The Role of Livestock Production Ethics in Consumer Values Towards Meat

In general, these survey respondents indicated low levels of commitment towards the purchase of organic meats and little concern for ethical issues. The most important criteria for meat selection were price and product appearance, the latter being used as a predictor of product quality. Many attitude-behavior anomalies were identified, mainly as a result of respondents' cognitive dissonance and lack of understanding regarding meat production criteria.

Consumers appeared to delegate responsibilities for ethical issues to the meat retailer or government. A conceptual framework is proposed that illustrates the significance of consumer involvement in how meat-purchasing decisions are approached in terms of the evaluation of tangible and/or intangible quality attributes. The results also point to the need for further research into those aspects of quality that individuals tend to address at the level of the citizen (law), rather than at the point of purchase.