Abstract
As poultry production and consumption have increased in the last decade, so have consumers' concerns about intensified production methods and the impacts they have on animal welfare. At the same time, poultry consumption has increased and enjoys great popularity. Also, a shift in consumers' consumption behavior can be observed as nowadays most consumers purchase chicken cuts, especially breast filets, rather than whole animals, mostly due to convenience and taste. Although consumer concerns have increased, market shares of alternative poultry products, i.e., those that are produced under higher standards compared to conventional products, remain comparably low. One of the main reasons are the large differences in prices. The higher prices for alternative chicken products such as organic result partly from increased production costs on farm level. Besides, consumer preferences for chicken cuts intensify cost differences. While alternative chicken breasts (e.g., organically produced) might be valued by some consumers, other cuts such as wings or thighs are not and are therefore sent into the conventional market. In these cases, the breasts need to remunerate all additional costs. Analyzing consumers' concerns about production methods and learning about consumers' obstacles to buy whole chickens might offer farmers greater possibilities to succeed in alternative markets. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to gain insights into consumers' chicken consumption behaviors, how consumers imagine an ideal chicken farm and whether they would be willing to purchase a whole chicken from this ideal farm. Three focus group discussions (total n = 30) with German consumers were held online in June 2020. The results show that participants associate the ideal chicken farm with four main characteristics: good husbandry system, positive economic impact for the farmer, high transparency, and proximate location of the farm in the same geographical region. However, willingness to purchase a whole chicken, even from the ideal farm, remains low due to mainly convenience reasons and daily routines.
Highlights
The poultry meat sector has grown worldwide for years, focused on indoor environments and automated production systems and processes (Fraser, 2008)
The importance of animal husbandry systems could be a consequence of the negative associations consumers have with animal rearing (Te Velde et al, 2002; Weible et al, 2016), mostly gathered from different sources such as television, newspapers, stories heard from other people, or visiting farms (Te Velde et al, 2002; Tonsor and Olynk, 2011; Weible et al, 2016; Erian and Phillips, 2017)
As participants in this study suggested, the demand for whole chickens from the “ideal chicken farm” could be increased by focusing on promoting the sustainability, animal welfare, and regional production aspects of the products
Summary
The poultry meat sector has grown worldwide for years, focused on indoor environments and automated production systems and processes (Fraser, 2008). In Germany, meat consumption has decreased ∼2.2 kg per capita between 2009 and 2019 (Statista, 2020), poultry consumption has increased by 4.12 kg per capita in the last decade (Bundesinformationszentrum Landwirtschaft, 2020). This increase in poultry consumption has been related to consumers’ association of this type of meat with a healthier diet (less fat content) when compared to other types of meat, red meat (Kennedy et al, 2004; Spiller et al, 2010). Before the industrialization of poultry production took place, a broiler (i.e., chicken for meat production) needed around 120 days to reach a weight of 1.5 kg while nowadays this is achieved in 30 days only [Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE), 2020]
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