Ethical and Sustainable Aspects of Meat Production; Consumer Perceptions and System Credibility

Henchion, Maeve; Backer, Charlotte De; Hudders, Liselot

doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-100593-4.00027-8

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…At a time when the meat sector is coming under increasing criticism for issues relating to sustainability and health, our findings provide considerable support for the importance given to credence attributes by consumers, which could help shape the future direction of the meat sector (Henchion et al, 2017a(Henchion et al, , 2017b. Our findings reveal that a significant proportion of our participants place enormous importance on farm-level production practices for assessing meat quality.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Our findings suggest that there is a sizeable market of Irish consumers who would be well disposed to hearing specifically about farm-level practices and initiatives related to organic farming, the humane treatment of animals, free range farming and meat produced free from hormones and antibiotics given that they link these attributes to perceptions of better meat quality. It is argued that an array of diverse factors increasingly influence consumer perceptions of meat "quality" (Henchion et al, 2017a(Henchion et al, , 2017b. As also evidenced by the current study, traditional attributes such as health, safety and sensory perception are increasingly contending with social, ethical and moral attributes.…”

Section: Interpretation Of the Segmentsmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Quality assurance (QA) schemes have played a significant role in this respect . Currently in Ireland, the Origin Green scheme aimed at the business-to-business market has been well received and is proving successful in communicating sustainably produced Irish products to retailers beyond Ireland (Henchion et al, 2017a(Henchion et al, , 2017b. In Ireland, the Bord Bia Quality Assurance logo found on meat products covers a range of standards related to animal health, welfare, traceability and environmental management, among others.…”

Section: Interpretation Of the Segmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past decade, meat has held a heavily contested position in the diet as issues of health and safety, sustainability, authenticity and animal welfare have all been publicly scrutinised (Barnett et al, 2016;Henchion et al, 2017aHenchion et al, , 2017bRegan et al, 2015). Consumer concerns about modern farming and food production systems indicate a significant market opportunity for products that consider ethical, moral and social dimensions (Henchion et al, 2017a(Henchion et al, , 2017b. Credence attributes are attributes related to the product, used by the consumer to assess quality, but which cannot be verified by consumers themselves; rather, the consumer is reliant on other actors (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Ethical, moral and social dimensions in farm production practices: a segmentation study to assess Irish consumers’ perceptions of meat quality

Regan

Henchion

McIntyre

2018

Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research

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Growing consumer concerns with modern farming and food production systems indicate a significant market opportunity for meat production practices that consider ethical, moral and social value traits. In the current study, we aimed to identify and characterise distinct segments of Irish consumers based on their perceptions of the quality of meat from different farm-level production practices (organic farming, high animal welfare standards, free range farming, and “natural”, treatment-free feeding regimes). An online survey was carried out with 251 Irish meat consumers. Using cluster analysis, we identified three distinct segments: “Target consumers”, “Purist consumers” and “Disinterested consumers”. Chi-square analyses revealed differences between the segments based on gender, age and meat-purchasing motivations. The results provide insight into the opportunities that exist for exploring new viable market segments as well as for engaging Irish consumers and empowering them with information around the ethical, social and moral aspects of farm-level practices related to meat production.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Interpretation Of the Segmentsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Interpretation Of the Segmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ethical, moral and social dimensions in farm production practices: a segmentation study to assess Irish consumers’ perceptions of meat quality

Regan

Henchion

McIntyre

2018

Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research

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“…At the same time, socially innovative projects have been initiated in many Western countries to mobilize consumers to eat less meat. Prominent examples of such less meat initiatives (LMIs; [8]) include the Belgium town of Ghent's pioneering Meatless Thursday and the Meatless Mondays that originated in the US [8,10]. Although there is evidence that these LMIs are replicating and scaling-up, Morris et al [8] argue that LMIs are not able to translate the idea of eating less meat into mainstream thinking in any significant way, mainly because LMIs are regarded as being too radical.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Less Meat Initiatives at Ghent University: Assessing the Support among Students and How to Increase It

Groeve

Bleys

2017

Sustainability

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Abstract:In this study, we conducted a survey among Business Administration students at Ghent University to assess their support for six less meat initiatives (LMIs) to be implemented in student restaurants. We examined associations between the support and variables related to meat curtailment and additionally examined the effect of providing information about the climate impact of meat on the support for the LMIs. We find that the support is rather limited among the students we surveyed. Students have different appraisals of the different LMIs, which may be due to differences in intervention strength and types of meat curtailment. We found that higher environmental concern is associated with a higher support for all LMIs. Female students and students with lower meat consumption levels indicate a higher support for four of six LMIs. Simply providing information about the climate impact of meat had no remarkable effect on the support. More integrated approaches are recommended to inform students.

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Prevalence and economic losses associated with foetal wastage in abattoir

Nabasirye,

Baluka,

Sengooba

2024

Veterinary Medicine & Sci

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BackgroundBoth male and female food animals are slaughtered for meat. Some cows, ewes and does slaughtered are found with viable foetuses resulting in foetal wastage and loss of future replacement stock. Foetal wastage accounts for about 20%–25% of the decline in livestock numbers in sub‐Saharan Africa. Slaughter of pregnant cows, ewes and does results in economic losses and threatens food security with consequent decrease in available animal proteins to the fast growing human population. Protein requirement for healthy human development is inadequate in most developing countries including Uganda. The prevalence and economic losses associated with foetal wastage were assessed in an abattoir.ObjectivesThe study was cnducted to assess the prevalence of feotal wastage at the study abattoir and estimate the associated economic losses.MethodsThe researchers supported by abattoir resident meat inspectors examined all slaughtered female animals during the study period. Gravid uteri obtained from slaughtered animals after dressing of carcasses were eviscerated using a sharp knife across the long axis to recover foetuses. The crown rump lengths (CRLs) of the recovered foetuses were measured using a tape measure, weighed on a scale and categorised into first, second and third trimesters. Prevalence of pregnant animals slaughtered was determined by calculating the percentage of pregnant animals over the total number of female animals slaughtered. Economic losses were estimated based on the monetary losses at birth, weaning, maturity, and carcass loss at weaning and maturity.ResultsThe aggregate slaughters were bovine 604 (73.6%), caprine 169 (20.6%) and ovine 48 (5.9%). The overall prevalence of foetal wastage was 21.9%. The aggregate prevalence of foetal wastage by species include 160 (88.9%) cows, 8 (4.4%) heifers, 4 (2.2%) does and 8 (4.4%) ewes. Foetal wastage of cows by trimester included 62 (38.8%), 26 (16.25%) and 72 (45.0%) in first, second and third trimesters, respectively, translating into loss of US$13,055. Foetal wastage was high and the associated economic losses were substantial which undermines sustainability of the national herd. Farmers should be sensitised about the economic losses and long‐term impact associated with foetal wastage and dissuaded from this practice. A policy is needed to deter farmers from selling pregnant animals for slaughter.ConclusionsA total of 168 bovine, 8 caprine and 12 ovine foetuses were wasted within 60 days study period. These foetal wastages translated to US$ 13,224 monetary losses at birth, US$ 31,849 monetary loss at weaning and US$ 57,0896 monetary loss at maturity.

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Ethical and Sustainable Aspects of Meat Production; Consumer Perceptions and System Credibility

Cited by 20 publications

References 55 publications

Ethical, moral and social dimensions in farm production practices: a segmentation study to assess Irish consumers’ perceptions of meat quality

Ethical, moral and social dimensions in farm production practices: a segmentation study to assess Irish consumers’ perceptions of meat quality

Less Meat Initiatives at Ghent University: Assessing the Support among Students and How to Increase It

Prevalence and economic losses associated with foetal wastage in abattoir

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