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Demand for goat meat currently depends on foreign-born immigrants, but current U.S. immigration policies may have negative impacts on immigrant populations, which may affect the meat goat industry. Data from a consumer survey conducted in Georgia was used to determine the potential domestic market for value-added goat meat products among foreign- and nativeborn Americans. About 56% of participants who had never tasted goat meat expressed willingness to taste if the grocery stores gave out goat meat samples. Current goat meat consumers were more willing to pay for locally grown, grass fed, and organic goat meat.

Growth in U.S. ethnic populations and a desire for healthy diets are driving demand for goat meat. Inventory of meat goats in Georgia has increased in recent years. A consumer survey was conducted in Georgia to determine potential driving factors determining the future outlook of goat meat demand in Georgia. About 56% of participants who had never tasted goat meat before expressed willingness to try it if grocery stores in their area gave out goat meat samples. A binary logit model was used to examine the demographic factors that impact consumers’ willingness. Result shows that consumers’ education, gender, and household size significantly affect willingness to consume goat meat.

This study evaluated the relationship between gross farm income and producers’ willingness to participate in a food hub. The preliminary findings of the study suggested that farm size based on gross farm income did not significantly affect farmers’ willingness and ability to be part of a local food hub. Irrespective of the farm income, connecting to local buyers was the main function of the hub desired by the producers. More than 60% of the producers expected to achieve broader market reach through the food hub.

The IFAMR is published quarterly by the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association. www.ifama.org

Many universities are now marketing agricultural products including beef and dairy. The objective of the study was to examine the role of university brand affiliation in promoting locally produced food, particularly grass-fed beef. It is expected that other local producers will use the results to make informed decisions in marketing their products. The study used the data collected from a survey among Missouri State University alumni and general shoppers. Preliminary results from the analysis show that university alumni were statistically different from other shoppers in willingness to pay more for university produced beef.

Goat production, is one of the fastest growing agricultural production systems in the U.S. This growth has created opportunities for producers, especially the small-scale farmers looking for a profitable alternative enterprise to integrate into their existing production systems, particularly in Missouri and Arkansas. Although the U.S. is not one of the primary producers of goat meat or goat products, it still stands to gain from exploring opportunities of this growing industry

The objective of the study is to examine factors affecting the organization and success of farmers markets. A survey was conducted among vendors and market managers in Missouri. The preliminary results indicated that location of the farmers market, absence of wholesalers, and degree of supervision by market managers, market managers household attribute including children in the household determined level of success. Level of success was represented by number of vendor participation at the peak of the season. Farmer market attributes including parking spaces and petting zoos played crucial role in bringing in patrons, therefore increasing vendor participation. Uniform pricing policy was important to attract more vendors.

The presence of nonlinearity, threshold behavior and cointegration under asymmetric adjustment are investigated in the vertical transmission of shocks between farm and retail prices for vegetable products in the U.S. Empirical results confirm the presence of nonlinearity and threshold behavior in the adjustment processes of farm and retail prices. Retail and farm prices are found to be cointegrated, implying long-run equilibrium relation between the two prices. However, for four of the five products included in this study, price transmissions are characterized by asymmetric adjustments. While retail prices adjust quickly in response to shocks that reduce the farm-retail spread below a certain threshold, it hardly responds to shocks that widen the spread. Farm prices are mostly unresponsive to retail market movements. Causation runs from farm to retail prices.

This study examines public perceptions of the safety of fresh produce (spinach and lettuce), beef, and poultry, employing survey data collected during the 2006 nationwide recall of fresh spinach contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The results show that white respondents perceived all products to be safe. In contrast, young people, people with only a high school education, and those with lower household incomes ($50,000 or below), were more likely to view fresh produce, beef, and poultry as unsafe. Trust in the USDA as well as conventional farmers contributed toward more positive perceptions of spinach and lettuce. Low levels of objective knowledge about foodborne pathogens and resulting illnesses contributed to negative food safety perceptions. Efforts should be directed toward additional public education and outreach about general aspects of food safety, especially targeting youth, low income groups, non-whites, and those with education at or below a high school level.

This study uses data from a 2006 survey on potential AI outbreak in USA to explore application of risk perceptions as a segmentation tool in the poultry meat market. Preliminary results from principal component analysis (PCA) suggest that the poultry meat specific safety level will drive people consumption choices in AI outbreak. Based on the perceived safety level, poultry meat product market was categorized into: (1) the home cooked and familiar brands; (2) the technological/novel; and (3) organic/fast food poultry products. The results further show differential public trust AI advice across institutions.

A clear understanding of consumers’ perception and attitude toward food risk and their behavior to food recall is important in order to develop an effective crisis management program at the firm level as well as at the government level. This study will develop food risk profiles of US consumers based on their perceived food safety risk and attitude toward food safety. The role of media usage in shaping the risk profile will be examined. The preliminary results suggest that the risk profiles of households were shaped by media usage. While the “accountables” were more likely to search internet or get news from internet, the “conservatives” usually watched news on local TV.

On September 14, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory warning against the consumption of fresh spinach because of suspected contamination with E. coli O157:H71. Following the advisory, a series of voluntary recalls were initiated nationwide, beginning with products from Natural Selection Foods, LLC, of San Juan Bautista, California, which produced bagged fresh spinach under 30 brand names. Fresh spinach was quickly removed from store shelves and restaurant menus. Because of the serious nature of the risk posed by exposure to E. coli O157:H7, both the FDA and the produce industry carried out aggressive information campaigns to alert the public that they should not eat fresh spinach. In response, the recall received substantial media attention, resulting in extensive coverage in both newspapers and on television news broadcasts. The objective of this study was to examine which groups of people were most likely to be unaware of the fresh spinach recall and therefore at risk for consuming contaminated spinach. The study used a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,200 Americans, conducted from November 8-29, 2006. The results indicated that the majority (87%) of Americans were aware of the spinach recall. However, awareness was not uniformly distributed across the population. While only 13% of Americans were unaware of the recall overall, 22% of African Americans, 23% of the Hispanic population, 21% of Americans age 18-34 and 16% of males reported that they hadn���t heard or read about the spinach recall. As consuming spinach prior to the recall was associated with awareness of the recall, this variable was controlled for in regression analyses. However, even after controlling for prior spinach consumption, non-Whites, people of Hispanic origin, young adults (18-34 years old) and males were significantly more likely to be unaware of the spinach recall (Table 1). A second logistic regression model found that those age 55 and older were no more or less likely to know about the recall than those younger than 55., 95th annual meeting of the International Association for Food Protection

This paper uses a logistic regression model to examine consumer willingness to buy organic and/or GM food products in the context of food attributes that are considered important in the consumption decision. That model is chosen for its mathematical simplicity and because its asymptotic characteristic constrains the predicted probabilities to a range between zero and one. In particular, the model examines the process that shapes food preferences in the absence or presence of specific food attributes. The paper finds that food attributes related to health, naturalness, familiarity, vegetarian-vegan, production location, and availability are critical in the acceptance of the organic and/or GM foods. The results show that food naturalness is pivotal to the organic food purchasing decision, while the absence of allergenic causing ingredients increase GM purchases. The findings also suggest that although there are perceived differences between organic and/or GM foods, the presence or absence of an attribute becomes important only when a respondent claims ownership of the good through the purchase action.

The net effect of food policies, viewed in terms of reduction of foodborne illness, death and food related diseases from obesity, may sometimes be much smaller than the predicted effect because of failure to account for offsetting behavior (OB). Theoretical and empirical models are developed and tested to determine the presence of dominant or partial OB in food safety policies. Results reveal that information that affects outrage and other determinants of risk perception will cause consumers to relax their vigilance in response to the food safety policy. This behavioral anomaly indicates a serious deviation from rational choice and may help explain the growing gap between the decrease in pathogen levels recorded after hazard analysis of critical control points implementation in meat processing plants and the number of outbreaks of food poisoning cases caused by foodborne pathogens.

This study analyzes public perceptions on food safety using a national survey conducted soon after the nationwide spinach recall (November 2006). We explore relationships between peoples’ perceived risks of food contamination (spinach in this case) and their trust in the institutions in charge of safeguarding/ensuring safety. Finally, we explore relationships between individual observance of basic good food handling practices and food safety. Trust in institutions through which food passes and regulatory agencies were shown to be critical in determining food safety perceptions. For example, skepticism with which the public views food corporations (processors, transporters or retailers) impacted food safety perceptions negatively. On the other, confidence in the USDA as a regulatory agent was viewed positively and hence contributed toward viewing the four types of spinach as safe for consumption.

This paper examines public perceptions on food safety particularly relating to spinach, which was subject of countrywide recall in 2006. Results indicate that food safety perceptions may be driven by public trust/confidence in institutions whose activities may be directly or indirectly related to food safety. The results further suggest that food safety perceptions may also be related to the type of the product; for example, the public perceives frozen spinach differently from bagged fresh spinach. Additionally, the results show that low levels of objective knowledge about food pathogens and the resulting illnesses have implications on overall food safety. Results further indicate that females and Caucasians perceived the four types of spinach as safe for consumption. This outcome contrasts with views held by young people, people with education below high school and those belonging to the lower incomes groups, who viewed the four types of spinach as unsafe. More attention should be directed toward public education and outreach efforts on overall food safety targeting the youth, low income groups and those with education below high school. In addition, there is need for the regulatory agencies to put their act together, given current low levels of public trust in their role of safeguarding the food supply.

This paper uses results from a 2004 survey (N=1,010) on consumer attitudes toward agroterrorism and food-system security to investigate heterogeneous attributes affecting vulnerability including risk perceptions and fear. Using 15 separate multinomial PROBIT regressions we distinguish between vulnerability on a number of aspects of food-system security including food type and position in the food-supply chain. Vulnerability is not found to be common across food groups or respondents, and a variety of distinguishing characteristics can be used to investigate how individuals might perceive vulnerability.

Consumers' preference for organic foods in the context of food aspects considered important in a consumption decision and socioeconomic variables has been examined in this study. The results indicate that food aspects related to naturalness, vegetarian-vegan and production location were critical enhancing regularity of organic food purchases. While the familiarity food aspect was viewed as a 'no' issue as far as organic food purchases are concerned. Results further indicate that females and young people buy organics on a regular basis. In terms of political affiliation and church attendance, the liberals and those who at least visit places worship once a month will also regularly buy organics.

The study finds strong correlations between natural products business performance and the impeding factors. The impediments include access to finance and markets, lack of herbal market information especially relating to external markets. Additionally, there is lack of processing capacity, while at the same time most if not all the natural products business operators lack technical training relating to product handling. However, there is big potential for success, the top ten traded natural products, may be exploited initially, both domestically and for export market, given range of perceived use. The constraints identified require concerted efforts from all stakeholders to recognize the importance of this sub-sector in providing opportunities to successful development.

Unlike earlier surveys based studies on public attitudes and perceptions of biotechnology, this study investigates the importance of consumers' awareness and knowledge of and interest in biotechnology. Results suggest that Americans are largely unaware of both of the presence in their lives of GM food and of its wide application in food production. In view of this, many Americans would like to see more GM media coverage. Additionally, most Americans are unfamiliar with the laws and safety testing regarding GM food.

This paper investigates the relationships between country of origin labeling (COOL) issues and consumers concern about safety and health towards using of foreign produce. Results show that those who were married, self employed, had higher incomes, or possessed more education were more likely to support COOL. A consumer survey showed that about 84% of respondents overall, and more specifically, about 84% of female and 83% of male respondents would like markets to provide information about country of origin of fresh produce. The result also shows that about 73% of respondents regularly read food advertisements in newspapers and grocery brochures.

This study uses logistic regression to estimate survey data on social engineering policies in the agricultural sector. The study finds that farm operators are unlikely to support a policy allowing countries to restrict trade to pursue domestic economic and social policy goals if the policies affect international trade. In particular the findings suggest that farm operators with annual gross sales including government payments between $500,000 and $999,999 are 80 percent less likely to indicate such a preference. Farm operators with advanced degrees, some college education and a high school diploma are also unlikely to indicate such a preference. In contrast farm operators who receive no income from farming or ranching and farm operators who receive a percentage of their family income from farming or ranching indicate that countries should be allowed to restrict trade to pursue domestic economic and social policy goals even if the policies affect international trade.

For most of the African countries agriculture still remains the mainstay of the economies supplying both food and incomes via marketable surpluses. However, many odds against agriculture such low productivity, poor prices, and drought among others make it unsustainable. Results thus far show that such dependence has contributed little to neither economic development nor growth. Still many of its people living on and from agriculture remain poor, and are susceptible to hunger and malnutrition. Additionally, their over reliance on a few traditional exports such coffee, tea, and cocoa etc., products whose world prices keep declining has not helped either. At most this is futile response to raising incomes of its people, let alone spur any meaningful development. Agricultural may still contribute to development, if the countries could diversify from traditional products to the untapped areas. The continent's rich botanical heritage offers an excellent opportunity to diversify away from traditional exports. The natural products have a greater appeal to consumers especially in the rich west. Thus, development of natural products as alternative or complimentary to the current mix of tradable products will positively impact the social and economic lives of many people, especially those in the rural areas. Additionally, diversification of the production systems to include natural plants provides a superior route to the creating viable agribusinesses in rural communities currently lacking. Natural products happen to have enormous advantages; First, indigenous African plants occur naturally and so are relatively easy to cultivate commercially. Second, natural plant production is labor intensive rather than capital intensive, and so minimizes capital investment while at the same time maximizing job-creation potential. Third, African communities have extensive knowledge of indigenous plants, creating a natural competitive advantage in this sector. ASNAPP (Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plants Products) a non-profit organization formed in 1999 with funding from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) is helping create and develop successful African agribusinesses in the natural plant products sector. The organization focuses on the development of high-value natural plant products that enable African agribusinesses to compete in local, regional and international markets. These products include herbal teas, culinary herbs and spices, essential and press oils, as well as medicinal plants. Currently, ASNAPP operates in five countries, namely South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal and Zambia, working with 25 agri-enterprises that represent more than 2000 small-scale natural plant suppliers. The prospects for natural products market is very bright, for example the global nutraceutical market alone is estimated to be worth $60 billion annually in sales of dietary and meal supplements, as well as specialty products. There is also increasing demand for organic and natural products such as herbal teas, essential oils, herbs and spices, phytomedicines and phytocosmetics. This growth has been supported by a global swing away from synthetic products to those that are natural, healthy, sustainably produced and fairly traded. In the context of world trade in natural products, African country's natural forests supply more herbs, medicinal plants and natural food ingredients. The Americans and Europeans are the major consumers of natural products in the global market. Products such as the herbal tea's, essential oils, cosmetic and spices have readily available markets. Natural product sales was estimated $34 billion in 2001, It is estimated that Global sales for organic and natural products will reach about $100 billion by 2008 at an annual growth rate of 20-30% (Organic Natural Health, 2001; Marty T. S., and Patrick R., 2004). The United States also happens to be the largest user of essential oils and flavor and fragrance, the aroma therapeutic market alone in has grown from a $316 million dollar business in 1996 to over $454 million in 2001(Alberta Essential Oils, 1996; Datamonitor, 2002). Indeed there is untapped potential ranging from raw products to processed ones, which could fetch even higher returns to the farmers. However, it is only a few large enterprises that are active in the sector, leaving rural communities who had in fact been the first to discover the health and nutritional properties of indigenous plants out in the cold. The ASNAPP Ghana program which commenced in 2000 is currently working on essential oils, lippia tea, grains of paradise, cryptolepis, kombo butter, shea butter and Artemisia, with the focus on the Eastern, Central, Ashanti, Volta, Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. The natural products industry in Ghana is characterized by low input- low output; mostly operated by small-scale farmers (suppliers) with low levels of levels of formal education and agricultural production knowledge. In this respect the supply side problems may be summarized as regularity of the supplies, quality and timeliness. Organizationally, the scale of the operations may be a bottleneck one hand, on the other hand, information, capital; product quality and assurance mechanisms hinder successful commercialization. The domestic markets are largely at the low levels of commercialization; the operators have limited technical knowledge about natural products, and limited capital to expand their businesses and exploit the readily available foreign markets. Similarly, on the demand side, there may be lack of consumer information as to the range of products, where to find them and what remedies they offer. This paper has the objective of highlighting the marketing impediments facing the natural products market in the retail and wholesale portions of the chain in Ghana. Specifically, (i) profile the technical, financial, organizational, etc., constraints the traders face (domestically and externally), (ii) profile the natural product range and their functions (iii) suggest policy interventions. Preliminary results from the Ghana business survey show that seven out of ten of the businesses are retailer operated, whose two-thirds supply is dependent on the small-scale farmers. There results also show that virtually all the traders have not received any technical, financial or trade assistance from any organization. At most only 1 out of ten businesses have ventured into external trade. The preliminary results show tremendous potential, however a lot need to be done to tap on this potential. The analysis will be based on a survey that was carried out in Ghana to correct information on; product ranges; the supply chain (from production to the retail stores and potential for exports. The analysis will contribute toward inform policy of which marketing to be addressed and inform domestic and foreign consumers of the presence of such products. References: Alberta Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development, Herb/Spice Industry Fact Sheet. Compiled by Dennis Dey. AG-Ventures, Agdex 263/830-1, www.agric.gov.ab.ca, September 1996. Datamonitor, Nov 15, 2002. Marty T. S., and Patrick R., "Natural Product Sales Top $42 Billion" Natural Foods Merchandiser, 2004, volume XXV/number 6/ p. 1 Organic Natural health, 2001. http://www.health-report.co.uk/organic-cosmetics-usa- opportunity.htm#Organic/natural%20industry%20profile

This study analyzed the influence of demographic and behavioral characteristics on the likelihood of a consumer to read food advertisements in grocery brochures and the likelihood of a consumer to shop at more than one store to purchase advertised specials. Overall, 73% and 46% of respondents read food advertisements and shop multiple stores to purchase advertised specials, respectively. Consumer characteristics which are shown to influence the reading of food advertisements and shopping at more than one food store to buy advertised specials were the possession of education beyond the 2/4 year college degree and the tendency to read ingredient labels.

This study analyzes U.S. consumers' choice of cornflakes under five different labeling statements. Using a nationwide survey and choice modeling framework, results indicate that consumers value labeling statements differently, depending on the information contained on the label. The random parameter logit model results indicated that, compared to cornflakes that have no label information, cornflakes labeled "contains no genetically modified corn" have a value of 10 percent more, the label "USDA approved genetically modified corn" has a value of 5 percent more, and the label "corn genetically modified to reduce pesticide residues in your food" has a value of 5 percent more. The results also suggest that consumers negatively valued the label "contains genetically modified corn," paying 6.5 percent less, and the label "may contain genetically modified corn," paying 1 percent less than the product that has no label information.

This study extends biotechnology discourse to cover South Korea in the Asian sub-continent showing a marked difference in perceptions between traditional and GM foods. Factor analysis suggests South Koreans may treat foods that are locally produced and those with no artificial flavors or colorings preferentially to GM foods. Additionally, South Koreans have concerns about perceived risks related to biotechnology, and, given a choice, they may pay more to avoid GM foods. Cluster analysis results yielded four consumer segments: (a) ardent supporters of the attribute of “naturalness†in foods, (b) those apprehensive about biotechnology, (c) the food adventurous, and (d) information seekers about biotechnology.

This study uses results from marginal effects estimates across the foods and points of the food chain to rank the foods and food chain points in order of intensity of likelihood of a terrorist attack. The results show that young people, low incomers (

This study analyzes U.S. consumers' valuation of five types of genetically modified food labels on a cornflakes cereal product. Using a nationwide survey and choice-modeling framework, results indicate that consumers value the label "contains no genetically modified corn" the most with a mean willingness to pay of 20 more cents, followed by "USDA approved genetically modified corn" with a mean willingness to pay of 9 more cents, and "corn genetically modified to reduce pesticide residues in your food" with a mean willingness to pay of 7 more cents. Results also suggest that consumers negatively value the labels "contains genetically modified corn" with a mean willingness to pay of 13 less cents and "may contain genetically modified corn" with a mean willingness to pay of 2 less cents.

Food biotechnology promises to deliver a wide range of enhanced consumer benefits. This study models consumer's willingness to trade-off the potential risks of GM foods with the possibility of extracting significant benefits. It estimates the marginal effects and relationships between product characteristics and consumer attributes on acceptance of GM foods for South Korea.

Food biotechnology promises to deliver a wide range of enhanced consumer benefits. This study models consumer's willingness to trade-off the potential risks of GM foods with the possibility of extracting significant benefits. It estimates the marginal effects and relationships between product characteristics and consumer attributes on acceptance of GM foods.

Food biotechnology promises to deliver a wide range of enhanced consumer benefits. This study models consumer's willingness to trade-off the potential risks of GM foods with the possibility of extracting significant benefits. The results of the choice modeling experiments reflect how different attributes of price, product benefits, and technology influence consumer demand for genetically modified food products. The results suggest that direct health, environmental, and production related benefits have a positive effect on choice. The results also generally show that genetic modification is viewed negatively, with use of bacterium and animal based genetic modification being viewed more negatively than the use of plant based genetic modification.

This study analyzes predictors of Korean public acceptance of the use of biotechnology to create genetically modified food products. Results indicate that the consumers with above average knowledge of specific outcomes of genetic modification were more likely than those with inaccurate or no knowledge to approve use of plant or animal genetic modification for the creation of new food products. Young South Koreans consumers (ages 20 to 29 years old) were more likely than old consumers (ages 50 to 59) to approve use of biotechnology to create both plant and animal based foods. Further, those Koreans in favor of GM labeling were less likely to approve the use of biotechnology for the creation of food products. The results also suggest that public trust and confidence on various institutions associated with biotechnology is critical for the future of the technology. There was some evidence of differential biotechnology approval among consumers of different residential areas, income levels and political affiliation. Thus, those in cities, those with incomes above 40 million Won, and of liberal political affiliation were found to be more approving of animal biotechnology.

The study applies multivariate statistical and econometric tools to estimate the importance of the various factors driving Korean consumer acceptance of GM food products. The evidence thus far on biotechnology is decidedly mixed: public perceptions of food biotechnology are characterized by ongoing tension between opposing forces. The South Korean perceptions about food in general and ranges from excitement about the promise of environmental and economic benefits from GM products to fear and distrust of the technology for unknown risks. This highlights the importance of credibility of private and public institutions responsible for certifying the safety of GM foods and implementing necessary regulatory controls on GM processes and products. In between, many people are undecided, trying to learn more about the issues and reach a definitive position. Encouraging though is that some people are eager to try new foods. Koreans strongly favors food naturalness, familiarity, and access just as the west countries. Results suggest that the South Korean Consumer priorities with respect to various biotechnology and general food issues are related to their socioeconomic and value attributes. This implies that, at least in the near term, there will be considerable divergence within the society in terms of acceptance of food biotechnology. The finding that large segments of the Korean society are either not fully informed or interested in learning more about biotechnology calls for a public education program. A program that may play a constructive role in not only informing consumers but help them in arriving at a socially optimal collective decisions on the wisdom and desirability of food biotechnology.