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FooDSFOOD DEMAND SURVEY

Volume 4, Issue 2: June 15, 2016

Food Demand Survey | Oklahoma State University | info.survey@okstate.eduJayson Lusk | Regents Professor & Willard Sparks Endowed Chair | 405-744-7465

Susan Murray | Research Specialist | 405-744-4857This project is supported by a Willard Sparks Endowment, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the

Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

FooDS tracks consumer preferences and sentiments on the safety, quality, and price of food at home and away from home with particular focus on meat demand. FooDS is a monthly on-line survey with a sample size of at least 1,000 individuals, weighted to match the US population in terms of age, gender, education and region of residence. See the online technical document for more details.

About the Survey

Willingness-to-pay (WTP) decreased for all food products fell in June compared to May. The greatest percent decrease in WTP for meat products from one month ago was for deli ham at -13.62% and then steak at -13.2%. This is the third month in a row that WTP has fallen for steak, chicken breast, and chicken wing, and the fourth month in a row that WTP has fallen for pork chops and deli ham. Compared to one year ago, WTP is lower for all food products.

MEAT DEMAND

Expenditures on food eaten at home decreased 5% from May to June and expenditures on food purchased away from home remained about the same as last month. Compared to last month, consumers expect higher prices for all meat products. Consumers plan to eat out more compared to last month, while plans to buy chicken increased and plans to buy beef and pork decreased slightly.

FOOD EXPENDITURES

Willingness-to-Pay

Steak Chicken Breast

Hamburger Pork Chop Deli Ham Chicken Wing

Beans & Rice

Pasta

Last Year:June 2015

$7.73 $5.66 $4.22 $3.79 $2.50 $2.45 $2.30 $2.87

Last Month:May 2016

$7.12 $5.16 $4.31 $3.79 $2.13 $2.18 $2.00 $2.93

June 2016 $6.18 $4.80 $3.84 $3.30 $1.84 $1.91 $1.95 $2.06

% change(May - June)

-13.20% -6.98% -10.90% -12.93% -13.62% -12.39% -2.50% -29.69%

Current weekly at home

Current weekly away from home

Anticipated change in at home in next 2 weeks

Anticipated change away from home in next 2 weeks

June 2015 $93.18 $51.93 -0.51% -1.47%

May 2016 $98.24 $53.74 -0.24% -1.33%

June 2016 $93.33 $53.48 -0.63% -1.38%

% change(May - June)

-5.00% -0.48% -------- --------

Food Demand Survey | Oklahoma State University | info.survey@okstate.eduJayson Lusk | Regents Professor & Willard Sparks Endowed Chair | 405-744-7465

Susan Murray | Research Specialist | 405-744-4857This project is supported by a Willard Sparks Endowment, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the

Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Consumer Expectations FooDS Page 2

GMOs, E. coli, and Salmonella remained the most visible issues in the news over the past two weeks. Awareness increased for all issues this month, except for pink slime. The largest percent increase in awareness over the last month was for beta-agonists. Salmonella, E. coli, and hormones were ranked as the top three concerns in June. The largest percent increase in concern was for bird flu and farm animal welfare. The largest percent decrease in concern was for cancer and meat consumption, antibiotics, and E. coli.

AWARENESS & CONCERN TRACKING

Awareness of Food Issues

Food Demand Survey | Oklahoma State University | info.survey@okstate.eduJayson Lusk | Regents Professor & Willard Sparks Endowed Chair | 405-744-7465

Susan Murray | Research Specialist | 405-744-4857This project is supported by a Willard Sparks Endowment, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the

Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Concern for Food Issues FooDS Page 3

Taste, safety, and nutrition were consumers’ most important values when purchasing food this month. Consumers’ food values remained similar to those in past months, with a slight decrease in perceived value of taste and an increase in perceived value of price and origin. Similar to previous months, consumers reported that their main challenge was finding affordable foods that fit within their budget. Finding foods my children will eat was the challenge experiencing the largest percentage decrease. In June, 7.53% of participants reported having food poisoning, a 24.3% increase from one month ago.

GENERAL FOOD VALUES

Consumer Challenges Consumer Values

Food Demand Survey | Oklahoma State University | info.survey@okstate.eduJayson Lusk | Regents Professor & Willard Sparks Endowed Chair | 405-744-7465

Susan Murray | Research Specialist | 405-744-4857This project is supported by a Willard Sparks Endowment, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the

Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

FooDS Page 4

Several new ad hoc questions were added this month.First, participants were asked: “Have you or anyone in your household bought and eaten food from a farmers market in the past two weeks?”. Approximately 67% of participants stated they have not purchased food from a farmer’s market in the past two weeks. Less than one third of participants stated they have purchased food from a farmer’s market in the past two weeks. 2.31% of participants stated they did not know if they have purchased food from a farmer’s market in the past two weeks. The people who shopped or ate at farmers markets were much more likely (20% vs. 2.5%) to say they had food poisoning in the past two weeks than people who did not eat or shop at a farmers market. People who shopped or ate at farmers markets were more likely to be male (55.6% vs. 26%), to be on SNAP - aka food stamps - (24.1% vs. 14.5%), not be from the Midwest (90% vs. 80%), to have higher incomes ($91,167 vs. $67,607), be younger (39 vs. 20 years of age), and be more liberal (3.4 vs. 2.9 on a 1 to 5 scale) on average than are people who did not shop at farmers markets.

AD HOC QUESTIONS

Food Purchased From a Farmers Market

Food Demand Survey | Oklahoma State University | info.survey@okstate.eduJayson Lusk | Regents Professor & Willard Sparks Endowed Chair | 405-744-7465

Susan Murray | Research Specialist | 405-744-4857This project is supported by a Willard Sparks Endowment, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the

Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

FooDS Page 5

Second, participants were asked “Of all the food you buy at grocery stores and supermarkets, what percentage would you estimate is thrown away uneaten?”About 80% of respondents said they throw away some portion of food that has been uneaten. Only about 20% said they threw away no food. About 60% of the sample said they throw away 10% of the food they buy or less. Only about 10% of respondents said they threw away 50% or more of the food they purchased. Across all respondents, the average percentage of food purchased that was eventually thrown away was estimated at about 17%.

AD HOC QUESTIONS

Uneaten Food Gone to Waste

Food Demand Survey | Oklahoma State University | info.survey@okstate.eduJayson Lusk | Regents Professor & Willard Sparks Endowed Chair | 405-744-7465

Susan Murray | Research Specialist | 405-744-4857This project is supported by a Willard Sparks Endowment, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the

Agricultural and Food Research Initiative Competitive Program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

FooDS Page 6

Last, respondents were randomly split into four groups and asked: “Supposed you found a package of food in your kitchen that had the following label, ‘Expiration Date June 9’. What would you do?”. Respondents in the second group were asked the same question, but the words “Expiration Date June 9” were replaced with “Sell by June 9”. Respondents in the third group were asked the same question, but the words “Expiration Date June 9” were replaced with “Best if Used by June 9”. Respondents in the fourth group were asked the same question, but the words “Expiration Date June 9” were replaced with “Use by June 9”.Note that the survey was purposefully fielded on June 10, one day after the date used in the question.Participants responded on a 5 point scale: 1 = I’d definitely eat it, 2 = I’d probably eat it, 3 = I’m not sure whether I’d eat it or throw it away, 4 = I’d probably throw it away, 5 = I’d definitely throw it away.

The most common answer among all categories was “I’d probably eat it”. The percent saying they’d definitely or probably eat the food was 60%, 73%, 68%, and 64% for the expiration date, sell by, best if used by, and use by labels. Less than 10% of respondents answered “I’d definitely throw it away” for all labels. The sell by label generated the least food waste, and it was the only label that generated less waste than the expiration date label.

AD HOC QUESTIONS

Expiration Labels on Food Packaging