We have Some Calves left! Socially Accepted Alternatives to the Current Handling of Male Calves from Dairy Production

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Consumers’ actual knowledge about modern food production is limited, and their judgment is often guided by assumptions or associations that are not necessarily in line with reality. Consumers’ rather unrealistic idea of livestock farming is driven by beautiful and romanticized pictures in advertising. If confronted with the reality of modern livestock farming, consumers’ responses are mainly negative. So far, dairy farming still has a more positive image and thus is less affected by public criticism. However, if made public, some of the current production practices in dairy farming have the potential to reduce consumer acceptance which in turn can have a tremendous effect on farmers. A particularly urgent topic is the handling of male dairy calves. Such calves are often treated as surplus animals due to their low genetic merits for meat, with the risk of resulting in the deprivation of animal welfare. To maintain consumer acceptance of dairy products and find socially accepted alternatives for the handling of male calves, insights into consumer perception of current and future production practices in dairy farming are needed. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze how consumers evaluate the current situation of male dairy calves and alternatives in male calf management. A quantitative online survey, representative for the German population in terms of gender, age, education, region, and income, was carried out with 1 194 participants in February 2022. Overall, 60% of participants were not aware of the fact that male dairy calves are less appropriate for fattening purposes. Respondents saw a clear need for alternative methods for handling male calves from dairy production. More, our results show that the use of sexed semen encounters consumer resistance, while other alternatives that were evaluated as more natural were more accepted. A cluster analysis identified 3 distinct consumer segments labelled “sexed semen opponents” (31.6%), “undecided” (30.4%), and “proponents of all alternatives” (38.0%) that differed in their acceptance of alternative handling practices of male dairy calves. The results emphasize the gap between consumers’ expectations and reality on farms and the importance of considering consumer preferences when developing future pathways for dairy farming.

Original languageEnglish
Article number11
JournalFood Ethics
Volume8
Issue number2
Number of pages14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10.2023
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Patterns of species composition and species richness in moist (ash-alder) forests of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein)
  2. „A new era in the settlement of investment disputes?“ – Reformvorschläge der EU-Kommission zum Investitionsschutz in TTIP
  3. Staging Arts in the Historic City: Development Funding, Social Media Images, and Tunisia's Contemporary Public Art Scene
  4. Methodologies for noise and gross error detection using univariate signal-based approaches in industrial applications
  5. The Use of Environmental Management Accounting for Investment in and Control of ‘Clean Development Mechanism’ Projects
  6. Ya'ar Bar'am - An old Quercus calliprinos forest of high nature conservation value in the Mediterranean region of Israel
  7. Frauenförderung, Frauen und Geschlechterforschung und Gleichstellung - eine wesentliche Aufgabe im Hochschulmanagement
  8. Analyzing math teacher students' sensitivity for aspects of the complexity of problem oriented mathematics instruction
  9. A longitudinal analysis of the knowledge and application of sustainability management tools in large German companies
  10. Local and landscape level variables influence butterfly diversity in critically endangered South African renosterveld
  11. Jugenddelinquenz in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg
  12. Constellations of Transdisciplinary Practices: A Map and Research Agenda for the Responsible Management Learning Field
  13. Deciphering Sustainable Consumption: Understanding Motives and Heuristic Cues in the Context of Personal Care Products
  14. The Population Trajectories Both of the Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and the Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) in Spain
  15. Editorial: Psychische gesundheit von chronisch kranken und/oder behinderten kindern und jugendlichen und Ihren familien
  16. Soil and tree species traits both shape soil microbial communities during early growth of Chinese subtropical forests
  17. Iran: Streit um Urananreicherung gefährdet Ausbau der Öl- und Erdgasgewinnung und führt zu Spannungen auf dem Ölmarkt
  18. Linking large-scale and small-scale distribution patterns of steppe plant species—An example using fourth-corner analysis
  19. Simulation of the fate of Boscalid and its transformation product 4-Chlorobenzoic acid in a vineyard-terraces catchment
  20. Identifizierung und Bewertung ausgewählter Arzneimittel und ihrer Metaboliten (Ab- und Umbauprodukte) im Wasserkreislauf
  21. Vom Studiengang zur Wissenschaftsinitiative - einige Beobachtungen zur Entwicklung der Lüneburger Kulturwissenschaften
  22. Model predictive control of transistor pulse converter for feeding electromagnetic valve actuator with energy storage