Consumer willingness to pay for environmentally sustainable meat and a plant‐based meat substitute
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Abstract We investigate consumers' willingness to pay premiums for environmentally sustainably produced meat and plant‐based meat substitutes. We conducted a randomized control study coupled with an incentive‐compatible experimental auction. Treatment consisted of information nudges concerning the environmental and health externalities of meat production and consumption. Results show that demand for sustainably produced beef and a plant‐based meat substitute is inelastic. We elicited participants' time preferences to analyze whether consumer behavior varies with their time preference. Present‐biased treated female participants were willing to pay a significantly lower premium for sustainably produced beef compared to the present‐biased control female participants. Future‐biased treated participants had a higher probability of being willing to pay a premium for a plant‐based meat substitute compared to the control group. We discuss the policy implications and relevance of information nudging, such as labeling, and how the effect of such nudging varies with participant characteristics.
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Beyond environmental appeal, many consumers still prioritize factors such as cost, taste, and familiarity, which limit the expansion of "premium" niches.
“However, beyond environmental appeal, many consumers still prioritize factors such as cost, taste, and familiarity, which limit the expansion of “premium” niches (Katare et al., 2023).”
From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Katare et al., 2023
The Mechanism section (page unavailable) reports that only 30% of participants had tried plant-based meat substitutes and only 10% enjoyed their taste; the paper also finds that environmental information did not increase willingness to pay a premium. These findings support the role of taste, limited familiarity, and price sensitivity, but the paper does not establish that consumers prioritize all three factors or that they limit the expansion of premium niches. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design
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- Authors
- Katare, B., Yim, H., Byrne, A., Wang, H. H., & Wetzstein, M.
- Affiliations
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Economic Research Service (US)
- Corresponding author
- Katare, Bhagyashree
- Venue
- Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2022-05-05
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 145-163
- ISSN
- 2040-5790 (ISSN-L)
- 2040-5804
- OpenAlex
- W4229005246
- Cited by
- 63
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 11.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Purdue University
- Economic Research Service
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic and Environmental Valuation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
- Keywords
- willingness to pay, plant-based meat, beef, environmental externalities, health externalities, information nudges, time preference, present bias, future bias, food labeling, meat consumption
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