Agribusiness最新文献

We provide an introduction to the Special Issue on the Economics of Food Reformulation.

Reductions in sugar intake are at the center of policy discussions to improve health. In this article, we use barcode-level nutrition and sales data on the near-universe of all packaged food products in the United States over 2007–2015 to investigate whether food manufacturers have reduced added sugar in their product offerings and whether these reformulations have played a role on consumers' sugar intake. We find that reformulation efforts would have reduced sugar intake by 52.8% between 2007 and 2015 had households' shopping baskets in 2015 remained the same as in 2007. However, consumers' purchases have gravitated toward more sugary products over time, thereby negating more than twothirds of the reduction in sugar intake that reformulation could have brought about. As a result, sugar intake has only decreased by 15.6%. Evidence shows that the largest reformulation effects come from product groups that have received the greatest scrutiny. Sweetened beverages, desserts, and sweets together represent 89% of pure reformulation, where sweetened beverages alone represent 43%. We also analyze the change in added sugar intake across income and find larger reductions in higher-income households; this finding suggests that existing disparities in diet quality have become more pronounced over time [EconLit Citations: D22, I12, I18, L66].

Food reformulation and the introduction of novel sources of nutrition are considered potential strategies to address poor nutrition and public health issues. Seaweed, a novel food in Western cuisine, is gaining popularity, and seaweed farming in the United States is an emerging and fast-growing aquaculture segment. This paper provides a comprehensive understanding of US consumers' preferences and attitudes toward seaweed and value-added seaweed products. Specifically, the study focuses on two distinct consumer groups: those who consume seaweed and those who do not. It includes separate analyses for each group to compare their attitudes and examine the characteristics and factors affecting their attitudes. This paper summarizes the different characteristics of seaweed consumers and nonconsumers. The results show that the seaweed consumers' knowledge of seaweed and perceptions of seaweed quality, price, and availability positively affect their intentions to try a new product flavored with seaweed. Nonconsumers have unique reasons for not consuming seaweed, several of which are associated with their intentions to try a new seaweed product [EconLit Citations: D12, Q13].

This study investigates the implicit and explicit health–taste tradeoffs that consumers make in response to sugar-reduction claims on chocolate cereals. We collect implicit measures through an Implicit Association Test, explicit perceptions of health and taste properties, and statements regarding product liking and purchase intention through a questionnaire. Based on a path analysis, we assess the relative strength of the indirect effects of sugar-reduction claims mediated by health and taste perceptions, as well as the direct effects on purchase intention. The results indicate that sugar-reduction claims decrease taste perceptions, increase health perceptions, and have only minor negative effects on product liking, but increase purchase intentions. Most participants show an implicit “unhealthy = tasty” intuition, which can be offset by moderate to high health consciousness. The implications for marketing and policymakers are twofold. First, our study shows that sugar-reduction claims are effective in addressing the original target group of health-conscious consumers. Second, our results suggest that the health–taste tradeoff is not prohibitively detrimental to purchase intentions among less health-conscious consumers. Potential instruments to increase the market share in this segment are discussed [EconLit Citations: I18, D12, D83].

Using data from a nationally representative household survey, this study investigates whether changes in food-at-home (FAH) purchases occurred following the introduction, modification, and implementation of the Chilean food labeling and marketing regulations. This study further examines whether changes in sugar, sodium, saturated fat, or calorie intake occurred. The results provide evidence of some improvements in dietary intake. In particular, sugar intake decreased primarily due to food modifications—that emerged as a supply response to regulations. This improvement in dietary intake was only found among those households who mainly buy FAH or shop mostly at grocery stores. Considering that across all households, nearly 10% of total FAH calories come from products with added sugars, the results suggest that there are missing opportunities that policy could leverage to improve food choices, especially among those less likely to be influenced by existing regulations—those who mainly spend on food away from home or those who primarily shop at alternative FAH outlets. [EconLit Citations: D22, L51, Q13].