Abstract
So-called ‘ethical’ food products have spread across the industrialised world. These are products that are produced under labelling schemes with extraordinary attentiveness to issues such as farm animal welfare and environmental protection. Political decision-makers and other stakeholders in
food production increasingly express the belief that improvements regarding issues such as animal welfare and environmental impact may be achieved by stimulating markets for these products.
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the prospect of market-driven improvements in animal welfare and environmental protection. In particular, it aims to examine the concrete improvements that may be pursued through markets for ethical food, and how these improvements are influenced
by factors related to individual consumers’ choice of food. This thesis is structured around three research papers that illuminate different aspects of ethical food consumption and, based on this, provide concrete policy inputs. The scope of the research is highly interdisciplinary, and includes
perspectives from ethics and the social sciences on food consumption.
Paper I: Can increased organic consumption mitigate climate changes?
In the first paper, we investigate consumption patterns that are associated with the consumption of organic food, and the capacity of these patterns to mitigate climate change. A review of organic food consumption studies indicates that regular consumers of organic food in Denmark and other
northern European countries purchase less meat than other consumers. As meat production has been identified as a major contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we ask, first, whether there is evidence for a positive correlation between increased consumption of organic products and potential climate change mitigation via decreased consumption of meat. Second, we investigate the extent to which the reduced consumption of meat by organic food consumers is motivated by climate change concerns. The questions are approached by analysing panel and survey data on organic food consumption.
Paper II: The role of quality labels in market-driven animal welfare
In the second paper, we investigate the role of quality labels in market-based ways of improving animal welfare. The paper begins by identifying the tendency of markets for animal welfarefriendly food to be split into two categories of products; one category rests heavily on animal welfare-friendly production as its single attribute, and another cate gory, where animal welfarefriendly production is just one dimension of a broader food quality concept. This creates a diverse but also potentially confusing market for consumers. We ask whether such quality labels have a role to play in promoting improvements in animal welfare using Danish pork as our reference case. This question is approached by conducting an analysis of the Danish market for animal welfare-friendly pork, based on an integrative research review of relevant market materials. Our findings suggest
that in order to increase animal welfare through the demand for welfare-friendly products, it is important to maintain separate markets for products with strong animal welfare profiles, as well as markets for products where animal welfare is bundled together with other food quality attributes.
Consequently, quality labels may indeed play an important role in promoting higher animal welfare standards, provided that they provide real improvements in animal welfare compared to standard products.
Together, these three research papers identify both opportunities for and challenges to the prospect of achieving improved animal welfare and environmental protection through ethical food consumption. In Denmark, dairy cows are more and more likely to be stabled on an all-year basis but the considerable demand for grass milk ensures that a number of animals are still put to grass. Successful cases of the magnitude of grass milk consumption in Denmark are likely to be a rarity, but markets for ethical food may also have other and broader effects. This thesis suggests that organic food consumption is correlated with reduced meat consumption, and that this pattern has the potential to mitigate climate change. Markets for ethical food are not only driven by consumers who have a strong interest in animal welfare and the environment, but also by consumers who mainly view ethically sound production methods as indicators of other food qualities. Therefore, it is important to sustain a market structure where different preferences for ethical food are addressed. The development of markets for ethical food products is also dependent on low consumption barriers, including ready availability, reliable labelling and, especially important, relatively low price premiums.
food production increasingly express the belief that improvements regarding issues such as animal welfare and environmental impact may be achieved by stimulating markets for these products.
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the prospect of market-driven improvements in animal welfare and environmental protection. In particular, it aims to examine the concrete improvements that may be pursued through markets for ethical food, and how these improvements are influenced
by factors related to individual consumers’ choice of food. This thesis is structured around three research papers that illuminate different aspects of ethical food consumption and, based on this, provide concrete policy inputs. The scope of the research is highly interdisciplinary, and includes
perspectives from ethics and the social sciences on food consumption.
Paper I: Can increased organic consumption mitigate climate changes?
In the first paper, we investigate consumption patterns that are associated with the consumption of organic food, and the capacity of these patterns to mitigate climate change. A review of organic food consumption studies indicates that regular consumers of organic food in Denmark and other
northern European countries purchase less meat than other consumers. As meat production has been identified as a major contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we ask, first, whether there is evidence for a positive correlation between increased consumption of organic products and potential climate change mitigation via decreased consumption of meat. Second, we investigate the extent to which the reduced consumption of meat by organic food consumers is motivated by climate change concerns. The questions are approached by analysing panel and survey data on organic food consumption.
Paper II: The role of quality labels in market-driven animal welfare
In the second paper, we investigate the role of quality labels in market-based ways of improving animal welfare. The paper begins by identifying the tendency of markets for animal welfarefriendly food to be split into two categories of products; one category rests heavily on animal welfare-friendly production as its single attribute, and another cate gory, where animal welfarefriendly production is just one dimension of a broader food quality concept. This creates a diverse but also potentially confusing market for consumers. We ask whether such quality labels have a role to play in promoting improvements in animal welfare using Danish pork as our reference case. This question is approached by conducting an analysis of the Danish market for animal welfare-friendly pork, based on an integrative research review of relevant market materials. Our findings suggest
that in order to increase animal welfare through the demand for welfare-friendly products, it is important to maintain separate markets for products with strong animal welfare profiles, as well as markets for products where animal welfare is bundled together with other food quality attributes.
Consequently, quality labels may indeed play an important role in promoting higher animal welfare standards, provided that they provide real improvements in animal welfare compared to standard products.
Together, these three research papers identify both opportunities for and challenges to the prospect of achieving improved animal welfare and environmental protection through ethical food consumption. In Denmark, dairy cows are more and more likely to be stabled on an all-year basis but the considerable demand for grass milk ensures that a number of animals are still put to grass. Successful cases of the magnitude of grass milk consumption in Denmark are likely to be a rarity, but markets for ethical food may also have other and broader effects. This thesis suggests that organic food consumption is correlated with reduced meat consumption, and that this pattern has the potential to mitigate climate change. Markets for ethical food are not only driven by consumers who have a strong interest in animal welfare and the environment, but also by consumers who mainly view ethically sound production methods as indicators of other food qualities. Therefore, it is important to sustain a market structure where different preferences for ethical food are addressed. The development of markets for ethical food products is also dependent on low consumption barriers, including ready availability, reliable labelling and, especially important, relatively low price premiums.
| Original language | English |
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| Publisher | Department of Food and Resource Economics, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen |
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| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
