1. Consumers' willingness to pay for carbon-labeled agricultural products and its effect on greenhouse gas emissions: Evidence from beef products in urban China.
- Author
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Chen, Xuan, Zhen, Shihang, Li, Shaoting, Yang, Jieyu, and Ren, Yanjun
- Subjects
GREENHOUSE gases ,WILLINGNESS to pay ,FOOD preferences ,BEEF products ,FARM produce ,GREENHOUSE effect ,BEEF - Abstract
The environmental impact of food consumption has been widely discussed, while it is still unclear whether carbon labels could play a role in persuading consumers to purchase food products with low greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), especially in transitional economies where the demand for animal-based foods has shown a dramatic increase. This study extends the literature by examining consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for carbon-neutral-labeled beef products in urban China and evaluating GHGE from consumers' food preferences for carbon-neutral-labeled beef products. We also project the potential GHGE reduction under various scenarios due to the changes in consumers' preferences for carbon-neutral-labeled beef products across different consumer segments. Based on a sample randomly collected in urban China, a choice experiment is conducted with the consideration of four attributes (price, carbon neutral label, feed methods, and origin) for beef products. The random parameter logit (RPL) and latent class model (LCM) are applied to measure consumers' WTPs and identify consumer segments, respectively. We find that consumers have a 28.92 CNY/500 g price premium for carbon-neutral-labeled beef, and a substitution effect is observed when both the carbon neutral label and the imported attribute (or grass-fed attribute) are present. In the projections based on the income distribution of consumer segments, we find that carbon-neutral-labeled beef leads to the greatest GHGE reduction (27.072%) when the population of the medium-income group increases. Therefore, promoting the implementation of carbon labels on agricultural products with high‑carbon footprints in transitional countries such as China, especially for beef products, would contribute to transforming agri-food systems to achieve the carbon neutrality goal. • Consumers have strong WTPs (28.92 CNY/500 g) for carbon-neutral-labeled beef. • There is a substitution effect when both the carbon neutral label and the imported attribute are present. • Consuming carbon-neutral-labeled beef leads to a 27.072% reduction in GHGE as the medium-income population rises. • Implementing carbon labels on agricultural products would help to reduce GHGE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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