Exploring the effects of increasing underutilized crops on consumers’ diets: The case of millet in Uganda

Known in the literature as underutilized, neglected or orphan crops, these crops have been cited as having the potential to improve food and nutritional security. The literature also highlights however that consumers in developing countries are increasingly abandoning their traditional diets that these crops are part of, and are replacing them by western diets. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumption and nutritional implications of expanding the participation of underutilized crops in current diets. This was done using a modified version of the microeconomic consumer problem. This was augmented with a linear constraint using generalized rationing theory that can be found in the economics literature. The method was applied to the case study of the consumption of millet (finger millet, botanical name: Eleusine coracana) by rural, urban-poor and urban-affluent Ugandan socioeconomic groups. The results indicated that millet could contribute to improving the intake of macronutrients and of some micronutrients, though the overall picture is complex. However, under current preferences and given its demand inelasticity, to achieve a substantial increase in the quantity of millet in the diet will require a significant reduction of its price. Otherwise, the net impact on nutrition as measured by the mean adequacy ratio will be only slightly positive for rural and urban-poor households. Our findings indicate that supply-side initiatives aimed at increasing the productivity of underutilized crops (reducing crop price) are likely to produce disappointing results in restoring their importance unless accompanied by specific interventions to expand demand. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40100-021-00206-3

Vitamin D deficiency and posterior subcapsular cataract

PURPOSE: To evaluate risk factors associated with posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) development and the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and etiology of PSC. METHODS: Of 195 consecutive patients from a private ophthalmology practice, diagnosed with PSC, serum vitamin D(3) (25-OH D) levels were obtained for 175, and associations among risk factors, comorbidities, and PSC were assessed. RESULTS: In all 175 PSC patients, mean 25-OH D levels were low (24 ng/mL ±11 SD) compared with age/sex-matched standards. Significant differences in 25-OH D levels were noted between PSC subjects taking/not taking calcium supplements, systemic steroids, osteoporosis medications, etc. Alone, smoking status and calcium channel blockers and/or topical steroids use made no significant difference in PSC subjects 25-OH D levels, but two or more of these factors were associated with lowered levels of 25-OH D (P<0.001). Low vitamin D was correlated with female sex, autoimmune disease, and non-skin cancer diagnosis, but not with age, or other comorbidities or medication use. In five early-stage PSC patients taking 5,000 IU of 25-OH D daily for vitamin D deficiency, there was resolution of their cataracts during the 2-year follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D levels for most PSC patients fell below the 30 ng/mL calcium homeostasis threshold. Some comorbidities and non-ophthalmic interventions are associated with the development of PSC at less depressed levels of 25-OH D. In this series, vitamin D deficiency was associated with PSC cataract, suggesting that raising the level of vitamin D intake may reduce PSC incidence

Comunicación corta. Afiliación de las pujas en la subasta de enésimo precio aleatorio

In most experimental auctions, it is a common practice to carry out several bidding rounds for the same product and to post the winning price at the end of each round. This practice can lead to an affiliation of participants’ bids and biased value estimates if bids between subjects are inter-dependent. In this paper, the effect of posted prices on bidders’ willingness to pay for a good using a random nth price auction is examined. The auctioned good was one kilogram of the Protected Designation Origin (PDO) ‘Mongeta del Ganxet Vallés Maresme’ white bean, stored in a cloth bag. In general, results indicate that bid affiliation is not an issue in the random nth price mechanism. However, consumers’ experience of the auctioned product matters. Experienced subjects are positively influenced by high posted prices while inexperienced subjects tend to decrease their bids when the posted price is low. Interestingly, low posted prices do not influence bids of experienced subjects and high posted prices do not influence bids of inexperienced subjects.En la mayor&iacute;a de las subastas experimentales, es una pr&aacute;ctica com&uacute;n subastar el mismo producto en varias rondas y revelar el precio que el ganador tiene que pagar (precio de referencia) al final de cada ronda. Esta pr&aacute;ctica puede conducir a una afiliaci&oacute;n de las pujas de los participantes y a estimaciones sesgadas si las pujas son interdependientes. En este trabajo examinamos el efecto de los precios de referencia en la disposici&oacute;n a pagar de los pujadores utilizando la subasta de en&eacute;simo precio aleatorio. El objeto de la subasta fue un kilogramo de la jud&iacute;a blanca &lsquo;Mongeta del Ganxet Vall&eacute;s Maresme&rsquo;, producto recientemente amparado bajo una Denominaci&oacute;n de Origen Protegido (DOP). En general, los resultados indican que la afiliaci&oacute;n no es un problema en el mecanismo de subasta de en&eacute;simo precio aleatorio. Sin embargo, la experiencia en el consumo del producto subastado es importante. Los participantes con mayor experiencia tienden a aumentar sus pujas cuando los precios de referencia son altos, mientras que los participantes con menor experiencia tienden a disminuir sus pujas cuando el precio de referencia es bajo. Curiosamente, los precios de referencia bajos no influyen en las pujas de los participantes m&aacute;s experimentados y los precios de referencia altos no afectan a las pujas de los participantes menos experimentados

Consumers demand for products with animal welfare attributes: evidence from Homescan data for Scotland

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess Scottish consumers’ demand for animal welfare and organic pork. The paper also tried to answer the following questions: first, are animal-friendly pork and organic-pork complements or substitutes (competing)? Second, what is the relationship between pork products with different animal welfare labels (i.e. “freedom food” pork vs “specially selected pork”)? Third, does the demand for animal-friendly and organic pork vary with the level of deprivation of the area where consumers are living? Design/methodology/approach – The dataset used in the analysis is the Kantar Worldpanel dataset for Scotland, which contains weekly data of food and drink purchases for consumption at home, covering the period 2006-2011. The panel is representative of the Scottish population and covers about 3,694 households. The linear version of the almost ideal demand system was estimated. Then, the own- and the cross-price elasticities as well as the expenditure elasticities for the 22 food categories and products were computed. Findings – The results indicate that when the price of animal-friendly pork increases, consumers decrease their consumption of this product and substitute it by organic pork or regular pork, especially in the case of fresh pork, bacon and sausages. It was found that products with different animal welfare accreditation are substitutes in the eyes of Scottish consumers and are, therefore, competing for the market share of animal-friendly foods. The results also show that the demand for animal-friendly pork is more elastic in the most deprived areas in Scotland. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that estimates the demand for conventional, animal-friendly and organic pork using a scanner data in Scotland and controlling for the variation by area of deprivation. </jats:sec

Retailers' promotions: What role do they play in household food purchases by degree of deprivation?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the overall effect of promotions on consumers’ food purchases in Scotland and to consider the implications of the findings for food and health policy. Design/methodology/approach This is achieved by analysing a representative scanner panel data set for the period 2006-2013. The methodology consists of exploring the impact of promotions on food expenditure and allocation within households’ food purchases, using expenditure regressions and estimations of the linear version the Almost Ideal Demand System. Findings The results indicate that whilst promotions have differentiated effects by category, they have similar results by SIMD. The effect of the promotions on the total expenditure is positive for all the quintiles. However, the effect of promotions on each food category is complex because of the cross-effects between categories. As regards the effect of prices, the results provide a picture that seems to indicate that typical economic measures such as specific taxes applied to substances which, e.g., encourage obesity, might have limited impact on the diet given the inelasticity of the demand to changes in prices. Originality/value A contribution of this paper has been to focus on the effect of promotions on all the food products consumed by Scottish households, instead of analysing promotional influences on a single or reduced number of products within a category. </jats:sec

Testing the effectiveness of oath script in reducing hypothetical bias in Contingent Valuation Method

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