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This study aims to analyse consumer preferences for red deer meat (RDM) (Cervus elaphus) by conducting a case study in northern Italy. This analysis considers how the attitudes of consumers towards wild game meat and hunting might influence such preferences. This goal is achieved by combining the results of a k-means clustering analysis of the attitudes collected by means of two valuation scales with a discrete choice experiment (CE). According to our results, a positive attitude towards wild game meat has an effect on the willingness to pay (WTP) for RDM that is more than 3 times greater than being in favour of hunting. An analysis of the heterogeneity of consumer preferences allowed us to identify the presence of an important niche market for RDM served as carpaccio. Examining only the mean estimates for carpaccio without considering heterogeneity would lead to neglecting 18% of the sample with a positive willingness to pay for this attribute level.

Indicator-based tools are widely used for the assessment of farm sustainability, but analysts still face methodological and conceptual issues, including data availability, the complexity of the concept of sustainability and the heterogeneity of agricultural systems. This study contributes to this debate through the illustration of a procedure for farm sustainability assessment focussed on the case study of the South Milan Agricultural Park, Italy. The application is based on a set of environmental, social and economic indicators retrieved from the literature review. The framework is based on three main steps: (i) Data collection mainly through interviews with farmers and institutions; (ii) data elaboration through an aggregative structure; and (iii) score analysis. The latter step includes a descriptive analysis that allows a comparison among farms or groups of farms and a principal components analysis that helps to confirm the dimensions in which indicators were previously included (components). Results derived from the sampled farms show that the framework can provide easy-to-read results useful at different levels. The study highlighted the procedures for the framework construction that is compatible with the region's context and objectives, using an analytical approach that aims at the use of balanced features of availability and reliability of data.

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In this paper, we investigate the short-term and long-term effects of the COVID-19 emergency on consumers' decision of changing dietary habit. We used a certified dataset reporting information about 456 Italian consumers during the lockdown in the first wave of the pandemic emergency (April 2020). The survey collected data about changes in food purchases, respondents' mood during the lockdown, conspiracist beliefs, exposure to the virus, and planned food purchasing behavior after the lockdown. We used the data to construct measures of the psychological pressure exerted by the COVID-19 emergency on consumers. We use an endogenous selection regression model to assess the impact of psychological pressure on the decision of changing food purchased. The analysis identified two opposite approaches to change in food purchasing decisions: impulsive approach and reflective approach. The former is associated with a higher probability of changing food purchase but a lower probability to keep the changes in the long run than the latter. Our results suggest that COVID-19 psychological pressure was associated with impulsive approach to buy food. Consequently, food-purchasing behavior is expected to revert to pre-COVID 19 habits when the emergency is over.

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