Role of Nutrition Information in Acceptance and Willingness to Pay for Biofortified Cereal Food: Implications for Better Health and Sustainable Diet

Abstract

A range of nutritional needs are met through the use of fortified farm-based foods. Wheat biorfortification with zinc is such an example where biorfortification is carried out for a crucial element like Zinc. Zinc-biofortified wheat (Zn-wheat) has been officially launched in Pakistan since 2016 but its wide-scale dissemination, adoption and consumption have not taken place till to date. On the other hand, essential nutrients deficiencies have wide-ranging implications for public health especially for children and lactating mothers. This study is undertaken to know the reasons for the slow progression of scaling up of biofortified wheat varieties in Pakistan, people’s awareness about biofortified wheat and to recognize the role of information in acceptance and willingness to pay for this wheat. For this purpose, randomly selected 474 households were interviewed from four districts of Punjab province. They were categorized into four groups based on their exposure to information in real and hypothetical cheap talk (game theory context). Study findings reveal that respondents were ready to pay for fortified wheat if they are aware about nutrient aspects and Zn deficiency. Using Discrete Choice Experiment, the preferences for and factors affecting the willingness to pay for fortified wheat are evaluated. Main factors having positive impact include household head’s education and income, having pregnant women and children <5 years age. It was also found that people having valid information about nutrients of a food would be willing to pay more. The study highlights need for policy focus on educating people about nutritional aspects as well as making available biofortified foods to promote healthy living.

Preventing and Controlling Zinc Deficiency Across the Life Course: A Call to Action

“…A systematic review of 9 studies of the effectiveness of consuming zinc biofortified staple crops on zinc status revealed an increase in total zinc absorption among 5 studies associated with a reduction in the PA:Zn molar ratio, indicating enhanced zinc bioavailability [ 113 ]. Socio-economic studies have also assessed farmers’ and consumers’ evaluation of biofortified varieties and their willingness to adopt them with positive results, a prerequisite to scaling up [ 94 , [114] , [115] , [116] , [117] ].…”

Life-Cycle Assessments of Meat-Free and Meat-Containing Diets by Integrating Sustainability and Lean: Meat-Free Dishes Are Sustainable

“…The impact is much more significant, however, if you include the health and well-being of the consumers who use its services [49,50]. Hospitality services must meet healthy consumption criteria [51,52]. The consumer, as a guest, must know the details of the chosen dishes [53][54][55][56].…”

Sustainability and Green Lean Based on Whole Life Cycle Assessment of Meat-containing and Meat-free Products

“…At the same time, hospitality services must meet healthy consumption criteria. To ensure cost-effectiveness, the information operators provide must be accurate and reliable; the consumer, as a guest, must know the details of the chosen dishes [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49].…”