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The present study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge on HRD in small businesses by providing a detailed investigation of the role that owner-managers play in enabling social learning and performance in small firms. The investigation focusses particularly on the specific relationships of the social-interdependence orientation and social competence of owner-managers with their social learning behaviour, as well as with the performance of their small-businesses within the pig-production sector in the Republic of Korea. A survey was conducted amongst nearly 200 Korean owner-managers of pig farms. The results indicate that social interdependence orientations and social competencies have a significant relationship with social learning behaviour. Self-promotion and a cooperative orientation are especially important, with self-promotion taking precedence for social learning behaviour of a more ‘internal’ nature, and a cooperative attitude being more important social learning behaviour of a more ‘external’ nature. Social competence and social interdependence did not have a significant relationship with performance, but social learning behaviour did. The results further highlight the importance of individual social characteristics to social learning behaviour occurring outside highly structured educational settings, in addition to demonstrating that the competence and attitudes required are determined by the type of interaction partner.

This article presents a systematic comparison between conventional and ‘differentiated’ coffee value chains, paying attention to (micro and macro) economic performance and environmental outcomes at different midstream segments of the Honduran coffee value chains. Growth has been strong in the Honduran coffee sector, especially among coffee cooperatives and commercial enterprises devoted to the production of ‘differentiated’ coffees at premium prices. We rely on a systematic data inventory of input use, costs, and benefits of all agents involved at different midstream stages of the coffee value chains to compare their performance. We find that midstream integration is critical for yield and quality improvement of Honduran coffee. This can be reinforced through voluntary certification (mainly for organic produce) and branding. Moreover, upgrading of conventional coffee for sales at local and regional markets offers some promising prospects for inclusion and sustainability.

This paper is the product of a collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Wageningen University and Research (WUR) to explore the potential application of innovative technologies to improve data collection and risk estimation of child labour in the cocoa sector. In particular, it assesses the potential role of blockchain technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in collecting and sharing data on cocoa-growing areas in Ghana, and how this could contribute to monitoring and ultimately preventing child labour in those areas. During an inception mission undertaken by FAO in Ghana, open consultations with various stakeholders in the cocoa sector led to the identification of a number of Key Data Elements (KDEs) to inform the design of a blockchain system, with the objective to facilitate real-time, cost-efficient and collaborative monitoring of the risk of child labour in cocoa-growing areas in Ghana. WUR was commissioned by the FAO to further explore the potential application of blockchain technology and GIS to monitor selected KDEs related to the root causes of child labour in Ghana.Despite decades of interventions since the ratification of the Harkin-Engel Protocol in 2001 to eliminate child labour in the cocoa sectors of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the latest progress report shows child labour in this sector is increasing rather than decreasing (Sadhu et al., 2020). This trend is concerning, given the detrimental effects of child labour on children’s lives, education and health and the perpetuated cycle of poverty as a result. To break this trend, it is necessary to expand and improve current methods of tracking the incidence of child labour (monitoring) and explore more sustainable ways to support rural families to keep children out of child labour (prevention).To that end, technology, digitalization, and digital innovations have a role in poverty reduction and improving living standards in developing countries, however, political and socio-economic problems can hinder these technological fixes. With smallholder cocoa producers being the most vulnerable actors within this value chain, the implementation of technological monitoring systems is not a clear-cut route. Participation and engagement depend not only on the perception of the advantages to farmers and community, but also on issues that impact the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT). For example, availability, affordability, and literacy and effective use.

Yemen faces a multitude of conflict-related and structural challenges, as a result, the agricultural productivity has been low. Coffee has been an important subsector and used to be an important source of income for farmers but nowadays coffee hardly generates a profit. Farmers are expanding qat production due to increasing consumer demand and better profits. An expansion of qat production also puts pressure on the scarce water supply in the country. This study provides insight into how coffee is grown and traded and how the sector can be supported for sustainable development and how it can be more attractive to grow coffee instead of qat.

Ethiopia announced its first food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) on 15 March 2022. The present study aims to develop and evaluate the Ethiopian Healthy Eating Index (Et-HEI) based on the FBDG. Data were collected from 494 Ethiopian women of reproductive age sampled from households in five different regions. The Et-HEI consists of eleven components, and each component was scored between 0 and 10 points, the total score ranging from 0 to 110, with maximum adherence to the FBDG. The Et-HEI score was evaluated against the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W) and the probability of nutrient adequacy. The average Et-HEI score for women of reproductive age was 49 out of 110. Adherence to the recommendations for grains, vegetables, legumes, fat and oils, salt, sugar and alcohol contributed the most to this score. Most women had low scores for fruits, nuts and seeds, and animal-sourced foods, indicating low intake. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient, indicating the reliability of the Et-HEI to assess its diet quality, was 0⋅53. The low mean Et-HEI score agreed with a low mean score of the MDD-W (3⋅5 out of 10). Also, low nutrient adequacies confirmed poor adherence to nutrient-dense components of the FBDG. The Et-HEI was not associated with the intake of vitamin B12, vitamin C and calcium in this study population. Women who completed secondary school and above had relatively lower Et-HEI scores. The newly developed Et-HEI is able to estimate nutrient adequacy while also assessing adherence to the Ethiopian FBDG though there is room for improvement.

Yemen faces a multitude of conflict-related and structural challenges, as a result, the agricultural productivity has been low. Coffee has been an important subsector and used to be an important source of income for farmers but nowadays coffee hardly generates a profit. Farmers are expanding qat production due to increasing consumer demand and better profits. An expansion of qat production also puts pressure on the scarce water supply in the country. This study provides insight into how coffee is grown and traded and how the sector can be supported for sustainable development and how it can be more attractive to grow coffee instead of qat. Jemen wordt geconfronteerd met een groot aantal conflictgerelateerde en structurele problemen. In de landbouw is de productiviteit laag. Koffie is van oudsher een belangrijke subsector geweest en zorgde vroeger voor inkomsten voor boeren, maar tegenwoordig maken de boeren nauwelijks nog winst met de koffieteelt. Daarentegen breiden de boeren de productie van qat uit vanwege de toenemende consumentenvraag en de goede winsten voor de boeren. De productie van qat legt ook een druk op de schaarse watervoorraad in het land. Deze studie geeft inzicht in de manier waarop koffie wordt verbouwd en verhandeld in de Jemenitische koffiesector. Ook worden aanbevelingen gedaan over hoe de koffiesector kan worden ondersteund met het oog op duurzame ontwikkeling.

On 29 September 2020, JPMorgan was ordered to pay a settlement of $920.2 million for spoofing the metals and Treasury futures markets from 2008 to 2016. We examine these cases using a visualization method developed in particle physics (CERN) and the messages that the exchange receives about market activity rather than time-based snapshots. This approach allows to examine multiple indicators related to market manipulation and complement existing research methods, thereby enhancing the identification and understanding of, as well as the motivation for, market manipulation. In the JPMorgan cases, we offer an alternative motivation for spoofing than moving the price.

Enhancing the sustainability of agriculture requires a better earning capacity for farmers. Besides government (i.e. taxpayer) support for sustainable production, consumers will have to buy the more expensive sustainable products and the extra price they pay will have to be passed on to the producer through the chain. This will require sustainability agreements between farmers and chain parties, complementary to existing initiatives and labels. This study examines the scope for lawful private sustainability agreements. Under the cartel prohibition in the EU Treaty, the possibilities are limited and insufficiently workable in practice. The CMO regulation offers several derogations to the cartel prohibition, which provide opportunities for farmers and farmers' associations to make sustainability agreements. In the 2021 CAP review, that space has been extended with an article (210a) added specifically for this purpose. This offers great opportunities. The agreements must be ambitious, exceed existing legal requirements and must be made by or with farmers (mutual agreements within the retail or processing industry without participation of farmers remain under the cartel prohibition). Another condition is that the agreements are indispensable to achieve the stated sustainability objective (no greenwashing). In addition, other derogations in the CMO regulation can be used, in particular for recognised producer organisations (Art. 152) and other farmers' associations (Art. 209) in combination with value distribution clauses (Art. 172a). Better prices for farmers for sustainable products mean higher costs for consumers for their food. However, making agriculture more sustainable also leads to societal benefits and financial space to compensate citizens who cannot afford higher food prices.

This paper is the product of a collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Wageningen University and Research (WUR) to explore the potential application of innovative technologies to improve data collection and risk estimation of child labour in the cocoa sector. In particular, it assesses the potential role of blockchain technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in collecting and sharing data on cocoa-growing areas in Ghana, and how this could contribute to monitoring and ultimately preventing child labour in those areas. During an inception mission undertaken by FAO in Ghana, open consultations with various stakeholders in the cocoa sector led to the identification of a number of Key Data Elements (KDEs) to inform the design of a blockchain system, with the objective to facilitate real-time, cost-efficient and collaborative monitoring of the risk of child labour in cocoa-growing areas in Ghana. WUR was commissioned by the FAO to further explore the potential application of blockchain technology and GIS to monitor selected KDEs related to the root causes of child labour in Ghana.Despite decades of interventions since the ratification of the Harkin-Engel Protocol in 2001 to eliminate child labour in the cocoa sectors of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the latest progress report shows child labour in this sector is increasing rather than decreasing (Sadhu et al., 2020). This trend is concerning, given the detrimental effects of child labour on children’s lives, education and health and the perpetuated cycle of poverty as a result. To break this trend, it is necessary to expand and improve current methods of tracking the incidence of child labour (monitoring) and explore more sustainable ways to support rural families to keep children out of child labour (prevention).To that end, technology, digitalization, and digital innovations have a role in poverty reduction and improving living standards in developing countries, however, political and socio-economic problems can hinder these technological fixes. With smallholder cocoa producers being the most vulnerable actors within this value chain, the implementation of technological monitoring systems is not a clear-cut route. Participation and engagement depend not only on the perception of the advantages to farmers and community, but also on issues that impact the adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT). For example, availability, affordability, and literacy and effective use.

Insect production is recently linked to circular economy’ principles. The idea of circularity as a possible asset in consumer acceptance and adoption of eating insects, however, is understudied as yet. This paper is the first exploratory study of consumers’ sympathy for circularity as a distinctive feature of insects as food and feed to their acceptance of eating insects (i.e., entomophagy). Being an innovative study, much attention is devoted to the elaboration of the questionnaire used. This study finds that consumer sympathy for entomophagy of the participants (N = 1055) in this study increases modestly, albeit statistically significant and in a robust way, as a result of providing information about environmental, circular benefits of entomophagy. It further demonstrates that sustainability-conscious consumers are not specifically sensitive to consuming insects, relative to those for whom sustainability plays a less important part in their lives. Another finding of this study is that information on circular benefits of insects as food does not just override feelings of disgust evoked by entomophagy. Finally, this study corroborates that processed insect-based foods in which insects are invisible are more acceptable than the consumption of whole insects.

There is a growing awareness that fostering the transition toward plant-based diets with reduced meat consumption levels is essential to alleviating the detrimental impacts of the food system on the planet and to improving human health and animal welfare. The reduction in average meat intake may be reached via many possible ways, one possibility being the increased consumption of plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). For this reason, in recent years, hundreds of products have been launched on the market with sensory attributes (i.e., taste, texture, appearance, and smell) similar to their animal counterparts; however, these products have often a long list of ingredients and their nutritional values are very different from animal meat. The present review aims to highlight the main opportunities and challenges related to the production and consumption of PBMAs through an interdisciplinary approach. Aspects related to the production technology, nutritional profiles, potential impacts on health and the environment, and the current market and consumer acceptance of PBMAs are discussed. Focusing on the growing literature on this topic, this review will also highlight research gaps related to PBMAs that should be considered in the future, possibly through the collaboration of different stakeholders that can support the transition toward sustainable plant-based diets.

The current work contains one of the first empirical studies targeting trust and consumer acceptance of food products incorporating the social and environmental costs in the price of the product (‘true price food products’). Our two studies drew on a unique sample of Dutch supermarket patrons who could purchase ‘true price’ food products, and on a representative (Dutch) sample. In both studies, we show that the more consumers perceive to gain value from true food pricing that pertain to social status and ‘green value’ (positive environmental impact), the greater consumers' trust in true pricing characteristics and in organizations that implement true pricing and subsequently the higher consumers' intention is to purchase true price food products. The findings present a first exploration into how consumer acceptance of true price food products can be promoted by practitioners: (promotional) appeals to social status and to the ‘green value’ that true pricing can deliver have the potential to boost consumers' trust in true pricing and make them more inclined to ultimately purchase food products in which externalities are incorporated. Our study revealed initial value sources that can potentially contribute to promoting trust and consumer acceptance for true pricing in the food domain, but various other factors can be relevant as well; future research can explore which types of other contributing factors exist in creating consumer trust and acceptance for true price food products.

Healthy diets are unaffordable for almost 3.1 billion people worldwide, and in 2018, already 43% of the African population were urban dwellers. Our food systems are changing rapidly, coupled with rising dietary aspirations. What are healthy diets and how can healthy diets be reached and increased in an urban context was the question of project NOURICITY. Looking into different information channels to deliver information on healthy diets in a low-income area in urban Kampala, Uganda, two packages of interventions were developed based on information on the selected focus group discussions with parish representatives. The first package consisted of a flier including graphic information on healthy diets and three food groups (treatment group 1). The second included the same flier plus interactive voice responses (IVRs) as a phone call to deliver the flier information in a different format (treatment group 2). For the study, we targeted 450 randomly selected households, which were randomly assigned into three groups (control, treatment group 1, and treatment group 2). Respondents from Kanyanya (a low-income parish of Kampala city) were randomly selected. They were visited two times in March as well as in December of the year 2021, while the intervention was rolled out in the period from September to November 2021. Healthy diets are measured using the Household Dietary Diversity Score and the food variety score is based on a 7-day food consumption recall, while dietary quality is measured for a subsample of women and the minimum dietary diversity for all of the selected women. The results indicated statistically significant changes per group at household food consumption in March 2021 compared to December 2021. However, the results of the difference-in-difference method between the control and the treatment groups did not display any significant difference at the household level. However, increased dairy and meat consumption in the treatment groups was observed. Over 90% of the households in treatment group 2 listened to any type of IVR message. Although no significant treatment effects were found, almost all households receiving intervention package 2 mentioned that the IVR calls were easy to follow, while almost 80% indicated sharing the information with their neighbors and 92% enjoyed receiving the message. However, the intervention has potential but needs to be improved upon.

Companies in the European Union egg sector have to comply with European legislation on animal welfare, food safety and environmental protection. Whereas the legislation aims to guarantee a high quality poultry production, it also confronts the sector with extra costs. Countries outside the EU do not have the same extensive legislation. This report presents the results of a study on the competitiveness of the EU egg sector. The production costs for eggs and egg products are calculated for several EU and third countries. Different scenarios are outlined to illustrate the impact of changes in import levies and exchange rates.

The production of food from animals poses societal concern about the welfare of these animals in Western countries and increasingly also in economically developing countries. Animals and people may experience disutility from animal suffering, which can be seen as an external cost that is not (fully) included in the cost of production. Thus, consumers will consume too much of the good from an aggregate utilitarian perspective. A potential way to solve this issue is by including these external costs in the production costs. The aim of this paper was to provide a method that can be used to estimate the external costs of animal welfare (AW) of animals kept at farm level. The external costs were calculated by means of a cost function. This cost function shows the relationship between the AW score and costs of AW measures at farm level. The AW scores were calculated from principle scores of the Welfare Quality® Protocol. The method was applied to three case studies, namely dairy cattle production in Germany, pig production in the Netherlands, and broiler production in the Netherlands. The results indicate that the external costs of AW of dairy cattle systems ranged from 0.02 to 0.10 euro/kg milk, those of pig production systems from 1.00 to 1.36 euro/kg live weight and those of broiler production systems from 3.67 to 4.52 euro/kg live weight. The empirical application showed that the method was effective in estimating external animal costs. The insights obtained from the application of our method can support decision making in the development and adoption of more AW friendly production systems.

Supporting sustainable consumer choices is critical as consumers show inconsistencies in their sustainable behaviour. Consumers indicate to value the environment but do not consistently behave in a sustainable manner. This article builds upon goal-framing theory to understand and support the consistency of sustainable behaviours across contexts. More specifically, it contributes to the literature by developing a food-specific goal-framing measurement that adds a moral goal frame to the existing gain, hedonic, and normative goal frames (Study 1; N = 1,100; measuring goal frames). Moreover, the results reveal a contrast between the gain and hedonic frames that are currently activated in the included real-life food choice situations (Study 2, N = 1,100; between-subjects design with three real-life food contexts, measuring goal frames, social norms, and intentions) and the moral frame, which is most consistently associated with sustainable behaviours (Study 2 and Study 3 [between-subjects design activating four goal frames, measuring goal frames and sustainable behaviour]). The findings demonstrate the relevance of moral goal frames to enforcing sustainable food transitions, for example by devising means of adapting the food environment to activate consumers’ moral rather than gain and hedonic goal frames.

Background There has been growing attention towards personalizing dietary advice to the specific lifestyle, phenotypic and genotypic properties of consumers. Consumer acceptance and advice adherence is critical for the success of services offering personalized dietary advice. However, more insight is needed in the current body of knowledge on the determinants of consumer acceptance and use of personalized dietary advice. Scope and approach This literature review provides an overview of the current knowledge on consumer acceptance, use and effectiveness of personalized dietary advice based on the four information flow stages in personalized dietary advice: (1) information provision from consumer to formulate a personalized dietary advice, (2) personalized advice generation, (3) advice provision to the consumer, (4) advice acceptance and adherence. Key Findings and Conclusions Results show that the extent to which each step in the cycle is considered in the reviewed studies varies strongly, with most emphasis on the advice adherence, such as changes in dietary intake. In contrast, it is less clear how consumer data is used to generate a personalized dietary advice. Based on the studies in our review, we identify aspects that play a role in the consumer acceptance of personalized dietary advice and the best design practices for creating a successful personalized advice. publishedVersion

Companies in the European Union egg sector have to comply with European legislation on animal welfare, food safety and environmental protection. Whereas the legislation aims to guarantee a high quality poultry production, it also confronts the sector with extra costs. Countries outside the EU do not have the same extensive legislation. This report presents the results of a study on the competitiveness of the EU egg sector. The production costs for eggs and egg products are calculated for several EU and third countries. Different scenarios are outlined to illustrate the impact of changes in import levies and exchange rates.

The current health status of the general public can substantially benefit from a healthy diet. Using a personalized approach to initiate healthy dietary behavior seems to be a promising strategy, as individuals differ in terms of health status, subsequent dietary needs, and their desired behavior change support. However, providing personalized advice to a wide audience over a long period is very labor-intensive. This bottleneck can possibly be overcome by digitalizing the process of creating and providing personalized advice. An increasing number of personalized advice systems for different purposes is becoming available in the market, ranging from systems providing advice about just a single parameter to very complex systems that include many variables characterizing each individual situation. Scientific background is often lacking in these systems. In designing a personalized nutrition advice system, many design questions need to be answered, ranging from the required input parameters and accurate measurement methods (sense), type of modeling techniques to be used (reason), and modality in which the personalized advice is provided (act). We have addressed these topics in this viewpoint paper, and we have demonstrated the feasibility of setting up an infrastructure for providing personalized dietary advice based on the experience of 2 practical applications in a real-life setting.

PurposeSnacks at work are often of poor dietary quality. The main objective of the current study is to examine the effect of making vegetable snacks available at workplace meetings on consumption.Design/methodology/approachIn three between-subjects field experiments conducted at a hospital and three ministries in the Netherlands, with meeting as the unit of condition assignment, attendees were exposed to an assortment of vegetables, varying in vegetable variety and presence of promotional leaflet in study 1 (N = 136 meetings), serving container in study 2 (N = 88 meetings) and additional presence of cookies in study 3 (N = 88 meetings). Consumption of vegetables and cookies was measured at meeting level to assess grams consumed per person.FindingsAcross the three studies, average consumption per meeting attendee was 74 g (SD = 43) for study 1; 78 g (SD = 43) for study 2 and 87 g (SD = 35) for study 3. In the first study, manipulation of perceived variety and information leaflets did not affect intake. In the second study, significantly more vegetables were eaten when they were offered in single sized portions (M = 97 g, SD = 45) versus in a shared multiple portions bowl (63 g, SD = 38) (p Practical implicationsThe present studies show how availability of vegetables at unconventional occasions makes meeting attendants consume considerable portions of vegetables on average. As such, offering healthy snacks at the workplace may be a valuable part of workplace health promotion programs and positively change the “office cake culture”.Originality/valueVegetable intake is less than recommended in many countries worldwide. Many snacking occasions are at work, which makes office meetings a potential consumption occasion to encourage vegetable intake. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine whether free availability of vegetable snacks during meetings contributes to their consumption among meeting attendees and under what conditions consumption is optimal.

Objective:A high-fibre diet is associated with a lower risk for diseases. However, few adults meet the dietary fibre recommendation. Therefore, the effects and acceptance of an algorithm-generated personalised dietary advice (PDA) compared with general advice (GA) on fibre intake were investigated.Design:A 6-week, single-blind randomised controlled trial with a 3-month follow-up.Setting:PDA was based on habitual intake and provided fibre-rich alternatives using a website; GA contained brochures. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline, week 1, week 6 and 3-month follow-up. Both groups evaluated their advice at week 6. All participants had access to PDA from week 7 until 3-month follow-up.Participants:Two groups of healthy adults: PDA (n 34) and GA (n 47). For 3-month follow-up analysis, participants were re-divided into visitors (n 52) and non-visitors (n 26) of the PDA.Results:At week 6, energy intake remained stable in both groups, but fibre intake per 1000 kcal increased non-significantly in both groups (PDA = Δ0·5 ± 2·8; GA = Δ0·8 ± 3·1, P = 0·128). Importantly, a significantly higher percentage of PDA participants adhered to the recommendation compared with week 1 (PDA = 21 % increase; GA = 4 % increase, P ≤ 0·001). PDA participants evaluated the advice significantly better compared with GA participants. At 3-month follow-up, fibre intake increased compared with baseline (visitors = Δ2·2 ± 2·6, P < 0·001; non-visitors = Δ1·5 ± 1·9, P = 0·001), but was insignificantly different between groups. Visitors had a decrease and non-visitors had an increase in energy intake (visitors =Δ − 132 ± 525; non-visitors = Δ109 ± 507, P = 0·055).Conclusions:The algorithm-generated PDA was well accepted and stimulated adherence to the recommendations more than GA, indicating to be a suitable and cost-efficient method for improving dietary fibre intake in healthy adults.

This article examines the relationship between firm-level innovation and employment growth for industrial firms in the Netherlands. The empirical analysis uses four waves of the CIS survey for the period 2002-2010. It extends the literature by making an explicit split between the expansion effect of innovation and the labour productivity effect. The results show that both product and process innovation increase labour productivity and therefore induce direct reductions in employment. However, these negative employment effects are more than compensated by increases in sales, implying that both process and product innovations increase employment. In this article for the first time the relationship between both product and process innovations and employment is decomposed in a systematic manner based on explicit econometric equations on the relationship between innovation and labour productivity respectively sales. It is argued that the effects for sales and labour productivity are probably underestimated in all research that uses CIS survey data because these do not show the price effects of increased productivity, but that this effect cancels out in the estimated employment equation.

To be able to meet the European Union’s energy and climate targets for 2030, all member states need to rethink their energy production and use. One potential renewable energy source is biogas. Its role has been relatively small compared to other energy sources, but it could have a more central role to solve some specific challenges, e.g., to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions from traffic, or to act as a buffer to balance electricity production with consumption. This research analyses how the future of the biogas business in three case study countries is developing until 2030. The study is based on experts’ views within the biogas business branch in Germany, The Netherlands, and Finland. Both similarities and differences were found among the experts’ answers, which reflected also the current policies in different countries. The role of biogas was seen much wider than just to provide renewable energy, but also to decrease emissions from agriculture and close loops in a circular economy. However, the future of the biogas branch is much dependent on political decisions. To be able to show the full potential of biogas technology for society, stable and predictable energy policy and cross-sector co-operation are needed.

A large number of consumer studies on edible insects in Western countries have been published in 2019. A total of 33 studies are brought together in this article that provides an overview of current findings and signals further developments in today’s scholarly attention in the field of human consumption of insects. To outline this body of knowledge, this literature review presents established threads of research about: (1) Westerners’ unfamiliarity with; and (2) fear of eating insects; or (3) consumer reactions to processed or unprocessed insect food products. In addition, new avenues of study in entomophagy research are identified. Present-day studies open up new vistas by: (1) taking different consumer segments and food styles into account; (2) starting to examine the role of emotions and affective factors; and (3) employing a research design that includes multiple insect food products to explore consumer responses to various product options. Studies from 2019 also show that sustainability and circularity gains of insects are in their nascent stage as far as consumer studies are concerned.

Societal interest in all aspects of sustainability has increased. Therefore, pig farmers need to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses in all dimensions of sustainability: economy, environment, social wellbeing, and animal health and welfare. Our aim was to describe and critically discuss the development of a sustainability assessment tool for pig farms and to evaluate its suitability by applying it to 63 European pig farms (13 breeding, 27 breeding-to-finishing, and 23 finishing farms). The multi-criteria assessment tool was developed in several steps (the selection and scaling of indicators and their aggregation and weighting) in order to summarise the indicators into subtheme and theme scores. The indicators contributing the most to the subtheme/theme scores were identified and discussed in order to evaluate the procedure of the development. For example, some indicators, such as Ecological compensation area, Fairness of prices, and Tail docking, for which farms were scored low, were also identified as "real world problems" in other studies. For other sustainability aspects with low performance, the threshold might have been set too ambitiously, e.g., for Number of sows per annual working unit. Furthermore, to analyse the suitability of the tool, we assessed the best and worst median theme scores (good and poor performances) for each dimension, as well as the variability of the performances of the farms within the themes. Some themes were found to be moderate, such as Pig comfort, Biodiversity, or Resilience, whereas others were found to be good, e.g., Water and the Human-animal relationship, as well as several themes of the social wellbeing dimension. Overall, the sustainability tool provides a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of pig production. Furthermore, this publication contributes to both the theory (development of a robust sustainability tool) and the practice (provision of a tool to assess and benchmark the sustainability on farms). As a next step, a sensitivity analysis should be performed, and the tool should be applied for further development.

Food consumption has a significant environmental impact which can be alleviated when consumer adoption of plant-based food innovations is increased. Attempts to increase adoption are often tailored to instrumental product attributes that consumers find important, but our studies show this is not necessarily a prerequisite. The current work aims to examine the role of symbolic product attributes in predicting consumers' adoption intention (Study 1) and whether symbolic product attributes can be leveraged to affect behavioural adoption of a plant-based food innovation (Study 2). Our online study (Study 1) shows that consumers indicate they find symbolic product attributes less important, relative to instrumental considerations like price. However, evaluations of symbolic attributes tied to consumers' self-identity significantly predict consumers’ intention to adopt a plant-based food innovation. At least part of the underlying mechanism pertains to the intrinsic reward of acting sustainably: symbolic attributes predict adoption intention via the feel-good factor of consuming a plant-based food innovation, particularly for consumers with a strong intrinsic motivation to act environmentally-friendly. In a field experiment in a supermarket (Study 2), we found that mainly stressing symbolic attributes tied to social status promotes behavioural adoption, more so than when symbolic attributes tied to self-identity are stressed in a promotional campaign. Together, the studies suggest that leveraging intrinsically rewarding symbolic attributes of plant-based food innovations can be an alternative way to promote consumer adoption.

Non-communicable diseases are on the rise and are often related to food choices; nutrition affects infectious diseases too. Therefore, there is growing interest in research on public and personal health, as related to food, nutrition behaviour and well-being of consumers throughout the life cycle. These concepts and their relations are complex and only partially understood – more data is needed to improve our understanding. The required data include deep geno- and phenotyping data from human nutritional studies, covering metabolic and health, but also including behavioural and socio-economic data. The aim of this white paper is to provide a guiding framework for the future contributions of ELIXIR’s recently established Food & Nutrition (F&N) Community. This white paper is the direct result of a strategy meeting that took place in September 2019 in The Hague (NL) and involved representatives of 14 countries representing the ELIXIR Nodes. The meeting led to the definition of F&N related bioinformatics challenges, including the use of standards for data reuse and sharing, and for interoperability of data, tools and services, advocacy and training. Resolving these bioinformatics challenges makes it possible to address a wide range of F&N-related challenges, such as definition of an individual health status, individual dietary needs, and finding complex intake biomarkers (to replace questionnaires). Here, we provide suggestions on how to align these tasks within the ELIXIR Platforms, other ELIXIR Communities/Focus Groups and the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures.

Welfare of unweaned calves during long-distance transport has gained substantial attention from animal welfare organisations as well as in politics and national and EU policy making. The objective of this study was to establish a comprehensive state of play on the transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves on long journeys in the EU, which would help to assess the shortcomings of the current system. The study also aimed at identifying current practices at both EU and national level, including those aiming at replacing, reducing or refining transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves. Alternative strategies to reduce or replace the long-journey transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves are currently only marginally implemented and need further development before being implemented on a large scale. Best practices to refine (improve) the current transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves on long-journey transport are available and can be implemented. A successful EU wide strategy to reduce long-distance transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves should consist of a tailor-made strategy applied by MS that includes a blend of the described alternatives.

An energising smoothie for breakfast, a convenient sandwich for lunch at work and a healthy and tasty curry for the family di nne r. During the day, we make different eating choices, depending on where we are and with whom we eat. To better collect insights in the wha t, where, when and why of food consumption, the food industry has expressed the need for more advanced data collection methods for food in take and its determinants. Current methods of monitoring food intake and food choice motives come with a range of drawbacks, inclu din g 1) a lack of linkage between food intake and its determinants, 2) a lack of inclusion of contextual variability, 3) high measureme nt errors, 4) time consuming data collection and 5) a high burden for the consumer and the researcher. Therefore, Smart Food Intake aimed to develop an innovative flexible methodology that enables to collect reliable food intake data and underlying food choice motives as important determinants of food intake. For that purpose, this project successfully developed a 2 hour recall ("snapshot") methodology. The methodology has proven to provide an adequate estimate of actual dietary intake and an acceptable estimate of habitual dietary intake via different sampling strat egi es. In addition, the measurement of food choice motives showed stable results in similar contexts and showed variability across different eati ng contexts, indicating the added value of measuring in context. The test retest reliability and the content validity of the food choice moti ves was satisfactory. The integrated methodology, combining assessment of food intake, the eating context and food choice motives, is positively evaluated. The SFI Traqq app has been developed to function as a tool to apply the integrated methodology in combination with survey software and is evaluated by users as easy and nice to use, and not too lengthy. The modular approach ensures the flexibility to easily adjust to specific research questions and enables to research 1) what people eat, 2) why they eat that, and 3) how this differs across eating contexts. These insights could help the food industry to stimulate m ore healthy and sustainable food consumption, by tailoring food formulations, communication and interventions towards various target groups a nd eating contexts better than before.

To analyse consumers' attitudes and perceptions towards pork, online surveys were performed with 11,294 consumers from ten European Union (EU) and four non-EU countries. The survey indicates that, although animal welfare affects consumers' view on pork, it is not consumers' primary concern. For most countries, the ranking order of food motives was health and natural, sensory quality, price, and animal welfare. The ranking order for pork production preferences was quality and health, environmental and animal friendliness, regional identity, and production efficiency. A choice experiment, conducted for four countries: Denmark, France, Italy, and Poland, showed that natural was the most important factor, followed by health, taste, animals' pain and stress, costs, and pharmaceutical interventions. Four consumer segments were identified: Demanding, Average, Low-on-eco, and Indifferent. Although the percentage shares of these groups differ in each country, we conclude that consumer consumption motives and production preferences are sufficiently similar to include them as communicative elements in marketing strategies for meat from non-castrated pigs.

Most policies and incentives that aim to enable smallholder farmers towards the intensification of their agri-food production systems focus on supply-side strategies, such as training, technical assistance or credit services. Far less attention is usually given to demand-side drivers, such as the role of midstream value chain actors supporting smallholder’s investments in primary production. This explorative paper provides new insights on the value addition in the production vs. the midstream segments of agri-food value chains. It focusses attention on the influence of value chain integration on smallholders’ production and investment opportunities, and the implications for the structure of primary production. We use data from several value chains in sub-Saharan Africa to illustrate how farmers link to commercial midstream actors are able to enhance resource productivity, efficiency and profitability. In addition, we show that a larger role of the midstream in value added creation is associated with a more equal farm size distribution.

Background: Protein transition, i.e. the transition from high levels of traditional meat consumption towards consuming less meat or more plant-based or alternative animal-based proteins, is highly dependent on consumer behaviour. This position paper adds to the literature by integrating the research streams on behavioural sciences and meat reducing strategies, thereby contributing to the use of behavioural science insights in developing meat reducing interventions towards a more plant-based food transition. Scope and approach: Meat-reducing strategies involve substituting meat with novel proteins, consumption of less meat or consuming meat less often, and becoming a vegetarian or vegan. Based on previous literature four systematic steps for effective interventions towards behaviour change are described in view of the current literature in the specific context of meat reduction. Finally, emergent strands of future research are identified. Key findings and conclusions: The four described steps compromise: (a) identifying the problem and desired behaviour change, (b) examining the main drivers of behaviour change, (c) select fitting interventions, and (d) impact assessment. Based on the meat-reducing literature the key strands for future interventions in the context of protein transition are identified. Moreover, literature gaps are defined. Resulting in an overview of systematic steps for interventions to support behaviour change in the protein transition.

Individuals can apply different healthy eating strategies to help them make healthy eating choices. Previous research showed that individuals differ in their preferred strategy, but also that a mix of strategies is often applied by a single person across contexts. The current research investigated the extent to which differences within an individual across contexts (i.e., meal moments, social environment and physical environment) predicted openness to healthy eating strategies in addition to personal predictors that differ between individuals (i.e., intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, physical opportunity and social opportunity). A representative sample of the Dutch adult population was recruited (N = 892). The within-individual (contextual) predictors were measured nine times just before a meal moment over a period of three weeks, by means of a smartphone application. The between-individual (personal) predictors were administered with a baseline questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis distinguished three healthy eating strategies: Increasing healthy foods, Limiting unhealthy foods and consuming Light products. A random intercept model, in which within-individual predictors and between-individual predictors were entered successively, showed that context matters for openness to all three strategies, but is most important for increasing healthy foods and least important for light products. Individuals are most open to increase healthy foods at dinner as compared to breakfast, whereas the opposite is true for limiting unhealthy foods and consuming light products. Eating at home is beneficial for openness to all three strategies and eating with others positively influences openness to increase healthy foods but has no effect on the other strategies. Insights gained from this research increase our understanding of an individual's openness to apply healthy eating strategies.

Extending the use of garments is often seen as an important strategy to decrease the impact of the fashion industry. However, currently there are a lack of data on and understanding of consumers’ wardrobes. This study explores consumers’ wardrobes internationally, and we aim to explore the total amount, unused and second-hand garments in order to develop interventions to support reuse. Through an online course, data were gathered in a survey about the content of participants’ wardrobes, counting the amounts of garments in predefined categories, and the amount of unused and second-hand garments thereof. Differences were found between clothing categories, age groups and gender for unused and second-hand garments. Between nationalities only differences were found for second-hand garments. These insights are supportive to targeted interventions for gender and age groups related to specific categories of (unused and second-hand) garments, to elongate the practical service life of garments, support consumers’ sustainable clothing decisions and in the end reduce consumption. Additionally, this exploration provides insights how to improve international monitoring and the value of digital wardrobe studies. Recommendations are provided, especially focused on interventions to support motivations, capabilities, and opportunities to improve reuse. Ultimately, through consumers’ wardrobes this study supports the next steps towards a more circular clothing system.

Welfare of unweaned calves during long-distance transport has gained substantial attention from animal welfare organisations as well as in politics and national and EU policy making. The objective of this study was to establish a comprehensive state of play on the transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves on long journeys in the EU, which would help to assess the shortcomings of the current system. The study also aimed at identifying current practices at both EU and national level, including those aiming at replacing, reducing or refining transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves. Alternative strategies to reduce or replace the long-journey transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves are currently only marginally implemented and need further development before being implemented on a large scale. Best practices to refine (improve) the current transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves on long-journey transport are available and can be implemented. A successful EU wide strategy to reduce long-distance transport of unweaned non-replacement dairy calves should consist of a tailor-made strategy applied by MS that includes a blend of the described alternatives.

Societal interest in all aspects of sustainability has increased. Therefore, pig farmers need to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses in all dimensions of sustainability: economy, environment, social wellbeing, and animal health and welfare. Our aim was to describe and critically discuss the development of a sustainability assessment tool for pig farms and to evaluate its suitability by applying it to 63 European pig farms (13 breeding, 27 breeding-to-finishing, and 23 finishing farms). The multi-criteria assessment tool was developed in several steps (the selection and scaling of indicators and their aggregation and weighting) in order to summarise the indicators into subtheme and theme scores. The indicators contributing the most to the subtheme/theme scores were identified and discussed in order to evaluate the procedure of the development. For example, some indicators, such as Ecological compensation area, Fairness of prices, and Tail docking, for which farms were scored low, were also identified as “real world problems” in other studies. For other sustainability aspects with low performance, the threshold might have been set too ambitiously, e.g., for Number of sows per annual working unit. Furthermore, to analyse the suitability of the tool, we assessed the best and worst median theme scores (good and poor performances) for each dimension, as well as the variability of the performances of the farms within the themes. Some themes were found to be moderate, such as Pig comfort, Biodiversity, or Resilience, whereas others were found to be good, e.g., Water and the Human–animal relationship, as well as several themes of the social wellbeing dimension. Overall, the sustainability tool provides a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of pig production. Furthermore, this publication contributes to both the theory (development of a robust sustainability tool) and the practice (provision of a tool to assess and benchmark the sustainability on farms). As a next step, a sensitivity analysis should be performed, and the tool should be applied for further development.