What do U.S. consumers care about regarding beef and its supply chain?

Mario Ortez; Nicole Olynk Widmar; Nathan M Thompson; Yuan H Brad Kim

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.108748

What do U.S. consumers care about regarding beef and its supply chain?

Meat Sci. 2022 May:187:108748. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.108748. Epub 2022 Jan 31.

Authors

Mario Ortez¹, Nicole Olynk Widmar², Nathan M Thompson², Yuan H Brad Kim³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette 47907, IN, USA. Electronic address: mortez@purdue.edu.
² Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette 47907, IN, USA.
³ Meat Science and Muscle Biology Laboratory, Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette 47907, IN, USA.

PMID: 35151940
DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2022.108748

Abstract

Stated levels of concerns regarding different aspects of beef and its supply chain in the U.S. were studied for a representative sample of 1275 U.S. residents. In addition to top concerns, frequency of general beef consumption and different beef subprimal cuts were collected. Sixty-two percent of respondents indicated eating beef at least twice per week; ground beef was the most frequently purchased beef item. We find that price and food safety prevailed as the most prominent considerations for U.S. residents regarding beef and it's supply chain, though employee welfare, supply chain issues and beef availability have gained prominence in light of the severe disruptions to the industry induced by COVID-19. Concerns regarding cattle emissions, cattle welfare, beef availability and food safety were more prevalent amongst younger consumers. Marketing campaigns highlighting the industry's efforts on improving such matters may be particularly meaningful to younger age groups.

Keywords: Beef; Buying frequency; Consumer behavior; Emissions; Price.

MeSH terms

Animals
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Cattle
Consumer Behavior
Food Safety
Meat*
SARS-CoV-2