UK consumers' willingness to pay for laying hen welfare

Dunne, Chloe; Siettou, Christie

Abstract

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: This study investigates UK consumers’ perception and willingness to pay (WTP) for egg attributes associated with laying hen welfare, namely with beak-trimming practices and injurious feather pecking (IP). The aim is to examine any change in WTP after improved consumer awareness. Design/methodology/approach: Building upon existing literature, the authors designed an online survey in which the method of discrete choice experiment (DCE) was employed. The study includes two identical DCEs with the second being introduced after respondents were presented with an educational excerpt about beak-trimming practices, on farm IP occurrence and the docile nature of white egg laying hens – reducing IP. Findings: The mixed logit regression model demonstrated that consumers' WTP for egg attributes associated with beak trimming and IP decreased in the second DCE (12.6% for organic and 2.55% for free-range). For eggshell colour, the analysis revealed a shift from a preference to brown eggs to indifference between eggshell colours. Originality/value: Overall, UK consumers have a preference in higher hen welfare resulting in a decrease in WTP once they are aware of welfare losses in current systems; however, more insights are required in terms of the promotion of white shelled eggs as a means of reducing IP on UK farms.

Citation

Dunne, C., & Siettou, C. (2020). UK consumers' willingness to pay for laying hen welfare. British Food Journal, 122(9), 2867-2880. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-12-2019-0914

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 29, 2020
• Online Publication Date: May 26, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Mar 30, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 26, 2020
• Journal: British Food Journal
• Print ISSN: 0007-070X
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 122
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 2867-2880
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-12-2019-0914
• Keywords: animal welfare; discrete choice experiment; mixed logit; WTP space; egg attributes
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4225359
• Publisher URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-12-2019-0914/full/html