Journal ofAgricultura1 and Resource Economics 30(2):367-380 Copyright 2005 Western Agricultural Economics Association European Preferences for Beef Steak Attributes

A choice experiment is used to evaluate how consumers in London, Frankfurt, and Paris value beef steaks with attributes such as: "hormone-free, " "GM-free, " farm-specific source verification, and domestic origin. The effect of various consumer characteristics on steak selection is also evaluated. Results suggest that European consumers are significantly heterogeneous in their preferences for beef steak attributes. French and German consumers have a higher willingness to pay to avoid genetically modified feed use than British consumers, while German and British consumers would pay more for growth hormone-free beef. French and German consumers are willing to pay for farm-specific source verification. Key words: beef, choice experiment, country of origin, genetically modified, hormones, preference heterogeneity, random parameters, source verificatio