Consumer preferences for wild game cured meat label : do attitudes towards animal welfare matter?

Even though the European Union has imposed a mandatory labeling system for conventional meats, there is no mandatory labelling scheme for the so called \u201cminor meats\u201d- such as hunted wild game meat (HWGM). Thus, some European countries have implemented voluntary labelling programs certificating the origin of wild game meat. This study uses a discrete choice experiment to (1) assess consumer preferences for processed meat products (including wild game meat bearing a HWGM label), and (2) investigate whether consumers\u2019 attitudes towards animal welfare affects their food choice behavior for alternative meat products. Data was collected through an online survey conducted in Italy and consumer preferences for HWGM was estimated through a latent class logit model. Overall, results suggest that, even though HWGM label does not exist yet on the Italian market, it is appealing to Italian consumers and it will likely be accepted by the majority of them. However, consumers who are particularly concerned about animal welfare issues and animal rights showed the lowest level of the interest in the hunted game meat product and thus the presence of the HWGM label does not provide any benefit to them. Our findings have important implications for the development of successful marketing strategies and policy intervention in the HWGM sector at a national and European level

Some measurements of time and space correlation in wind tunnel

Results are presented of research obtained by means of an apparatus for measurement of time and space correlation and of a spectral analyzer in the study of the longitudinal component of turbulence velocities in a wind tunnel downstream of a grid of meshes. Application to the case of a flat-plate boundary layer is illustrated. These researches were made at the Laboratoire de Mecanique de l'Atmosphere de l'I.M.F.M. for the O.N.E.R.A

The organic aquaculture sector in Italy: a Delphi evaluation of the market potentialities

The paper draws out the possibilities of development and increase of organic farmed fish in Italy, evaluating both technical and economic aspects, for breeding, market, political, regulatory and environmental issues. The survey has been conducted using the Delphi technique, in three rounds with a panel of national experts. The analysis offers interesting insights and useful suggestions addressed to the organic aquaculture sector. Authors chose Delphi methodology according to the paper’s objective: the study is in fact aimed at exploring the evolution dynamics (positive or absent) for a less-developed market like the one of the Italian organic fish. This method allows to create a forecast by collecting and evaluating experts’ opinions about the organic fish market; these experts are divided in homogeneous groups and selected as privileged observers of the phenomenon

Land rent values determinants: a Hedonic Pricing approach at local scale

Farmland values are driven by a complex set of factors. Starting from the idea that land rent values may reflect several characteristics both internal and external to agricultural sector, the paper has implemented a hedonic model based on land rent values in the metropolitan area of Milan, Northern Italy, assessing the influence of climate, soil, territorial and farm variables on a sample of farms. The model is based on data at rent contract level, matched with data at farm and municipal scale retrieved from different sources. Results confirm that land rent prices are affected by some climate variables, along with territorial and farm characteristics

The local value chain of hunted red deer meat : a scenario analysis based on a northern Italian case study

Although in recent decades, meat from hunted wild ungulates has shown interesting results in terms of market opportunities, the scientific literature is still lacking in economic studies concerning the estimation of the meat\u2019s value for involved stakeholders. We present an analysis of the evolution of price in the local red deer meat supply chain. This analysis has been conducted through a survey based on in-depth interviews with the stakeholders involved in an Italian local supply chain. Findings derived from this study describe a case study, however, they also represent the potential dynamics of the value of Italian game meat, highlighting that the development of a sustainable local supply chain of this product may represent an economic resource for involved stakeholders

A tool for the sustainability assessment of farms: Selection, adaptation and use of indicators for an Italian case study

Indicator-based tools are widely used for the assessment of farm sustainability, but analysts still face methodological and conceptual issues, including data availability, the complexity of the concept of sustainability and the heterogeneity of agricultural systems. This study contributes to this debate through the illustration of a procedure for farm sustainability assessment focussed on the case study of the South Milan Agricultural Park, Italy. The application is based on a set of environmental, social and economic indicators retrieved from the literature review. The framework is based on three main steps: (i) Data collection mainly through interviews with farmers and institutions; (ii) data elaboration through an aggregative structure; and (iii) score analysis. The latter step includes a descriptive analysis that allows a comparison among farms or groups of farms and a principal components analysis that helps to confirm the dimensions in which indicators were previously included (components). Results derived from the sampled farms show that the framework can provide easy-to-read results useful at different levels. The study highlighted the procedures for the framework construction that is compatible with the region's context and objectives, using an analytical approach that aims at the use of balanced features of availability and reliability of data

National Brands versus Private Labels versus Niche Products: a graphical representation of consumers' perception

The more consumers\u2019 needs evolve, the more food market\u2019s stakeholders require information in order to make rational choices responding to consumption patterns\u2019 changes. In the present research the perception of well-established and niche food products is discussed. Five macro-categories of food have been considered: national brands, private labels, organic products, Protected Denomination of Origin products and local food. After decades of diversification strategies, we analyze similarities and dissimilarities between products on the basis of their perceived quality. The survey was conducted in Milan (Italy) between May and July 2014, collecting information about 360 adult consumers. Perception of products have been evaluated asking to interviewees to pick from a list of attributes, which ones they attach to each products. Data are elaborated through simple correspondence analysis, obtaining a perceptual map, which provides a graphical representation of links between attributes and products. Results suggest that consumer perceive national brands and private labels as similar and organic and local food distinctively differentiated by other products for sale in food market, but do not provide a completely reliable interpretation for PDO products. National brands and private labels remain the most convenient food, organic food are perceived as healthy, environmental-friendly, expensive and respectful of animal welfare, while local food is represented as traditional, fair and flavorful. No differences have been found controlling for gender, while consumer who are used to direct-sale recognize to PDO products the same characteristics of local food

The Effect of Biogas Production on Farmland Rental Prices : Empirical Evidences from Northern Italy

In the last decade, increased environmental awareness has prompted the adoption of incentives for exploiting renewable energy sources. Among these, biogas production has received a certain attention in developed countries. Nonetheless, the subsidies provided have posed the problem of an activity (the production of bioenergy) that engages in direct competition with food and feed production for limited resources, like agricultural land. Even if this competition may be softened by allocating marginal land and/or using dedicated non-agricultural crops, empirical evidence shows that biogas plants have been developed in highly-productive agricultural areas, using increasing amounts of maize silage as feedstock. Thus, studies aimed at measuring the effect of biogas production on agricultural activities are needed in order to avoid this socially undesirable outcome. The paper presents an econometric estimation of the impact of biogas plants on farmland rental values of a Northern Italian rural area. Results show that biogas has a non-linear effect on rental prices, suggesting that incentive schemes specifically accounting for plants\u2019 dimensions and technologies would improve the social sustainability of the bioenergy sector and its coexistence with agricultural activity

The Lords of the Rent

The present paper aims at evaluating which factors affect farmland rents, measuring their relative importance through an empirical analysis based on a hedonic pricing model

Studio delle determinanti del valore degli affitti agrari : potenzialità dell’uso di microdati e applicazione del metodo dei prezzi edonici

The paper aims at isolating factors affecting farmland rents and estimating their effect using hedonic pricing model. Unlike the majority or similar analysis, based on Census aggregated data or surveys, we used a sample of microdata based on land rent contracts signed in the Province of Mantova over the period 2010-2014, matched with other territorial or census databases. We focused on the effect of farmland use on rent price, estimating their implicit values, i.e. the shadow prices. The research findings may help stakeholders and researchers interested in rental market dynamics, in particular at local level. Empirically grounded and transparent information on rental market may provide a new tool for contract negotiation among owners and tenants, improving, at the same time, farmers\u2019 choice