Consumer perceptions of free-range laying hen welfare

Pettersson, Isabelle; Weeks, Claire A; Wilson, Lorna Rachel Maven; Nicol, CJ

doi:10.1108/bfj-02-2016-0065

Cited by 96 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Free-range egg production has increased rapidly over the last decade, being popular with consumers that hold the view that hens are ‘happier and healthier’ in free-range housing systems [1]. The range provides a larger area for hens to roam and interact with or avoid conspecifics, and an environment to express behaviours such as foraging, dust bathing, and sun bathing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual Ranging Behaviour Patterns in Commercial Free-Range Layers as Observed through RFID Tracking

Larsen

Cronin

Gebhardt-Henrich

et al. 2017

Animals

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Simple SummaryUnderstanding of how free-range laying hens on commercial farms utilize the outdoor space provided is limited. In order to optimise use of the range, it is important to understand whether hens vary in their ranging behaviour, both between and within individual hens. In our study, we used individual tracking technology to assess how hens in two commercial free-range flocks used the range and whether they varied in their use of the range. We assessed use of three areas at increasing distance from the shed; the veranda [0–2.4 m], close range [2.4–11.4 m], and far range [>11.4 m]. Most hens accessed the range every day (68.6% in Flock A, and 82.2% in Flock B), and most hens that ranged accessed all three areas (73.7% in Flock A, and 84.5% in Flock B). Hens spent half of their time outside in the veranda adjacent to the shed. We found that some hens within the flocks would range consistently (similar duration and frequency) daily, whereas others would range inconsistently. Hens that were more consistent in their ranging behaviour spent more time on the range overall than those that were inconsistent. These different patterns of range use should be taken into account to assess the implications of ranging for laying hens. AbstractIn this exploratory study, we tracked free-range laying hens on two commercial flocks with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology with the aim to examine individual hen variation in range use. Three distinct outdoor zones were identified at increasing distances from the shed; the veranda [0–2.4 m], close range [2.4–11.4 m], and far range [>11.4 m]. Hens’ movements between these areas were tracked using radio frequency identification technology. Most of the hens in both flocks (68.6% in Flock A, and 82.2% in Flock B) accessed the range every day during the study. Of the hens that accessed the range, most hens accessed all three zones (73.7% in Flock A, and 84.5% in Flock B). Hens spent half of their time outdoors in the veranda area. Within-individual consistency of range use (daily duration and frequency) varied considerably, and hens which were more consistent in their daily range use spent more time on the range overall (p < 0.001). Understanding variation within and between individuals in ranging behaviour may help elucidate the implications of ranging for laying hens.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual Ranging Behaviour Patterns in Commercial Free-Range Layers as Observed through RFID Tracking

Larsen

Cronin

Gebhardt-Henrich

et al. 2017

Animals

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“…Freshness, visual characteristics, origin and price are commonly among the most important information consumer take into account in the decision making process to buy eggs, but production methods and origin of eggs gain more and more attention [9,27,34,35]. The selection of attributes for our experiment was preceded by a thorough analysis of egg market trends and consumer literature on animal welfare [2,4,7,9,13,[36][37][38], organic [8,10,20,34,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] and functional food [27,47,48] to identify the appropriate eggs attributes and dimensions that are valuable for the consumer. As a result, we decided to select for the experiment attributes such as: farming system (four levels), breed (two levels), health benefits claim (five levels), egg size (four levels), package size (two levels), price (seven levels) ( Table 1).…”

Section: Consumer Attributesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consumers in all markets demand healthy and enjoyable food, but their ethical concerns are important drivers of food buying decisions [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Therefore, parallel to the trend towards healthier food, a trend towards more environmentally friendly or "green" food products has emerged [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Free Range, Organic? Polish Consumers Preferences Regarding Information on Farming System and Nutritional Enhancement of Eggs: A Discrete Choice Based Experiment

Żakowska‐Biemans

Tekień

2017

Sustainability

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Abstract:The main purpose of this study was to determine the structure of consumer preferences regarding information on farming system and nutritional enhancement of eggs to verify if consumers are willing to accept products combing sustainability and nutrition related claims. The data was collected within a CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviews) survey on a representative sample of 935 consumers responsible for food shopping. A discrete choice-based conjoint method was selected in eliciting consumer preferences among different product profiles with varying levels of attributes. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify four distinct clusters that differed significantly in terms of importance attached to production system attributes and socio-demographic profiles. The results of the experiment showed that price and farming system had the most significant mean relative importance in shaping consumers' preferences, while other attributes such as nutrition and health claims, egg size, package size and hen breed were far less important. Free range eggs had the highest relative importance for consumers despite the fact that organic egg production systems are governed by much stricter animal welfare standards. Our segmentation revealed that two of our four clusters may be more easily reached by information on animal welfare related attributes in egg production than the others. The results of our study provide the policy makers and marketing practitioners with insights applicable for communication and pricing strategies for eggs with sustainability claims.

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“…Women were more likely to have greener shopping habits and skilled Negative (Buder et al, 2014) Positive (Pettersson, Weeks, Wilson, & Nicol, 2016) Negative (Marian, Chrysochou, Krystallis, & Thøgersen, 2014;Ngobo, 2011) Indicator of high quality…”

Section: Determinants Of Sustainable Product Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Positive (Dekhili & Achabou, 2013) Negative (Buder et al, 2014) Positive (Harper & Makatouni, 2002;Midmore et al, 2011;Pettersson et al, 2016) Health benefits…”

Section: Determinants Of Sustainable Product Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking niche sustainable products into the mainstream: Organic milk and free‐range eggs

et al. 2018

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We contribute to the existing literature on factors influencing sustainable product consumption behavior by (a) employing actual supermarket sales data from over 300 outlets in England covering up to 18 million customers, and by (b) examining two products that can both be labeled as sustainable but have very different market positions: organic milk as a typical niche product, and free‐range eggs which (based on market share) can be seen as a mainstream product. Our study has looked into the influence of factors such as deprivation and race, which have not previously been looked into. The results partially confirm previous research, which is mostly based on self‐reported behavior, identifying both price and deprived catchment areas as barriers but green attitudes as a facilitator while more affluent people purchase organic milk. What is new from our work is that convenience stores have a negative influence and for organic milk, older families and those aged 25–44 years have a positive influence. Crucially, we identify clear differences between purchasing behaviors regarding niche and mainstream products in our analysis: while purchases of organic milk can be predicted by a wide range of sociodemographic factors, this is not the case for free‐range eggs. Here, besides price and green attitudes, there are no other influences on behavior. The results of our study can therefore provide fresh insight into the debate around recent attempts to mainstream sustainable product consumption.

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Consumer perceptions of free-range laying hen welfare

Cited by 96 publications

References 15 publications

Individual Ranging Behaviour Patterns in Commercial Free-Range Layers as Observed through RFID Tracking

Individual Ranging Behaviour Patterns in Commercial Free-Range Layers as Observed through RFID Tracking

Free Range, Organic? Polish Consumers Preferences Regarding Information on Farming System and Nutritional Enhancement of Eggs: A Discrete Choice Based Experiment

Breaking niche sustainable products into the mainstream: Organic milk and free‐range eggs

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