Consumer acceptance of and willingness to pay for animal food products from livestock fed insects in the United States

Abstract

Insects have potential to be integrated into livestock feeding systems to enhance sustainability of food production. However, Western consumers generally oppose insects as food and it is unknown if U.S. consumers will accept animal food products from livestock fed insects. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate U.S. consumers’ acceptance of and willingness to pay (WTP) for animal products from livestock fed insects with an emphasis on identifying underlying drivers that shape acceptance. We developed a questionnaire-based survey that was distributed via convenience sampling to adult U.S. consumers (n = 361). A multinomial logit model was used to identify drivers affecting consumer acceptance of insects as livestock feed; the dependent variable had three categories representing consumer attitude: supportive, neutral, or opposing. Of respondents, 34% accepted insects as livestock feed, 15% were opposed, and 52% were neutral. Respondents more likely to accept insects as livestock feed were younger (18-24 vs 35-44 years; ), had higher average household income ($50,000-$100,000 vs <$25,000; ), and higher educational attainment (master’s degree vs high school diploma; ). The factors that, if true, would most strongly influence consumer acceptance of insects as livestock feed were: ‘If I knew the insects were healthy for the livestock’ (74% of respondents); ‘If I knew it would not affect the balance of our eco-system’ (66%); and ‘If I knew it would lessen the environmental impact of livestock production’ (61%). For WTP, 21% of respondents were willing to pay less for animal products from livestock fed insects, 72% of were willing to pay the same, and 7% were willing to pay more. Our findings outline demographics of most likely U.S. consumers for animal products from livestock fed insects and indicate that outreach should highlight environmental, animal welfare, and economic benefits of insects as livestock feed to increase U.S. consumer adoption.