U.S. consumers not willing to pay more for ‘regenerative agriculture’ product claims: IFIC survey

Washington, D.C. – A International Food Information Council survey exploring perspectives on regenerative agriculture has found most Americans are not willing to pay more for products labelled as “grown using regenerative agriculture.”

Among other results, the survey indicated:

• 42 per cent of Americans believe that their individual food and beverage choices can have a moderate or significant impact on the environment.
• Regenerative agriculture practices aren’t yet familiar to most Americans: Just one in five (19 per cent) of survey takers said they’d heard of regenerative agriculture.
• Over one in three (36 per cent) survey respondents view foods grown using regenerative agriculture as more nutritious than those grown without those practices.

Among other insights, the research also suggests that, compared with other food production methods, Americans are less familiar with regenerative agriculture, regenerative agriculture practices are commonly viewed as having a more positive impact on land than on human health. In addition, when asked about which agricultural and consumption practices have the most beneficial impact on human health, the most common survey response was choosing foods and beverages made without the use of pesticides (45 per cent of respondents included in their top two choices).

Twenty per cent of those surveyed said choosing products made with regenerative agriculture was in their top two most beneficial agricultural practices for human health, in line with the number who opted for choosing foods labelled as “organic” (20 per cent) and slightly below those who considered choosing “non-GMO” products to be most beneficial (25 per cent).

Foods grown using regenerative agriculture practices are viewed as more nutritious by many, but there is also some uncertainty.

Most Americans are not willing to pay more for products made with regenerative agriculture. When asked to choose between a standard breakfast cereal and a more expensive version labeled as “grown with regenerative agriculture,” most people (66 per cent) said they would opt for the original, less-costly version.

Read the full report, Consumer Perspectives on Regenerative Agriculture, here.