]
6
Animal P oduc ion and Heal h Uni , Ag i ood Resea ch and Technology Cen e o A agon (CITA), Gobie no
de A agón, A enida Mon añana 93, 050059 Za agoza, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
7O ganic Resea ch Cen e, T en Lodge, S oud Road, Ci ences e , Glouces e shi e GL7 6JN, UK;
s e ano.o@o ganic esea chcen e.com
*Co espondence: ecube od@ag econ.uni pm.i (E.C.D.); [email p o ec ed] (S.N.);
[email p o ec ed] (R.Z.); Tel.: +39-07-1220-4929 (R.Z.)
Simple Summa y:
Gi en he dec ease in ed mea consump ion in he las decade, i is c ucial o ed
mea p oduce s o unde s and consume p e e ences. This in e na ional s udy analyses he Eu opean
consume p e e ences o ed mea (bee , lamb and goa ) in se en coun ies: Finland, F ance, G eece,
I aly, Spain, Tu key and he Uni ed Kingdom. Th ough a su ey wi h hypo he ical choice si ua ions
(choice expe imen ), 2900 esponses we e collec ed. Ad anced econome ic models we e es ima ed
o iden i y he di e si y o p e e ences among consume s a he coun y le el. The esul s indica e
subs an ial di e ences be ween he mos ele an a ibu es o he a e age consume in each coun y.
Ne e heless, na ional o igin and o ganic labels we e highly alued in mos coun ies.
Abs ac :
Food consump ion in Eu ope is changing. Red mea consump ion has been s eadily
dec easing in he pas decades. The ising in e es o consume s o heal hie and mo e sus ainable
mea p oduc s p o ides ed mea p oduce s wi h he oppo uni y o di e en ia e hei o e s by
ecolabels, o igin and heal h claims. This in e na ional s udy analyses he Eu opean consume
p e e ences o ed mea (bee , lamb and goa ) in se en coun ies: Finland, F ance, G eece, I aly,
Spain, Tu key and he Uni ed Kingdom. Th ough a choice expe imen , 2900 esponses we e collec ed.
Mixed mul inomial logi models we e es ima ed o iden i y he e ogeneous p e e ences among
consume s a he coun y le el. The esul s indica e subs an ial di e ences be ween he mos ele an
a ibu es o he a e age consume , as well as hei willingness o pay o hem in each coun y.
Ne e heless, na ional o igin and o ganic labels we e highly alued in mos coun ies.
Keywo ds:
consume p e e ences; disc e e choice expe imen (DCE); o ganic ood and a ming;
coun y-o -o igin; a ; Halal; ca bon oo p in ; p o ein con en ; con enience
1. In oduc ion
Food p oduc ion and consump ion endencies in Eu ope ha e shown signi ican
changes in ecen yea s, especially ega ding mea consump ion. While bee and lamb
mea p oduc ion ha e dec eased since he beginning o he nine ies, poul y and pig mea
p oduc ion ha e inc eased du ing he same pe iod [
1
,
2
]. Conce ns abou heal h issues and
Animals 2021,11, 556. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ani11020556 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/animals
Animals 2021,11, 556 2 o 16
en i onmen al sus ainabili y ha e d i en away bee consume s [
3
–
6
]. I s peculia as e,
wi h consume s pe cei ing i as a y, di icul o cook, and sold in amily-sized po ions,
has nega i ely impac ed lamb mea consump ion. Ne e heless, when new lamb mea
p oduc s we e in oduced o younge consume s (e.g., single po ions), lamb mea sales
inc eased [
7
]. Add essing speci ic consume needs h ough p oduc di e en ia ion could
help e i alise he Eu opean ed mea ma ke [8].
In Eu ope, he ising in e es in socie al bene i s (e.g., sus ainabili y, biodi e si y) as
well as he g owing conce ns on mo e “e hical” ood p oduc ion me hods [
9
,
10
] p o ide
ed mea p oduce s wi h he oppo uni y o compe e h ough di e en ia ion. Howe e ,
socie al bene i s a e usually embedded in c edence cues ha he consume s canno e alua e
be o e o e en a e consump ion, gi en he lack o expe ise o p ac ical possibili ies [
11
].
In his case, mea p oduce s mus ind al e na i e ways o communica e such bene i s. The
use o ecolabels and speci ic claims ep esen ools o in o m he conce ned consume abou
a ibu es o in e es . Howe e , e en i a speci ic label o claim is pe cei ed posi i ely by
consume s, willingness o pay o ha a ibu e migh a y, as consume p e e ences and
pu chase in en ions a e he e ogeneous be ween coun ies [12].
This s udy p esen s he esul s o an econome ic analysis o consume p e e ences
and willingness o pay o heal h- ela ed and e hical claims in he ed mea Eu opean
ma ke . P e ious s udies ha e e alua ed consume p e e ences o ei he bee , lamb o goa
mea indi idually and mainly ocused on speci ic na ional con ex s [
8
,
13
,
14
]. Howe e ,
comp ehensi e ans-na ional esea ch compa ing p e e ences o all ed mea ypes and
hei key a ibu es was s ill missing. This s udy aims o ill his gap h ough a disc e e
choice expe imen (DCE) on six Eu opean coun ies and Tu key.
Based on a sys ema ic li e a u e e iew on Scopus and Web o Knowledge, 458 pape s
we e iden i ied using keywo ds ela ed o consump ion, mea , choice expe imen s/choice
model o conjoin analysis/conjoin design. Only s udies published in English in pee -
e iewed jou nals we e conside ed. A icles in which he main subjec unde s udy was no
he consume o he consume ’s pe cep ion o mea a ibu es we e excluded. Addi ionally,
he de ini ion o mea was es ic ed o esh mea , a oiding p ocessed p oduc s (e.g.,
sausages, ham) and ish. Only s udies using choice expe imen s o conjoin analysis we e
aken in o accoun , e ie ing 92 a icles.
A e analysing hese a icles, he mos signi ican a ibu es o he consume when
selec ing mea we e iden i ied as: o igin [
15
–
17
], p ice [
18
,
19
], animal wel a e [
20
–
22
], a
con en [
13
,
23
,
24
], ype and cu o mea [
25
–
27
], o ganic [
28
–
30
], ca bon oo p in [
31
–
33
],
ce i ica ions such as P o ec ed Geog aphical Indica ion (PGI) and P o ec ed Denomina-
ion o O igin (PDO) [
8
,
34
,
35
], nu i ional/heal h claims [
36
–
38
] and seasoning/na u al
p esen a ions [39,40].
Acco ding o p e ious s udies, consume s end o p e e mea o local o na ional o i-
gin [
16
,
41
]. Howe e , o he s udies ound ha a ibu es ela ed o quali y and aceabili y
a e o en mo e impo an han he mea ’s o igin [
19
]. In Eu ope, o igin ce i ica ions o en
embed a quali y assu ance scheme, o example, PDO and PGI in he Eu opean Union [
42
].
The PGI label emphasises ha he quali y, epu a ion o o he cha ac e is ics o he p oduc
i sel is p ima ily a ibu able o i s geog aphic o igin. The P o ec ed Designa ion o O igin
(PDO) label iden i ies a p oduc whose cha ac e is ics o quali y a e o igina ed by ha ing
e e y pa o he p oduc ion, p ocessing and p epa a ion p ocess aking place in a pa icu-
la geog aphical loca ion [
43
,
44
]. Ne e heless, s udies in ol ing hese quali y schemes a e
limi ed [45,46].
The o ganic label is also pe cei ed as a p oxy o p oduc quali y. In he Eu opean
Union, he manda o y o ganic logo (Eu olea ) gua an ees ha he p oduc s ha e been
p oduced ollowing he bes en i onmen al p ac ices, a high le el o biodi e si y, he
p ese a ion o na u al esou ces, he applica ion o high animal wel a e s anda ds, and
a p oduc ion me hod using na u al subs ances and p ocesses [
47
]. Al hough o ganic
p oduc s ha e gained high in e es by consume s [
28
], pe cei ing hem as heal hie , sa e
and wi h be e o ganolep ic quali ies [
29
,
48
–
51
], he e a e s ill con lic ing esul s ega ding
Animals 2021,11, 556 3 o 16
consume s’ willingness o pay o hem [
27
,
39
,
52
,
53
]. The ca bon oo p in label also
shows consume s he commi men o en i onmen al sus ainabili y ha he p oduce s
ha e [
54
]. Howe e , p e ious esea ch epo ed con adic o y esul s on he impo ance
ha consume s gi e o his label when making hei choices [9,33,55].
Al hough he a e age consume is conce ned abou animal wel a e [
28
,
56
,
57
], p e ious
s udies showed he e ogeneous p e e ences [
32
,
37
]. Acco ding o de Jonge and an T iip [
21
],
his a ie y o esul s is a p oduc o he complexi y o he animal wel a e concep , which is
highly dependen on consume pe cep ion, hei in e ences on he di e se animal wel a e
le els, as well as how he message is communica ed. In his s udy, gi en he di icul y
o communica ing animal wel a e claims beyond he EU-wide animal wel a e s anda ds,
animal wel a e was no included in he a ibu es. Ins ead, he Halal ce i ica ion label
was included. Though Islam does no ole a e animal abuse, mos halal ce i ica ion does
no inco po a e speci ic animal wel a e equi emen s, while p e-slaugh e s unning is
s ill a con en ious issue [
58
]. Islamic ules equi e he animals o be ali e, heal hy, ed
and wa e ed be o e he slaugh e ing. The animal mus be killed incu ing he leas pain
possible, and he ca cass mus be d ained o blood [
59
]. Some Eu opean Union coun ies
(i.e., Belgium and Denma k) equi e ha all animals be p e iously s unned be o e Halal
slaugh e ing, while a ecen EU Cou uling has es ablished ha all o ganic mea needs
o be s unned, including ha bea ing he Halal label [
60
,
61
]. Resea ch on e e sible
p e-slaugh e s unning is s ill ongoing o imp o e animal wel a e du ing slaugh e ye
s ill mee he spi i ual equi emen s o Halal [
58
]. P e ious esea ch also iden i ied
ha many consume s, including non-Muslims, pe cei e he Halal label as a c edence
quali y a ibu e [
62
,
63
], and his is a g owing end [
64
]. The e is no much e idence
on consume pe cep ion o Halal ce i ica ion in Eu ope, hough one s udy showed ha
some non-Muslims ques ion animal wel a e issues in ela ion o he Halal ce i ica ion
in he UK [
65
]. Howe e , a ecen EU- unded s udy concluded ha since “ he e is li le
exp essed use o animal wel a e as a pu chase c i e ion, li le unde s anding o he slaugh e
p ocess and an inabili y o dis inguish be ween di e en me hods o s un, p o iding
addi ional in o ma ion on he di e en me hods used would no appea o aid a consume
decision” [66].
The e is also a wide a ie y o nu i ional and heal h labels used o di e se pu poses.
As ed mea emains he mos impo an die a y sou ce o p o ein [
67
], a “high p o ein
con en ” claim was selec ed o he p esen s udy. The e is li le p e ious li e a u e epo ing
s udies on consume s’ p e e ences o p o ein con en in mea p oduc s [
36
,
68
], showing
signi ican di e ences in c oss-cul u al se ings. Mo eo e , he e is a g owing end o use
eady o cook/ea oods [
69
] and o look o heal hie p oduc s [
56
] wi h less a . Howe e ,
he p e ious li e a u e does no o e clea and homogeneous esul s in bo h cases, as
consume s p esen opposi e iews ega ding hese a ibu es’ desi abili y, acco ding o
hei cul u e and depending on he mea cu [38].
Gi en he a iabili y o esul s om p io s udies, all he p e iously men ioned a -
ibu es we e included in his esea ch. In addi ion, o accoun o c oss-cul u al di e ences,
he willingness o pay (WTP) o each a ibu e was es ima ed a coun y le el. P e ious
s udies ha e es ablished ha p oduc di e ences can be p oduc di e en ia o s only i hey
c ea e alued bene i s ha consume s a e willing o pay o [
70
]. Unde s anding he alue
ha consume s gi e o each mea a ibu e and hei WTP will p o ide essen ial in o ma-
ion o p oduce s, allowing hem o iden i y which labels and quali y claims consume s a e
willing o pay o .
The p esen pape is o ganised as ollows. In he nex sec ion, he e is a desc ip ion o
he me hods applied, ollowed by he p esen a ion o he esul s o each coun y. Then,
he esul s a e discussed, and conclusions a e p esen ed in he inal sec ion.
Animals 2021,11, 556 4 o 16
2. Ma e ials and Me hods
2.1. The Disc e e Choice Model
A DCE is a su ey-based me hodology widely used and well es ablished o modelling
consume s’ p e e ences [
71
,
72
]. The me hod simula es a ading ma ke wi h di e en
a ibu e combina ions. “Di e en le els o i em a ibu es a e combined, and hese combi-
na ions a e con igu ed in o a choice se acco ding o he unbiased and e icien p inciples
o s a is ical es ima ion” [
73
]. In each choice se , esponden s selec he op ion hey like he
mos , a e compa ing he gi en al e na i es. All al e na i es in a choice se a e desc ibed
by he same a ibu es, and each o hese a ibu es can ake one le el om a se o possible
le els (e.g., he p esence o absence o he o ganic label) [
74
]. Mo eo e , by including
p ice/cos as one o he a ibu es o he good, he willingness o pay o a esponden o a
speci ic a ibu e can also be calcula ed.
The heo e ical model is based on he Lancas ian consume heo y [
75
] and he
andom u ili y model (RUM) amewo k [76], in which he u ili ies o di e en goods can
be b oken down in o sepa a e u ili ies o hei a ibu es. Faced wi h a se o Ja ailable
al e na i es, a ional decision-make s would selec he al e na i e wi h he highes u ili y
o hem. This u ili y is known o he decision-make , bu no o he esea che [77].
Since he e a e aspec s o u ili y ha a e unknown o he esea che , he o al u ili y
o he al e na i e j o he esponden i is decomposed as:
Uij = Vij +εij (1)
whe e he esea che can only obse e V
ij
, he de e minis ic pa o he u ili y. The emain-
ing pa o he u ili y (
εij
) is unobse able o he esea che and ea ed as andom. The
sys ema ic componen (V
ij
) can be app oxima ed by a linea unc ion o obse ed a ibu es
in he ec o Xij and he u ili y pa ame e s o each a ibu e collec ed in he ec o β:
Vij =βXij (2)
Assuming he e ogeneous indi idual p e e ences ac oss esponden s [
78
], he disc e e
choice model may be speci ied as a mixed mul inomial logi (MMNL) model ha allows
he unobse ed, andom pa o he u ili y o ollow any dis ibu ion [79].
Thus, he u ili y o indi idual i om al e na i e jis speci ied as [77]:
Uij =β0
iXij +εij (3)
whe e
β
’
i
, is a ec o o unobse ed coe icien s ha a ies be ween indi iduals bu no
o e al e na i es, X
ij
is a ec o o obse ed a iables ha ela e o each al e na i e jand
esponden i, and
εij
is a andom e m ha is i.i.d. ex eme alue o e indi iduals and
al e na i es. Fo he p esen esea ch, he linea speci ica ion o he u ili y o an indi idual
i o he al e na i e j is:
Uij =αij +βp ice P ice + βhalal Halal + βna ional o igin Na ional o igin + βeu o igin EU
o igin + βPGI PGI + βo ganic O ganic + βca bon Ca bon + βLow a Low a + βp o ein
P o ein + β o ma Fo ma + εij
(4)
The andom pa ame e s
β
’ (excep he p ice) we e assumed o be no mally dis ibu ed
o allow bo h posi i e and nega i e p e e ences o each a ibu e. A nega i e logno mal
dis ibu ion was assumed o he p ice pa ame e o a ain be e beha iou al i o mi-
c oeconomic heo y. Including he mone a y cos in he choice expe imen o e s wide
in o ma ion on he ade-o s ha consume s make among he bene i s p o ided by he
di e en al e na i es (wi h di e se a ibu es) and hei p ice, allowing he es ima ion o
he WTP o each a ibu e.
Animals 2021,11, 556 5 o 16
The u ili y was speci ied di ec ly in he WTP space [
80
] o ob ain be e esul s and
educe he ange o beha iou al implausibili y [81]:
Uij =αij −λipij + (λiγi)’ xij +εij (5)
whe e
λi
= (
βi p ice
/
µi
).
βi p ice
and
µi
a e, espec i ely, an indi idual-speci ic coe icien o
p ice and an indi idual-speci ic scale pa ame e ; while γi= (ci/λi), whe e ci= (βi/µi).
Es ima ing an MMNL model di ec ly in he WTP-space o e s he di ec ad an age o
ob aining pa ame e s and es ima ed s anda d e o s ha can be immedia ely in e p e ed as
ma ginal WTP alues [
80
,
82
,
83
]. This means ha he es ima ed esul s a e al eady p esen ed
in he cu ency used o make he choice expe imen , simpli ying he in e p e a ion o
he esul s.
2.2. P oduc and A ibu es Selec ion
A labelled DCE was de eloped, including ou labelled ed mea al e na i es (lamb
leg, lamb chops, goa chops, T-bone s eak) and a no-choice op ion. The ype o mea
and cu s we e based on he mos consumed cu s o lamb and goa mea in he coun ies
in es iga ed, as hey o en p esen less a ie y han bee . As he mos consumed lamb
and goa cu s we e chops and legs ( o lamb), a T-bone s eak was conside ed as he mos
compa able bee cu , o a oid bias o mo e con enien cu s o wi h no p esence o bones.
Based on he li e a u e e iew esul s and a quali a i e s udy [
84
], nine c edence
a ibu es we e selec ed (Table 1). Gi en he high numbe o a ibu es, he numbe o le els
o each a ibu e was kep low o a oid excessi e pa icipan s’ cogni i e bu den [85].
Table 1. A ibu e le els.
A ibu es Le els Conside ed
P ice
A e age p ice (coun y-speci ic)
−30%
+30%
O igin
Na ional
EU
New Zealand ( e e ence)
PGI/PDO PGI/PDO
No label ( e e ence)
O ganic label O ganic label
No label ( e e ence)
Halal label Halal label
No label ( e e ence)
Ca bon oo p in label Low ca bon oo p in label
No label ( e e ence)
P o ein con en label High p o ein con en label
No label ( e e ence)
Fa con en Low- a
Fa y ( e e ence)
Fo ma (con enience) Ready- o-cook
Plain ( e e ence)
All al e na i es we e p esen ed o he esponden simul aneously wi h all hei a -
ibu es (Figu e 1). The p oduc name, o igin and p ice we e in oduced h ough ex in
each al e na i e, while he o he a ibu es we e p esen ed g aphically ei he using labels
o by modi ying he o iginal image (see below an explana ion o each a ibu e). To a oid
any biases, only he a ibu es unde s udy we e modi ied (e.g., a ), keeping all he o he
cha ac e is ics (e.g., colou , size) unchanged be ween he images o he same p oduc . The
base p ice was calcula ed as he a e age p ice o each mea ype and cu in each coun y.
Then, i was pi o ed in h ee le els, wi h a ia ions o
±
30%. The p ice was exp essed in
local cu encies.

Animals 2021,11, 556 6 o 16
Animals 2021, 11, 556 6 o 16
Figu e 1. Example o a choice se .
The o igin a ibu e was se o h ee le els: na ional, EU and New Zealand, as mos
lamb mea impo s o he EU come om his coun y [86]. New Zealand was se as he
e e ence ca ego y o di e ences in u ili y in he choice model. As a consequence, he
es ima ed willingness o pay (WTP) o bo h na ional and EU o igin needs o be in e -
p e ed as a p emium p ice abo e he New Zealand o igin.
The PGI and PDO labels we e p esen ed h ough hei o icial labels in he p ima y
language o each coun y. The choice o choose ei he PGI o PDO was based on he p es-
ence/absence o p edominance o each ce i ica ion scheme o lamb mea in each coun y.
In Finland, he e exis s only one PDO o ed mea . In Tu key, being ou side he EU, PGI
and PDO egula ions do no apply. The e o e, in bo h coun ies, he PGI and PDO labels
o na ional mea we e omi ed as he e a e no ce i ica ions a ailable in hese coun ies.
The o ganic label was also adap ed by coun y. Tu kish esponden s we e p esen ed
wi h hei local logo, while, o he Eu opean coun ies, he manda o y EU o ganic logo
was used. The Halal ce i ica ion, he ca bon oo p in and he “high p o ein con en ” la-
bels we e also adap ed o each coun y. Wi h espec o he ca bon oo p in a ibu e, he
Ca bon T us label was used, which has gained popula i y in he UK in ecen yea s. The
label was p esen ed in he p ima y language o each coun y. In he case o he “high
p o ein con en ” claim, a simple label o ed le e s on a whi e backg ound was c ea ed
o he p esen esea ch, as he e was no homogeneous label used ac oss he coun ies
unde s udy.
The a ibu es a con en and o ma (con enience) we e in oduced o he espond-
en s by modi ying he al e na i e’s image. Fo example, o a con en , he base image o
each cu was modi ied using image-edi ing so wa e by adding o emo ing he p esence
o isual a , as shown in Figu e 2. No addi ional claims (o labels) e e ing o he a
con en o o ma we e added in any way. The objec i e was o keep i close o eali y, as
people in he supe ma ke usually see he mea cu and he isual p esence o a (as a
p oxy o heal hiness and mea quali y) [23,87,88] when making hei choice. In he case o
o ma , he image was modi ied by adding addi ional ing edien s (e.g., osema y, peppe )
o ea u e a eady- o-cook p oduc .
Figu e 1. Example o a choice se .
The o igin a ibu e was se o h ee le els: na ional, EU and New Zealand, as mos
lamb mea impo s o he EU come om his coun y [
86
]. New Zealand was se as he
e e ence ca ego y o di e ences in u ili y in he choice model. As a consequence, he
es ima ed willingness o pay (WTP) o bo h na ional and EU o igin needs o be in e p e ed
as a p emium p ice abo e he New Zealand o igin.
The PGI and PDO labels we e p esen ed h ough hei o icial labels in he p ima y
language o each coun y. The choice o choose ei he PGI o PDO was based on he
p esence/absence o p edominance o each ce i ica ion scheme o lamb mea in each
coun y. In Finland, he e exis s only one PDO o ed mea . In Tu key, being ou side
he EU, PGI and PDO egula ions do no apply. The e o e, in bo h coun ies, he PGI
and PDO labels o na ional mea we e omi ed as he e a e no ce i ica ions a ailable in
hese coun ies.
The o ganic label was also adap ed by coun y. Tu kish esponden s we e p esen ed
wi h hei local logo, while, o he Eu opean coun ies, he manda o y EU o ganic logo
was used. The Halal ce i ica ion, he ca bon oo p in and he “high p o ein con en ”
labels we e also adap ed o each coun y. Wi h espec o he ca bon oo p in a ibu e,
he Ca bon T us label was used, which has gained popula i y in he UK in ecen yea s.
The label was p esen ed in he p ima y language o each coun y. In he case o he “high
p o ein con en ” claim, a simple label o ed le e s on a whi e backg ound was c ea ed
o he p esen esea ch, as he e was no homogeneous label used ac oss he coun ies
unde s udy.
The a ibu es a con en and o ma (con enience) we e in oduced o he espon-
den s by modi ying he al e na i e’s image. Fo example, o a con en , he base image o
each cu was modi ied using image-edi ing so wa e by adding o emo ing he p esence
o isual a , as shown in Figu e 2. No addi ional claims (o labels) e e ing o he a
con en o o ma we e added in any way. The objec i e was o keep i close o eali y,
as people in he supe ma ke usually see he mea cu and he isual p esence o a (as a
p oxy o heal hiness and mea quali y) [
23
,
87
,
88
] when making hei choice. In he case o
o ma , he image was modi ied by adding addi ional ing edien s (e.g., osema y, peppe )
o ea u e a eady- o-cook p oduc .
Animals 2021,11, 556 7 o 16
Animals 2021, 11, 556 7 o 16
Figu e 2. Examples o a con en p esen ed in ed mea cu s.
2.3. Da a Collec ion and Analysis
The da a we e simul aneously collec ed h ough an online su ey om Ma ch o May
2019 in se en coun ies: Finland (FI), F ance (FR), G eece (GR), I aly (IT), Spain (ES), Tu -
key (TR) and he Uni ed Kingdom (UK). The esponden s we e selec ed by a hi d pa y
(Qual ics) using a quo a sampling app oach o achie e be ween-coun y compa abili y
[89,90]. The quo as we e es ablished acco ding o age and occupa ion by gende [91]. Only
ed mea consume s (a leas once a yea ) we e sampled. Responden s we e be ween 18
and 64 yea s old, ully o pa ially esponsible o he g oce y shopping in hei household
and did no wo k o had a close ela i e wo king in he mea o ca e ing indus y. Two
housand nine hund ed esponses we e collec ed. A e emo ing incomple e o low-
quali y su eys (e.g., speede s, line- esponses), 2866 usable esponses we e le (app oxi-
ma ely 400 pe coun y—see Table 2).
Table 2. Collec ed esponses pe coun y.
Coun y To al Responses Valid Responses
Finland 417 413
F ance 416 414
G eece 403 400
I aly 419 417
Spain 420 417
Tu key 405 391
UK 420 414
To al 2900 2866
Figu e 2. Examples o a con en p esen ed in ed mea cu s.
2.3. Da a Collec ion and Analysis
The da a we e simul aneously collec ed h ough an online su ey om Ma ch o
May 2019 in se en coun ies: Finland (FI), F ance (FR), G eece (GR), I aly (IT), Spain
(ES), Tu key (TR) and he Uni ed Kingdom (UK). The esponden s we e selec ed by a
hi d pa y (Qual ics) using a quo a sampling app oach o achie e be ween-coun y
compa abili y [
89
,
90
]. The quo as we e es ablished acco ding o age and occupa ion by
gende [
91
]. Only ed mea consume s (a leas once a yea ) we e sampled. Responden s
we e be ween 18 and 64 yea s old, ully o pa ially esponsible o he g oce y shopping
in hei household and did no wo k o had a close ela i e wo king in he mea o ca e ing
indus y. Two housand nine hund ed esponses we e collec ed. A e emo ing incomple e
o low-quali y su eys (e.g., speede s, line- esponses), 2866 usable esponses we e le
(app oxima ely 400 pe coun y—see Table 2).
Table 2. Collec ed esponses pe coun y.
Coun y To al Responses Valid Responses
Finland 417 413
F ance 416 414
G eece 403 400
I aly 419 417
Spain 420 417
Tu key 405 391
UK 420 414
To al 2900 2866
The ques ionnai e was de eloped in English. Then, i was ansla ed and back-
ansla ed o he p ima y language o each coun y [
92
,
93
]. Ac i e collabo a ion and
eedback om in e na ional esea che s allowed c oss-coun y concep ual, unc ional, and
ca ego y equi alence [
94
,
95
]. The ques ionnai e included consume sociodemog aphic and
geog aphic da a, as well as a hypo he ical disc e e choice expe imen (DCE). I was pilo
es ed in each coun y be o e launch.
Animals 2021,11, 556 8 o 16
2.4. DCE Design and Es ima ion
A ac ional D-e icien design wi h p io s consis ing o wen y- ou choice se s in
wo blocks was gene a ed (D-e o = 0.256, A-e o = 0.754) using he Ngene so wa e [
96
].
In con as o o hogonal designs, e icien designs do no me ely y o minimize he
co ela ion in he da a o es ima ion pu poses, bu aim o esul in da a ha gene a e
pa ame e es ima es wi h as small as possible s anda d e o s. Each esponden was
p esen ed wi h wel e choice se s o i e al e na i es. This means ha each esponden saw
wel e di e en combina ions o he i e al e na i es (lamb leg, lamb chops, goa chops,
T-bone s eak and a no-choice op ion) wi h di e en a ibu e le els (e.g., di e en p ices,
o igins) de ined acco ding o he design. All choice se s and al e na i es we e p esen ed
andomly o a oid o de -e ec [
97
]. A “cheap alk” was in oduced o esponden s be o e
answe ing he DCE, aiming o educe he hypo he ical bias [
98
,
99
]. Pa icipan s we e
in oduced o all labels, hei meanings and de ini ions [
100
]. They we e also shown an
example o a choice se . Responden s had unlimi ed ime o answe each choice se [
101
].
A o al o 34,392 choices we e collec ed.
The da a we e analysed using he APOLLO package in R [
102
]. Fo each coun y, an
MMNL model in WTP-space was es ima ed based on he p e e ence-space MMNL model’s
p io s. The log-likelihood was a ained by Mon e-Ca lo simula ion-based in eg a ion using
Hal on d aws wi h 1000 eplica ions. A scaling ac o was used o ease con e gence in he
WTP-space.
3. Resul s
The esponden s’ sociodemog aphic cha ac e is ics and mea consump ion equency
a e p esen ed in Table 3. In all coun ies, mos consume s decla e o consume bee a leas
once a mon h. Howe e , he pe cen age o consume s ha consume lamb o goa mea
wi h he same equency a ies in each na ion. Tu key is he coun y wi h highe lamb
and goa mea consump ion, ollowed by he Uni ed Kingdom and Spain. Finland is he
coun y wi h lowe consump ion equency o bo h lamb and goa mea .
Table 3. Sociodemog aphic cha ac e is ics o he sample in pe cen ages by coun y.
Sociodemog aphic Va iables FI FR GR IT ES TR UK
Gende
Female 49.4 50.7 48.5 49.6 50.4 49.1 50.0
Male 50.6 49.3 51.5 50.4 49.6 50.9 50.0
Age g oup
18–24 yea s old 14.0 13.3 12.5 11.3 11.3 19.2 14.3
25–34 yea s old 21.3 20.8 19.5 18.2 19.2 28.1 21.5
35–44 yea s old 21.3 22.5 25.2 23.5 26.4 23.3 21.5
45–54 yea s old 22.3 23.4 23.8 26.4 23.5 16.4 23.4
55–64 yea s old 21.1 20.0 19.0 20.6 19.6 13.0 19.3
Occupa ion
Employed 66.6 68.1 56.5 61.6 63.8 56.3 73.7
Unemployed 10.4 8.5 18.5 11.3 17.7 5.4 3.4
Inac i e ( e i ed + s uden s) 23.0 23.4 25.0 27.1 18.5 38.3 22.9
Regula ed mea consume s (a leas once a mon h)
Bee 77.2 87.2 76.5 89.9 82.3 76.2 79.0
Lamb 12.8 37.9 25.0 33.6 45.8 61.4 51.2
Goa 7.0 7.7 21.8 18.0 21.6 24.6 14.0
To al numbe o esponden s 413 414 400 417 417 391 414
The consume s’ choices ega ding he mea cu also a ied be ween coun ies (
Table 4
).
Bee T-bone was he p e e ed choice in Finland. Bee T-bone was he p e e ed cu in
G eece oo, hough i was a close ace wi h lamb chops; on he con a y, in I aly, he lamb
chops we e he p e e ed cu , closely ollowed by bee T-bone. In Spain, Tu key and he
UK, he e was a clea p e e ence o he lamb chops o e o he mea ypes. Only in F ance,
Animals 2021,11, 556 9 o 16
he lamb leg was he p e e ed cu . In all coun ies, mos consume s p e e ed o choose a
mea al e na i e han selec ing none.
Table 4. Pe cen ages o selec ed cu s in he disc e e choice expe imen (DCE) pe coun y.
Cu s Selec ed in he DCE FI FR GR IT ES TR UK
Bee T-bone 31 20 24 27 24 24 15
Goa chops 11 8 16 12 11 18 10
Lamb chops 18 21 23 29 29 29 30
Lamb leg 17 29 19 18 20 18 26
None 23 22 18 14 16 11 19
To al esponden s 413 414 400 417 417 391 414
Willingness o Pay o Each Coun y
The esul s o he MMNL in WTP-space a e p esen ed in Table 5. Na ional o igin and
he o ganic label a e he only s a is ically signi ican and posi i e a ibu es o all coun ies.
The a ibu es EU o igin, PGI/PDO, ca bon oo p in and low a had posi i e coe icien s
when signi ican , while he a ibu es eady o cook and high p o ein con en p esen ed
nega i e coe icien s when signi ican . The Halal a ibu e was s a is ically signi ican and
posi i ely alued only in Tu key, while in he o he coun ies whe e i was signi ican , i
was pe cei ed nega i ely. Howe e , i is wo h men ioning ha he s a is ical signi icance
o he s anda d de ia ion o he Halal a ibu e is ela i ely high in se e al coun ies,
implying a high he e ogenei y o as e o his a ibu e wi hin hose coun ies.
Table 5. Es ima ed willingness o pay (WTP) o all coun ies in local coin.
Es ima es Coun ies
FI (EUR) FR (EUR) GR (EUR) IT (EUR) ES (EUR) TR (TRY) UK (GBP)
LL a−6587.84 −6864.38 −6984.07 −7018.80 −7071.07 −6696.65 −6858.30
BIC b13,379.88 13,933.02 14,171.57 14,242.03 14,346.58 13,596.18 13,920.87
Adj. Rho-squa e 0.1711 0.1385 0.0928 0.1255 0.119 0.11 0.1392
Mean es ima es (no mal dis ibu ion)
Halal −0.693
(0.011)
−2.041
(0.000)
0.183
(0.493)
−0.542
(0.008)
−1.335
(0.000)
13.230
(0.000)
−0.713
(0.001)
Na ional o igin 2.277
(0.000)
3.737
(0.000)
2.299
(0.000)
3.052
(0.000)
2.584
(0.000)
11.070
(0.000)
0.433
(0.038)
EU o igin 0.636
(0.022)
1.695
(0.000)
0.082
(0.783)
0.557
(0.018)
1.068
(0.002)
−0.993
(0.575)
0.143
(0.449)
PGI/PDO 0.035
(0.895)
0.357
(0.138)
0.973
(0.000)
0.815
(0.000)
0.472
(0.058)
6.857
(0.000)
0.302
(0.032)
Ca bon oo p in 0.330
(0.056)
0.495
(0.015)
0.412
(0.027)
−0.032
(0.827)
0.516
(0.022)
3.853
(0.001)
0.047
(0.681)
O ganic 0.839
(0.000)
2.058
(0.000)
1.265
(0.000)
0.657
(0.000)
0.463
(0.036)
4.458
(0.000)
0.491
(0.004)
Low a 0.330
(0.102)
1.134
(0.000)
0.181
(0.245)
0.554
(0.002)
0.357
(0.069)
0.242
(0.856)
0.137
(0.310)
High p o ein −0.332
(0.049)
−0.147
(0.496)
−0.417
(0.011)
0.183
(0.257)
−0.150
(0.405)
−3.048
(0.001)
−0.136
(0.260)
Ready o cook 0.310
(0.101)
−0.705
(0.043)
−0.816
(0.000)
−0.200
(0.287)
−1.300
(0.000)
−1.646
(0.222)
−0.285
(0.097)
S anda d de ia ions es ima es (no mal dis ibu ion)
Halal 2.634
(0.000)
6.167
(0.000)
2.746
(0.000)
1.920
(0.000)
3.802
(0.000)
20.804
(0.000)
2.613
(0.000)
Na ional o igin 3.350
(0.000)
4.050
(0.000)
3.296
(0.000)
3.561
(0.000)
3.545
(0.000)
21.133
(0.000)
0.231
(0.826)
Animals 2021,11, 556 16 o 16
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