Date of Graduation
8-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Agricultural Economics (MS)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness
Advisor/Mentor
McFadden, Brandon
Committee Member
Jada Thompson
Second Committee Member
James Mitchell
Keywords
Animal raising; Consumer trust; Food labeling; Livestock claims; Policy update; Third-party certification
Abstract
In the fall of 2024, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) updated its guidelines for substantiating animal-raising and environment-related claims used on meat and poultry products. The updates aim to address numerous comments and petitions from industry stakeholders by improving guidance and strengthening the documentation recommended for substantiation. While the updates included both minor and substantial revisions, the most notable addition was the strong emphasis on the inclusion of a third-party certification in the substantiating documents. The timely update comes on the heels of heightened scrutiny regarding animal-raising claims, as issues of non-compliance and agency oversight have continued to arise. Noncompliance issues raise questions about consumer trust in animal-raising and environment-related claims, as well as the value consumers place on third-party certification given agency oversight. This study explored consumer trust in nine distinct animal-raising and environment-related claim categories, as explicitly defined by the FSIS in its guidelines for claim substantiation. These claim categories include Animal Welfare, Breed, Diet, Living or Raising Conditions, Negative Antibiotic Use, Negative Hormone Use, Source or Traceability, Organic, and Environment-related. Data were collected from 1,485 respondents using a web-based survey. A best-worst scaling (BWS) approach was used to determine which animal-raising and environment-related claims were the most and least trusted; these data were examined for the entire sample and also stratified by household shopping roles and by meat consumption frequency. Additional survey questions were asked to determine knowledge of and trust in certifying agencies (e.g., USDA) and a third-party certifier. The results indicate disproportionate levels of trust across the nine different claim categories. We find that consumers trust claims about the Breed and Source/Traceability the most, while claims about Animal Welfare, Environment-related, and Living/Raising Conditions were trusted the least. However, consumers generally had low levels across all nine animal claim categories. Additionally, household food shopping roles and meat consumption frequency have little to no interpretable impact on trust. Findings also indicate that consumers primarily trust the USDA the most to certify animal-raising and environment-related labeling claims. Finally, the inclusion of a third-party certification would positively affect consumer trust. This study provides a novel contribution to the conversation of food labeling by providing quantified values of trust in food claims found on meat and poultry products. While the findings highlight issues of trust, they can be used to improve consumer understanding and confidence in animal-raising and environment-related claims through targeted interventions and enhanced labeling practices.
Citation
Dilley, A. J. (2025). Consumer Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice for Animal-Raising and Environment-Related Labeling Claims. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/5846
