Can a Sustainability Facts Label Reduce the Halo Surrounding Organic Labels?

AAEA members and Past President release new research in AEPP

A new study “Can a Sustainability Facts Label Reduce the Halo Surrounding Organic Labels?” finds when controlling for individual specific heterogeneity in a random effects logit that the presence of the SFL significantly increases the likelihood of organic selection.

Zachary Neuhofer and Jayson Lusk from Purdue University as well as Sofia Villas-Boas from the University of California, Berkeley, look into whether a standardized sustainability facts label “SFL” can ameliorate the health and environmental halos that have been observed for organic food by reducing the likelihood of organic selection.

The authors say, “The main findings of this study were that the SFL increased the likelihood of organic purchase, and that participants exposed to the SFL increased their perception that organic performs better on environmental metrics. Assuming a consumer has preferences for organic, environmental data in the form of a SFL does not significantly alter preferences for organic relative to conventional.”

If you are interested in setting up an interview, please contact Allison Ware in the AAEA Business Office.

ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes three journals, the Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (an open access journal), the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices and the online open access publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn more, visit www.aaea.org.

Contact: Allison Ware
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Email: aware@aaea.org