Consumers like the goals of regenerative agriculture, but they don’t want to pay more for food produced with the climate-friendly practices, said a Purdue University survey released on Wednesday. Seven out of 10 consumers taking part in the poll said they supported regenerative agriculture — once it was explained to them — but fewer than half said they would pay an additional 50 cents for a bag of snacks produced using regenerative practices.
“Affordability of regenerative agriculture products is imperative to consumer support,” said Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability.
Most of the 1,200 consumers in the survey said they were not familiar or only slightly familiar with regenerative agriculture, broadly defined as farming methods, such as crop rotations, cover crops, and reduced tillage, that improve soil health, capture carbon, safeguard biodiversity, and protect water resources. After being given the definition, 72 percent said they supported regenerative agriculture.
“Consumers are less supportive … when the costs are passed down to the consumer in the form of price increases or taxes,” said Purdue.
In a test of support, 56 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay more for a snack produced using regenerative agriculture. But when they were given the choice of a $5 bag of conventionally produced snacks or a $5.50 bag produced using regenerative agriculture, 53 percent chose the lower-priced snacks. Price was the determining factor, according to a follow-up question.
Over the past three years of the surveys, taste and affordability have been the top concerns for food shoppers.