Are Americans willing to pay for healthy and sustainable foods? Nationally representative choice experiment results

• In Event: Interdisciplinary and multisector partnerships are key to achieving the dietary guidelines recommendations for whole grain consumption

Abstract

Improving health outcomes and the sustainability of food production requires most American consumers to shift their diets. Whole grains and legume foods (beans, peas, and lentils) have an especially important role to play in healthier and more sustainable diets yet are currently under-consumed relative to the recommendations of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Very little evidence exists regarding consumer preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for whole grain and legume foods compared to their common alternatives: refined grains and dishes with meat as the main protein. We conducted a nationally representative survey and choice experiment among American consumers in June 2024 to estimate WTP for whole grains and legumes and test the impact of information on WTP. We find that contrary to low consumption levels, consumers are willing to pay approximately 25 cents more for whole grain staple foods, on average, compared to a refined alternative. But we find the opposite for legumes, WTP is lower for legume foods compared to a comparable meat alternative. In both cases, we observe WTP increases after the informational intervention, but not enough to be statistically significant. Our results can guide future studies to better understand the most effective interventions to increase whole grain and legume consumption. They offer important insights for policy and industry regarding the most effective pricing strategies to increase consumption and also demonstrate the possibility of market opportunity to increase the availability of these foods especially when accompanied by health-related messages on menus and packaging.

Author

• Kate Schneider Lecy, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author