Consumers´ Perspective on Chicken Husbandry: the Case of Dual
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Consumers’ perspective on chicken husbandry: The case of dual-purpose chickens Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades (Dr. sc. agr.) der Fakultät für Agrarwissenschaften der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen vorgelegt von Nanke Brümmer geboren am 08.05.1989 in Husum Göttingen, im März 2019 1. Gutachter: PD Dr. Martin Banse, Thünen-Institut für Marktanalyse in Braunschweig 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Achim Spiller, Department für Agrarökonomie und Rurale Entwicklung der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen 3. Gutachter: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Jan-Henning Feil, Department für Agrarökonomie und Rurale Entwicklung der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 03.05.2019 Table of contents Summary .......................................................................................................................... II Zusammenfassung .......................................................................................................... IV 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The role of consumers .............................................................................................. 2 1.2 Problem of chick culling and alternatives ................................................................... 4 1.3 The usage of dual-purpose chickens ......................................................................... 6 1.4 Research questions and objectives ........................................................................... 8 2 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 10 2.1 Qualitative methods ................................................................................................ 10 2.2 Quantitative methods .............................................................................................. 11 2.3 Mixed methods........................................................................................................ 14 2.4 Ethical matrix .......................................................................................................... 15 3 Structure and summary of the contributions ............................................................. 16 4 Articles included as part of the thesis ....................................................................... 21 4.1 Consumers’ perspective on dual-purpose chickens as alternative to the killing of day‐old chicks ..................................................................................... 21 4.2 Consumer acceptance of dual-purpose chickens A mixed methods approach ........ 31 4.3 German consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for eggs and meat from dual-purpose chickens: A latent class analysis ............................................... 44 4.4 Dual purpose chickens as alternative to the culling of day-old chicks - the ethical perspective .......................................................................................... 66 5 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 72 6 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 80 References ..................................................................................................................... 83 Appendix A: Further Publications .................................................................................... 92 Appendix B: Danksagung ............................................................................................... 95 I Summary According to several studies, chicken farming is seen as the most controversial form of livestock farming among society. One element that is increasingly noticed and criticised is the culling of day-old male chicks. Annually, in Germany, 45 million male chicks of layer breeds are culled directly after hatching because the fattening of the males is unprofitable. This applies to both, conventional and organic animal husbandry. Dual-purpose chickens are one alternative to the culling of day-old chicks being discussed. They can both, produce meat and lay eggs. The hens lay fewer and smaller eggs than current specialised layers, and the cockerels put on less meat than broilers and need more time and feed to grow, which leads to a higher demand for resources. Consequently, eggs and meat from dual-purpose chickens have a different appearance and are more expensive than products from specialised chickens. Consumers, therefore, play an essential role when it comes to the acceptance and marketability of dual-purpose chickens, as they ultimately decide the success of products at the counter. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis is to analyse consumer perspectives on dual-purpose chickens in order to provide implications and recommendations for policy-makers, economy and research when discussing the use of dual-purpose chicken breeds. In contribution 1, an explorative approach was used to gather insights into the topic. Six focus groups provided findings about consumer perspectives on dual-purpose chickens. The results show that the culling of day-old chicks was known to most of the participants and rejected for ethical reasons. They were aware of few alternatives, and information on dual-purpose chickens and the other alternatives to the culling was given to the participants. The naming was seen as inappropriate and misleading, but the participants were generally in favour of this chicken breed. Some participants raised concerns regarding economic efficiency and higher product prices. For others, ethical values predominated. Additionally, the results demonstrated that the participants had specific expectations regarding the production and labelling of dual-purpose chickens and linked better husbandry conditions to the potential purchase of products from dual- purpose chickens. In order to analyse consumer acceptance of dual-purpose chicken breeds, a mixed methods study was applied in the second contribution. The combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is particularly suitable for this research question since little is known about this topic thus far. On the basis of the focus groups and the results from the first contribution, an online survey was conducted with 1,502 participants in Germany. The data was analysed with the help of a factor analysis in order to find independent latent variables, called factors. Seven factors were identified which explained consumer II attitudes towards dual-purpose chickens. A cluster analysis segmented the respondents into three cluster groups based on the previously identified factors. These were opponents (37.5%), supporters (23.4%), and indifferents (39.1%). A discriminant analysis was carried out for verification purposes. The indifferent segment represented the largest group of respondents and is therefore an important target group when it comes to potential marketing strategies for products from dual-purpose chickens. Within this cluster group, there is the greatest potential for reducing uncertainty by means of providing more and better information on dual-purpose chickens. The online survey also contained a choice experiment for finding out more about consumer preferences and their willingness to pay for products from dual-purpose chickens. In contribution 3, we applied a latent class model to account for consumer heterogeneity. Four consumer segments regarding eggs and chicken meat were identified each. For both products, the largest segments consisted of price conscious consumers. Small potential consumer groups with a willingness to pay more for dual-purpose chicken products were also identified. For eggs, 25.3% of respondents belonged to this segment, whereas a smaller segment of 16.2% showed a willingness to pay for meat from dual- purpose chickens. Contribution 4 concerns the usage of dual-purpose chickens from an ethical standpoint and allows for a comprehensive view on dual-purpose chickens beyond consumer perspectives. Therefore, Mepham’s ethical matrix was applied as a tool of applied ethics for the interpretation of stakeholder interests with regard to the ethical principles of well- being, autonomy and justice. The aim is to present a well-balanced consideration from different angles and thus to reduce the complexity of the topic. In this case, the rearing of dual-purpose chickens was compared to the current practice (culling of day-old chicks). We applied the matrix to five interest groups: dual-purpose chickens, consumers, egg and meat industry, farmers and the environment. The results show that dual-purpose chickens as alternative to the culling of day-old chicks is a very complex topic as, for example, the implementation of dual-purpose chicken breeds could have positive implications for the chickens itself but might affect the environment negatively. With respect to the overarching objective of this thesis, the results illustrate the importance of analysing consumer acceptance of innovations in animal husbandry from different perspectives before new breeds are established and their products come onto the market. This thesis provides detailed insights into consumer perspectives on dual- purpose chickens and contributes to the debate surrounding alternatives to the culling of day-old chicks in Germany by showing that there is a low market potential for products from dual-purpose chickens. The potential for eggs is still