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Food Demand Survey (FooDS) - July 2015

The July 2015 edition of the Food Demand Survey (FooDS) is now out.  

Overall, there seemed to be a slight reduction in demand for most meat products this month compared to June as indicated by a reduction in WTP, a reduction in expectation of price increases, and a reduction in planned purchases.  Some of this might have to do with the fact that there was an uptick in planned expenditures away from home, perhaps due to vacations.

Awareness of and concern for bird flu fell this month compared to last.  In July, there was an increase in awareness and concern among those issues that tend to fall at the bottom of the scale of concern.

Several ad-hoc questions were added this month.  

Overall, respondents were generally satisfied with their lives.  They were asked:  “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days? Using the scale below, where 1 means you are “completely dissatisfied’ and 10 means you are “completely satisfied”, where would you put your satisfaction with your life as a whole?”


Similar to last month, the most popular response was an 8. 

Despite that, there seemed to be some pessimism with regard to the future in general and food and agriculture in specific.  

We asked,  “If you could be born at any time when would it be?” Participants stating they would choose to be born “in the past, 50 years ago” ranked the highest of the groups
at 31.21%. This may correspond to the category which most closely matched the lag in time from which participants were actually born (i.e., they preferred to be born when they were actually born).  Only 18.1% of participants stated they would choose to be born now.  Less than 20% said they would want to be born in the future.

Participants were also asked: “Overall, when you think about the state of food and agriculture in this country, do you think . . .” About 32% of respondents stated that “things are getting a little worse” for food and agriculture in this country, while only 19% of respondents agreed that “things are getting a little better”. About 27% of respondents stated that “things are about the same as they have been”.

Finally, Brandon McFadden from the University of Florida suggested a question that is a riff off a popular internet infographic showing the number of genes affected by different plant breeding techniques.  

Participants were asked: “For each of the following plant breeding techniques, how many genes are typically altered in the process?” Consistent with the comments in my recent Washington Post interview, the vast majority most consumers do not know how many genes are affected by any plant breeding techniques. Among those who stated an opinion,” selection” ranked the highest, at 7.65%, for not having any genes altered. For selection, having 1 to 4 genes altered ranked highest amongst participants at 11.8%. Hybridization was ranked highest by 11.8% of participants for having 5 to 9 genes altered. About 9% of participants stated that 10 to 19 genes were altered using genetic modification. Genetic modification was the highest of the group of 20 more genes affected at 7.14%. 


Greece

I've been in Greece for the past week teaching a short course on experimental methods used in consumer research.  Given all the news about the financial crisis in Greece, I thought I'd share a few personal observations.

By and large, it's been hard to see much effect of the crisis (but not having been here before, I admit to not having a good reference point).  Restaurants, beaches, and historical sites are full (of Greeks and tourists).  Banks are closed, but I haven't noticed lines outside of ATMs more than a couple people deep, and typically there is no wait at all.  I've been in a couple grocery stores and they were fully stocked.  A common remark I've heard in crowded areas is "Crisis? What crisis?"

None of that is to say things are great for the average Greek citizen.  There are capital controls, so Greeks can only pull out 60 euros (now 50 since banks have run out of 20s) daily from domestic accounts (withdraws from international accounts are not limited).  And, there is a lot of uncertainty and concern about what will happen.  But, a lot of Greeks have been moving their money out of the country in the months and years before capital controls were instituted.  I've been impressed by the knowledge waiters and cab drivers have about the financial situation of the country, and by and large, they seem to be taking it all in stride.  Things don't look too bright for public sector employees - which include all University professors in the country.

Of course, I've largely been in tourist spots in Athens and Crete, which may well be affected differently than other areas (although I did have a layover in Athens on the same day the "no" vote came out and got to witness the party in Syntagma square; hours before the vote came out there were far more journalists and TV cameras than "real people" in the square).  International credit cards still work and are generally accepted, though there is a definite preference for cash.

My overall impression?  Beautiful scenery, great people, and scrumptious food.  I just hope they can find a way to pay off their bills.

Why are people fearful of GMOs?

I answered that question and others like it for Roberto Ferdman in a piece at the Washington Post.

Here's one excerpt

“Ok, let’s talk about the future now. Would you say that we have hit the peak of GMO aversion?

You know, I actually have no idea. These things are really hard to predict. Much harder than most people realize.

Let’s suppose you had some really large food safety scare, which touched GMO crops even tangentially. That would sway opinions incredibly quickly. Now that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen, and I certainly don’t think it will, but it’s not out of the question.

The other way it could go, however, is that someone introduces a biotech crop that captures the public’s imagination but doesn’t scare them. That way, people warm up to a GMO crop that is more approachable, and in doing so, become desensitized to the bizarreness or strangeness about GMO crops that they once felt.

A perfect example is this new arctic apple, which doesn’t brown. Especially if it isn’t made by some big agricultural behemoth, like Monsanto.

But people might also just realize that most of the cheese they eat is made with enzymes that are genetically engineered. Diabetics, after all, use insulin that is made from a genetically engineered bacteria or yeast.”

French sterotypes busted

This new paper in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics (coauthored by French and American agricultural economists)  is likely to bust a few sterotypes many Americans have about French eating patterns.  The abstract starts by tackling the first sterotype: that if we Americans would all just eat like the French, we'd be thin and healthy.

“Limited access to healthy food is commonly regarded as a contributing factor to poor dietary choices. The objective of this article is to test this hypothesis in a French context given France’s increasing obesity rates and incidence of poor dietary habits.”

Poor dietary habits among the French? Surely not!  Joking aside, i tis true that French obesity rates are below that in the US, but the trends are similar.  Actually, in the US, the upward trend has leveled off.  But the fact remains, there isn't that much difference between what French and American consumers like to eat.

Secondly, the French must be better eaters because of their frequent trips to all those quaint shops and farmers markets - right?  The paper:   

“our results, which indicate that fewer but larger retail outlets increase the odds of consuming the recommended level of fruit and vegetables.”

So, it seems that that Frechmen and Frenchwomen who eat recommended levels of fruits and vegetables are more likely to do so by getting them in large retail outlets like supermarkets.  

All in all, I think many Americans conflate the images they see on vacations to touristy spots in Paris or Nice for what is typical of everyday living in France.  But, even when I vacation within the US, I tend to eat and shop much differently than I do when living "regularly" back home.  That's why its important to augment our anecdote experiences with data.