New Consumer Food insights from Purdue researcher

The public has limited knowledge about the U.S. farm bill that politicians are debating in Congress, according to the June 2024 Consumer Food Insights (CFI) Report.

The survey-based report from Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS) assesses food spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support for agriculture and food policies, and trust in information sources. Purdue experts conducted and evaluated the survey of 1,200 consumers across the U.S.

“Nearly a third of American adults have never heard of the bill, while a similar share have heard of it but don’t know what programs it supports,” said Joseph Balagtas, the report’s lead author and professor of agricultural economics at Purdue and director of CFDAS. “The farm bill covers hundreds of millions of dollars and touches every corner of the food system.”

Last month, new survey questions explored consumer attitudes toward the farm bill, which the CFI team breaks down as liberal, moderate or conservative based on self-reported political ideology. The survey asked respondents to rank six broad policy areas aligned with CFI’s sustainable food purchasing (SFP) index sub-indicators from most to least prioritized.

The results reveal some similarities and some differences between what consumers expect from agricultural legislation and what they value in their own food consumption.

“Our data shows that consumers consistently rank taste, affordability and nutrition as top values ​​when grocery shopping. When we asked them to rank their priorities for the farm bill, affordability/economic sustainability and nutrition also ranked high,” Balagtas said. “But taste was not a consumer priority for the farm bill. And while consumers did not rank environmental sustainability as an important value for their own food shopping, they did rank it as a high priority for the farm bill.”

Consumers may hold certain beliefs, such as that addressing climate and the environment at a policy level is important, he said. But their individual purchasing behavior may not reflect the same sentiment, with decisions driven more by taste and affordability.

The two key components of the farm bill—farm subsidies and government spending for food and nutrition assistance—are hotly debated in the political world. Still, most American adults (around 70%) support both farm subsidies (which include reduced crop insurance premiums, price supports, and conservation incentives) and spending for food and nutrition assistance, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

“When we break down the results by self-identified political ideology, we see that support is bipartisan,” Balagtas said. “Majorities of liberals, moderates and conservatives support both farm subsidies and federal nutrition assistance.”

There were no major changes in food spending and inflation expectations or forecasts in the previous month. However, when you sort inflation expectations and forecasts by political ideology from June 2022 to June 2024, differences emerge.

Although consumer inflation forecasts and expectations have trended downward over time, liberals were more likely to anticipate and predict a lower level of food inflation than moderate and conservative consumers. In June 2024, conservative consumers predicted food prices to rise almost twice as much as liberal consumers predicted.

“Given that inflation is a common topic of conversation in political debates and can be a polarizing issue, it is useful to revisit inflation expectations and monitor food prices in the months following the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election,” said Elijah Bryant, a survey research analyst at CFDAS and one of the report’s co-authors. “This could provide further insight into whether political trends are affecting these estimates.”

Food insecurity rose slightly to 13% in June. The reported SNAP rate was higher on average among liberals (20%) compared to moderates (17%) and conservatives (13%), based on the last 30 months of data.

“The relationship between SNAP use and political leanings overlaps with the degree of support these three groups have for government spending on food and nutrition assistance,” Bryant said.

The SFP index increased by two points to 72 as of March 2024. Americans continue to score higher on taste, economic, and security sustainability, but score relatively low on social and environmental sustainability.

“We see some differences in food sustainability scores across political affiliations,” Bryant said. “Liberals have higher SFP scores on average than moderates and conservatives, largely driven by higher scores in environmental, social and nutritional sustainability.”

Vegetarian or vegan diets are more common among liberal consumers, with the rate of vegetarianism or veganism in this group being approximately twice as high as among moderate and conservative consumers.

Liberal consumers also report choosing unconventional food items more often than moderate and conservative consumers. Such items include cage-free eggs, plant-based proteins, and organic foods.

“But we see similarities among consumers of all political persuasions when it comes to recycling and waste reduction,” Bryant said.

“Understandably, we see some differences in what consumers believe about the food system based on their political leanings,” Bryant said. This is particularly true for the level of agreement with statements about the connection between the food system and the environment.

A majority of liberal consumers believe eating less meat is better for the environment (70%), compared to just 31% of conservative consumers. Similarly, 71% of liberals think agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, compared to 29% of conservatives.

“But most consumers, regardless of political leanings, agree that local food is better for the environment,” Bryant said.

The Center for Food Demand Analytics and Sustainability is part of Purdue’s Next Moves in agriculture and food systems, using innovative data analysis shared through user-friendly platforms to improve the food system. In addition to the Consumer Food Insights Report, the center offers a number of online dashboards.

Author: Steve Koppes