{"content":[{"text":"derisive moniker “fake meat” and significantly higher price, plant-based protein has begun to \n gain public acceptance and market-share. \n So, we go back to the “chicken question” and ask, “why?” \n In our reading we have identified three issues. Like with chicken, some believe that plant- \n based meats are healthier than their animal-based counterparts. To the extent that consumers \n avoid breading and deep or pan frying, there may be some truth to that belief. \n But more importantly, we see a combination of animal welfare and environmental \n concerns as the more significant drivers in this shift in protein sourcing. \n In a vox.com article “How chickens took over America’s dinner plates, in one chart” \n Kelsey Piper discusses the environmental impact of beef production and the animal welfare \n issues involved in chicken production (https://tinyurl.com/56c568e6). \n With regard to the latter she writes: “Most chickens…spend every minute of their short \n lives in crowded, ammonia-filled indoor spaces, as we saw in a recent undercover investigation \n into a farm that supplies chicken for Costco. They’re also bred to grow too fast, putting pressure \n on their joints and making normal chicken behavior impossible.” \n While many farmers are concerned about governmental regulation in the areas of the \n environment, including global warming, and animal welfare, we think the bigger factor will be \n consumer behavior. Over the last 50 years, cost and health concerns were significant drivers of \n the changes we have seen in the meats US consumers purchase. \n As firms involved in plant-based protein production are able to reduce the cost of their \n products, animal welfare and environmental concerns will increasingly drive the US consumer’s \n protein sourcing decisions. \n Farmers who factor health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns into their \n production decisions are more likely to maintain their markets than those who don’t. We already \n see that happening in egg and milk markets. Consumers will pay double or more for products \n that address their health and ethical concerns.","bbox":{"left":0.117647,"top":0.088894,"width":0.764804,"height":0.45581799999999995}},{"text":"Policy Pennings Column 1076","bbox":{"left":0.380392,"top":0.560894,"width":0.239118,"height":0.01849999999999996}},{"text":"Originally published in MidAmerica Farmer Grower, Vol. 37, No. 322, May 14, 2021","bbox":{"left":0.117647,"top":0.595742,"width":0.6730400000000001,"height":0.01849999999999996}},{"text":"Dr. Harwood D. Schaffer: Adjunct Research Assistant Professor, Sociology Department, \n University of Tennessee and Director, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center. Dr. Daryll E. Ray: \n Emeritus Professor, Institute of Agriculture, University of Tennessee and Retired Director, \n Agricultural Policy Analysis Center. \n Email: hdschaffer@utk.edu and dray@utk.edu; http://www.agpolicy.org.","bbox":{"left":0.117647,"top":0.630591,"width":0.764764,"height":0.08819699999999997}},{"text":"Reproduction Permission Granted with: \n 1) Full attribution to Harwood D. Schaffer and Daryll E. Ray, Agricultural Policy Analysis \n Center, Knoxville, TN; \n 2) An email sent to hdschaffer@utk.edu indicating how often you intend on running the column \n and your total circulation. Also, please send one copy of the first issue with the column in it to \n Harwood Schaffer, Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, 1708 Capistrano Dr. Knoxville, TN \n 37922.","bbox":{"left":0.117647,"top":0.733515,"width":0.764804,"height":0.12475799999999992}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}