Differences in Willingness to Pay for Safer Meat and Vegetables

With numerous food recalls in the last few years, food safety has become an important concern for the food industry and consumers. Millions of people are sickened and thousands die each year from consuming contaminated and unsafe food in the U .S. This paper compiles information on the profile of respondents to a survey on willingness to pay for safer meats (beef and poultry) and fruits and vegetables, and examines factors that influencing consumers' willingness to pay. A telephone survey was used to collect data from 1,000 participants in Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennes­ see. Results indicate that 22.5 percent of respondents definitely would pay more for safer food, while 29.2 percent said they were more likely to do so. About nine percent of the respondents said they likely would not pay for safer food and 33.4 percent indicated that they were somewhat willing to pay more. Only 4.4 percent showed no interest in paying more for safer food. Chi-square methodology was used to examine factors explaining differences in willingness to pay for safer meats and fruits and vegetables. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in analysis. Willingness to pay for safer food was significantly related to gender, education, ethnicity, and marital statu