Public acceptance and sustainability perceptions of food produced with chemical, digital and mechanical weed control measures

Abstract

This study investigated public acceptance and perceptions of the sustainability of food produced with different weed control measures. An online survey with a within-subject design was conducted with 485 respondents from the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland. Acceptance of food produced using the investigated measures and social, economic and environmental sustainability perceptions were assessed for full-surface herbicide spraying, herbicide reduction (spot spraying, precise spraying) and herbicide-free mechanical technology (hoeing machine). The importance of food’s naturalness, chemophobia, perceptions of farmers and sociodemographic variables were also recorded. The results revealed changes in social, economic and environmental sustainability perceptions based on the weed control measures, indicating that laypeople assess the impacts of these measures based on their type (chemical, digital, mechanical). The amount of herbicide sprayed is relevant for people’s judgements, as well as the precise spraying that keeps crops intact. The use of hoeing machine is perceived to be the most sustainable, natural and acceptable compared to the other investigated measures. Overall, the findings suggest that communicating information on weed control measures, the quantity of herbicide applied and the precision of the spraying might help increase public acceptance of plant protection measures applied by farmers, promoting sustainability.