Jantine Voordouw

Sustainability and meat consumption: is reduction realistic?

Abstract Meat is critical with respect to sustainability because meat products are among the most energy-intensive and ecologically burdensome foods. Empirical studies of the meat-consumption frequency of Dutch consumers show that, apart from meat-avoiders and meat-eaters, many people are meat-reducers that eat no meat at least one day per week. Meat-consumption frequencies provide empirical evidence for different modes of “flexitarianism,” including light, medium, and heavy flexitarians. In particular, the existence of heavy flexitarians suggests that the customary position of meat and other animal-based dietary products in the food hierarchy is not inviolable. To improve our understanding of meat reduction, cluster analysis adds information about differences across flexitarians. Given the enormous environmental impact of animal-protein consumption and the apparent sympathy of consumers for meat reduction, it is surprising that politicians and policy makers demonstrate little, if any, interest in strategies to reduce meat consumption and to encourage more sustainable eating practices.

Social and Economic Costs of Food Allergies in Europe: Development of a Questionnaire to Measure Costs and Health Utility

OBJECTIVES To develop a questionnaire to measure the additional social costs of food allergies (FAs). DATA SOURCE AND STUDY SETTING: People with FAs and sampled members of the general population (with and without FAs) in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 2006. STUDY DESIGN (1) Literature review. (2) Focus group to identify key costs of FAs and seek views on the questionnaires. (3) Pilot survey to test the questionnaires in cases and controls. DATA COLLECTION Twenty-eight participants in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands with clinically or self-diagnosed FAs took part in one of five focus groups. A case-control postal survey was conducted in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (with 125 FA cases and 62 controls). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Methods exist to measure social costs in chronic illness, but not FAs. Focus groups found features of FAs likely to impact costs of living. Pilot results suggest higher costs of living and health care costs, and well-being in FAs. CONCLUSION The questionnaire is proposed for use in wider European and other comparative studies of FAs.

Health sector costs of self-reported food allergy in Europe: a patient-based cost of illness study.

INTRODUCTION Food allergy is a recognized health problem, but little has been reported on its cost for health services. The EuroPrevall project was a European study investigating the patterns, prevalence and socio-economic cost of food allergy. AIMS To investigate the health service cost for food-allergic Europeans and the relationship between severity and cost of illness. METHODS Participants recruited through EuroPrevall studies in a case-control study in four countries, and cases only in five countries, completed a validated economics questionnaire. Individuals with possible food allergy were identified by clinical history, and those with food-specific immunoglobulin E were defined as having probable allergy. Data on resource use were used to estimate total health care costs of illness. Mean costs were compared in the case-control cohorts. Regression analysis was conducted on cases from all 9 countries to assess impact of country, severity and age group. RESULTS Food-allergic individuals had higher health care costs than controls. The mean annual cost of health care was international dollars (I

Household costs associated with food allergy: an exploratory study

)2016 for food-allergic adults and I

Socio-Economic Issues Associated with Food Allergy

1089 for controls, a difference of I

THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD HYPERSENSITIVITY IN HOUSEHOLDS: A STUDY IN THE NETHERLANDS, POLAND, AND SPAIN

927 (95% confidence interval I

Food-allergic consumers' labelling preferences: a cross-cultural comparison

324-I

Food allergic consumers' preferences for labelling practices: a qualitative study in a real shopping environment.

1530). A similar result was found for adults in each country, and for children, and was not sensitive to baseline demographic differences. Cost was significantly related to severity of illness in cases in nine countries. CONCLUSIONS Food allergy is associated with higher health care costs. Severity of allergic symptoms is a key explanatory factor.

Identification of new food alternatives: How do consumers categorize meat and meat substitutes?

Purpose – Food allergy has potential to affect direct, indirect and intangible economic costs experienced by food allergic individuals and their families, resulting in negative impacts on welfare and well‐being. The purpose of this paper is to develop an instrument to assess these economic costs of food allergy at household level and to conduct an exploratory analysis of potential economic impact.Design/methodology/approach – A case‐controlled postal pilot survey was conducted using a self‐completion instrument. Cases had either clinically or self‐diagnosed food allergy. Controls were obtained from households in which none of the members had food allergies.Findings – The instrument appeared sensitive to the economic cost differences between households with and without food allergic members. Direct costs of health care were significantly higher for cases than for controls. Similar differences were identified for indirect cost of lost earnings, and costs due to inability to perform domestic tasks because of...

The information needs and labelling preferences of food allergic consumers: the views of stakeholders regarding information scenarios

Food allergies affect a substantial proportion of the population, with prevalence estimates ranging from 1% to 11% of the population suffering from some complaints. Dietary exclusion of allergenic foods, ingredients and derived products, if necessary, represents the primary risk management strategy at the present time. Given the potentially profound consequences of experiencing an allergic reaction, food allergy has the potential to negatively affect the socio-economic functioning of those food allergic patients, as well as their families. The results of research focused on the socio-economic impact of food allergy suggest that, whilst food allergy has the potential to have a profound impact on the well-being of consumers, not all food allergy management activities are equally preferred by food allergy sufferers. The introduction of novel hypoallergenic products produced using potentially controversial food technologies is not universally accepted by food allergic consumers. There is considerable consumer demand for accurate allergen labeling of food products. Questions arise as to whether current regulatory frameworks (for example, the General Food Law in Europe) are adequate in terms of optimizing consumer protection. Potential future areas of research will be discussed, in particular those where international collaboration is needed to attain the research objectives.