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Objective: "Functional foods" (FF)--foods containing nutritional supplements in addition to natural nutrients--have an increasing presence in the marketplace. Expanding on previous research, the authors investigated college students' acceptance of FF. Participants: In September-March 2004, 811 undergraduates in Canada, the United States, and France participated in the study. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire measured students' general food attitudes and beliefs as well as FF-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and purchase intention. Results: Overall, participants slightly favored FF over traditional foods. However, although most respondents associated FF with positive health benefits, many remained dubious of currently available FF information. In terms of culture and sex, the authors found small but significant divergences in FF knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Conclusions: Stronger labeling and education efforts may increase cross-cultural acceptance of FF by college students. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)

Life Cycle Costing (LCC) is universally accepted as the method of choice for economic assessment in Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) but the singular focus on costs is ineffective in representing the multiple facets of economic sustainability. This review intends to identify other economic indicators to potentially complement the use of LCC in LCSA. Papers for the review were identified in the Web of Science Core Collection database for the years 2010–2021. The shortlisted indicators were analyzed using 18 criteria. The 21 indicators analyzed performed well with respect to the review criteria for indicator methodology and use but most are unsuitable for direct integration into the LCC/LCSA framework due to the inability to aggregate across life cycles and a lack of correspondingly granular data. The indicators were grouped into six economic impact categories—profitability, productivity, innovation, stability, customers, and autonomy—each of which represents a significant aspect of economic sustainability. On this basis, a conceptual framework is proposed that could maintain the utility of LCC while integrating additional indicators to enable more holistic economic assessments in LCSA. Considering additional economic indicators in LCSA ensures that the positive aspects of LCC are preserved while also improving economic assessment in LCSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7976.2008.00130.x Byline: Maurice Doyon (1), Virginie Simard (2), Kent D. Messer (3), Lota D. Tamini (4), Harry M. Kaiser (5) Abstract: Using experimental economics, this paper tests the potential impacts of modifying the centralized quota exchange system in Quebec with the intent of decreasing the quota price while minimizing negative impacts on auction effectiveness. Two separate treatments are applied to a uniform price auction similar to that employed in Quebec. The first treatment is an exclusion (5% or 15%) of the highest buyer bids and seller offers. The second is a tax (2% or 10%) on all units offered for sale that remain unsold. Various combinations of the two treatments are also tested. The results suggest that exclusion of the highest bids and offers can decrease the price of the quota and that a 15% exclusion rate is more effective than a 5% rate. The tax alone has little impact on quota price. The combination of the two treatments generates a more marked reduction in both the number of exchanges and the price of the quota than when the tax or the exclusion is applied individually. However, the combination of treatments results in a greater loss of economic efficiency. In all cases, relatively small market price reductions are realized at the expense of substantial losses in economic efficiency. La presente etude teste de maniere experimentale la capacite d'une modification au systeme centralise de vente du quota a faire diminuer le prix du quota laitier au Quebec tout en minimisant les impacts negatifs des changements sur l'efficacite de l'enchere. Cette modification consiste a appliquer deux traitements sur l'enchere de prix uniforme ou s'echange le quota. Le premier traitement consiste en une exclusion (5% ou 15%) des mises les plus elevees des acheteurs et des vendeurs. Le second traitement est une taxe (2% ou 10%) appliquee aux unites que les vendeurs mettent en marche et ne reussissent pas a vendre. Differentes combinaisons de ces deux traitements sont egalement testees. Les donnees generees permettent de conclure que le mecanisme d'exclusion des mises les plus elevees permet de faire diminuer le prix du quota, l'exclusion de 15%etant plus efficace que celle de 5%. Pour sa part, la taxe seule a peu d'impact sur le prix du quota tandis que la combinaison des deux traitements entraine une diminution du nombre de transactions et du prix du quota plus marquee que lorsque les traitements de taxe et d'exclusion sont appliques individuellement. Cela a comme corollaire d'entrainer une perte d'efficaciteeconomique plus importante. Dans tous les cas, des baisses de prix de marche relativement modestes sont realisees au cout d'importantes pertes d'efficaciteeconomique. Author Affiliation: (1)Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Consumer Science, 4310-F, Pavillon Paul-Comtois, Laval University, Quebec, Quebec G1K 7P4 (corresponding author: phone: 418-656-2131, ext: 4546; fax: 418-656-7821; e-mail:Maurice.doyon@eac.ulaval.ca). (2)Analyst at La Financiere Agricole, 1026 chemin St-Joseph, St-Nicolas, Quebec G7A 2A3 (phone: 418-831-8445; e-mail:simardvirginie@hotmail.com). (3)Assistant Professor, Food & Resource Economics, 266 Townsead Hall, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (phone: 302-831-1316; e-mail:messer@udel.edu). (4)Senior Researcher, Institut de Recherche et de Developpement en Agroenvironnement (IRDA), 2700, rue Einstein Quebec, Quebec, G1P 3W8 (phone: 418-646-7826; e-mail:lota-d.tamini@irda.qc.ca). (5)Professor, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management, 350 Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY 14850 (phone: 607-255-1598; e-mail:hmk2@Cornell.edu).

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7976.2006.00071.x Byline: JoAnne Labrecque (1), Maurice Doyon (2), Francois Bellavance (3), Jane Kolodinsky (4) Abstract: Food products have diversified with industry globalization. To market functional foods efficiently, food managers must gauge cross-cultural variance of functional food acceptance. Expanding on previous research, we investigate young consumers' acceptance of functional foods. Data collected in French Canada, United States, and France in 2004 reveal that business students are slightly in favor of functional foods, and associate health benefits with these foods but very few product-related benefits. Students do not have strong opinions on the trustworthiness of information and expressed a slight interest in purchasing this type of product. Analyses of cultural differences revealed significant, albeit small, divergence in these variables. Statistical analysis performed on the full sample assessed the impact of food attitudes and other cognitive and attitudinal factors on the general attitude toward functional foods. Health and product-related benefits and belief about the credibility of information are the main positive determinants of the acceptance of functional foods, followed by high knowledge. Apart from the negative impact of Neophobia, none of the other food attitudes influences attitudes toward functional foods. Linear regressions performed on each subgroup indicated similar positive cross-cultural results for health and product-related benefits. However, cross-cultural differences are detected for knowledge, credibility of information, and food attitudes that influence acceptance of functional foods. Les produits alimentaires se sont diversifies avec l'avenement de la mondialisation. Pour commercialiser efficacement les aliments fonctionnels, les gestionnaires du secteur alimentaire doivent evaluer l'acceptation des aliments fonctionnels par les diverses cultures. A partir de travaux de recherche anterieurs, nous avons examine l'acceptation des aliments fonctionnels par les jeunes consommateurs. Des donnees recueillies en 2004 au Canada francais, aux Etats-Unis et en France ont revele que les etudiants en commerce etaient legerement en faveur des aliments fonctionnels, leur associaient des avantages pour la sante, mais tres peu d'avantages lies aux produits. Les etudiants n'avaient pas une tres bonne opinion concernant la credibilite de l'information et ont manifeste un faible interet pour l'achat de ces produits. Des analyses des differences culturelles ont revele des divergences, petites mais significatives. Les analyses statistiques effectuees sur l'echantillon total ont evalue l'impact des attitudes envers les aliments ainsi que d'autres facteurs cognitifs et attitudinaux sur l'attitude generale envers les aliments fonctionnels. Les avantages pour la sante, les avantages lies aux produits et les croyances concernant la credibilite de l'information sont les principaux facteurs favorables a l'acceptation des aliments fonctionnels, suivis d'un degre de connaissances eleve. Outre l'impact negatif de la neophobie, aucune autre des attitudes envers les aliments n'influe sur les attitudes envers les aliments fonctionnels. Les regressions lineaires effectuees pour chaque sous-groupe ont indique des resultats positifs similaires. Toutefois, nous avons note des differences interculturelles quant a la connaissance, a la credibilite de l'information et aux attitudes envers les aliments qui influencent l'acceptation des aliments fonctionnels. Author Affiliation: (1)Associate Professor, Department of Marketing, HEC Montreal, 3000, chemin de la Cote-Sainte-Catherine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3T 2A7 (phone: 514-340-6800; fax: 514-340-5631; e-mail:joanne.labrecque@hec.ca). (2)Invited Professor, UMR GAEL INRA, Universite Pierre Mendes France, France and Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics and Consumer Science, Laval University, Canada. (3)Associate Professor, Department of Management Sciences, HEC Montreal, Canada. (4)Professor, Department of Community, Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont, Vermont.

Supply managementpolicy covers conventional egg production in Canada and uses production costs to determine producer prices. The context differs for specialty eggs since graders and farmers individually negotiate the price premiums. Because specialty egg production, such as cage‐free or organic production, involves important fixed‐cost farm investment, it is of interest to assess potential bargaining power in the value chain, especially given the significant commitments from Canadian retail stores and fast food restaurants to move exclusively to cage‐free eggs in the coming years. This article develops a theoretical model of joint profit maximization and price adjustment under risk. Due to data availability, a reduced version of the proposed model is used to empirically test the bargaining power along the value chain for specialty eggs. Although the estimations concentrate on the bargaining power of producers, other actors in the value chain are considered. The results show that the bargaining power of downstream actors is greater than that of producers in most provinces and for most specialty eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental protocols testing the effectiveness of cheap talk are numerous but have generated conflicting results. The theoretical interpretation of hypothetical bias as a strategic response according to the perceived consequence could be the missing key to understand these opposite results from the literature. Increasing evidence suggests that this bias rises from subjects' perception of how stated preferences surveys will be used; some subjects believing that stated valuations can impact the price of the good, while others that it will influence its provision. Subjects strategically respond by adjusting their declared values accordingly. This paper reports experimental findings supporting the presence of strategic response, showing that cheap talk operates by mitigating these behaviors and potentially explaining cheap talk's heterogeneous results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]