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In the last few decades, the interest of consumers towards sustainable agri-food products has been growing. This trend reflects changes in the consumption patterns, which have been deeply influenced by the increased sensitivity concerning social and environmental issues. In this sense, several studies, with different methodological approaches, have investigated consumers’ willingness to pay and its determinants for products with different sustainability labels. To systematise the obtained results, this paper offers a review of the studies that used experimental economics in studying consumer preferences for sustainable food and agricultural products. The 41 studies included in the review were selected on the basis of the pre-identified criterion according to the systematic review approach. Albeit discordant, the results show that a large share of consumers is willing to pay a premium price for products with eco-friendly and organic certifications. Animal welfare, ‘local’ production, or social certification appear to have a lower influence on consumer choice of purchasing. Additional information is able to modify consumer expectations and consequentially their willingness to pay, depending on the individual’s responsibility and awareness.

In recent years, an increasing number of social farming initiatives have involved adults with autism spectrum disorders, both to improve their life conditions and promote their work inclusion. Several studies have assessed these experiences, showing that the participants derive important benefits from being part of a social community, working in the countryside, and establishing a good relationship with the farmer.This paper aims to assess the ability of 9 adults with autism spectrum disorderswho attend an adult day care centre in the Umbria region of Italyto carry out agricultural and animal husbandry activities. Results from panel data analysis show that the activity of olive grove, indoor cleaning, and tidying at the agritourism farms has a considerable positive effect on the performances of the adults with autism spectrum disorders.Moreover, the adults studied prefer the activities in a greenhouse over those occurring inside (e.g., agritourism farm or the warehouse) and outside (e.g., vegetable, olive, and grape production). Further, the higher the precision level required to perform an action, the lower is their observed performance.Generally, the tasks that receive the highest evaluations are those in which the autistic person can relate with other people and/or animals. These findings confirm the role of social farming in developing working and relational skills in adults with autism spectrum disorders.

Abstract:The aim of this paper is to propose a multi-attribute hierarchical evaluation model for the evaluation of the aggregate sustainability of livestock farms integrating the economic, environmental, and social aspects. This approach uses an aggregation criterion based on the geometric mean to assess a farm's current level of sustainability. Sustainability was measured through the use of indicators including carbon footprint, farm income, and animal welfare. Secondly, based on the relationships between the sustainability aspects, the effects of improvement measures on all the indicators were estimated. This paper presents eight livestock case studies from Italy, analyzed in 2014. The results show intermediate values for the aggregate index of sustainability for most of the farms. The index mainly depends on the estimated values of the sustainability indicators related to the economic and environmental aspects. Lower values of animal welfare sustainability are quantified. The introduction of improvement measures in relation to the preparation of the soil had positive effects, both in terms of emissions and animal welfare. The increase of available space per Livestock Unit (LU) resulted in the greatest positive effect on animal welfare, among all the other actions analyzed.