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Cultured meat has been proposed as an alternative source of protein to overcome the environmental and ethical problems associated with conventional meat production. However, the lack of consumers' acceptance could be a major barrier to the introduction of cultured meat on a large scale. Despite Brazil being one of the countries that consumes the most meat per capita, little is known about Brazilian consumers' preferences for alternative meat. The objective of this study is to identify which attributes influence consumers to possibly replace conventional beef meat with cultured meat in Brazil. An online survey was conducted, and Best-worst scaling methodology was applied to a sample of 225 consumers. The sampling leaned towards educated and employed residents of the southeast region of Brazil, which might not fully represent the Brazilian population. Despite limitations in terms of the sampling demographic, overall, Brazilians appear to be willing to consume cultured meat: 80.9% of the sample would be willing to try it, 61.3% would be willing to eat it regularly, and 56.9% would be willing to eat cultured meat as a replacement for conventionally produced beef. Despite the focus of this study being on attributes of a hypothetical product that is not commercially available, which might pose difficulty to consumers to predict their future consumption behavior, results show that the most important attributes influencing consumers to possibly replace conventional beef meat by cultured meat in Brazil are anticipated risk of zoonotic diseases, anticipated healthiness and anticipated food safety conditions. Attributes related to benefits at a global societal level and intrinsic characteristics of cultured meat were less important.

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This study aimed to investigate factors associated with grain feeding and determine the typology of dairy farms that use high-grain diets. Twenty-two farm operators were interviewed in three municipalities located in the central-western region of Paraná state, Brazil. Information on reproductive and nutritional management practices, sociodemographic characteristics, and farm performance was collected. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis, and multiple linear regression. Three factors (F1, F2, and F3) were extracted, which together explained 82.61% of the total variance. F1 comprised diet quality, technology, and breeding composition. F2 comprised labor and size. F3 comprised feed quality and schooling. Farms were classified into four groups and compared in terms of factor scores and performance parameters. Group 1 had the highest mean score on F1 (0.715), group 4 on F2 (1.642), and group 2 on F3 (1.116). Groups 4 and 1 had the highest milk productivity (2043.50 and 399.52 L day−1, respectively) and labor efficiency (418.16 and 148.63 L worker−1 day−1, respectively). Group 4 also had the highest mean number of cows per worker (25.52 cows worker−1). Regression analysis revealed that diet quality, technology, and breeding composition (F1) explained the variance in cow productivity. Labor and size, (F2) explained the variance in number of cows per worker. Daily productivity and labor efficiency were explained by both F1 and F2. Feed quality and farm operator's level of schooling did not explain the variation in any of the variables. We found that roughage quality, breeding technology, and herd breed composition are the major factors associated with grain feeding. Farmers who feed cows high-quality roughage throughout the year and invest in genetic improvement and selective breeding strategies are more likely to adopt high-grain feeding and have high milk productivity.(AU)

Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar os fatores associados ao uso de grãos e determinar a tipologia de fazendas leiteiras que utilizam dietas ricas em grãos. Foram entrevistados 22 produtores rurais em três municípios localizados na região centro-oeste do estado do Paraná, Brasil. As informações foram coletadas sobre práticas de manejo reprodutivo e nutricional, características sociodemográficas e desempenho da fazenda. Os dados foram analisados por meio de análise fatorial exploratória, análise de agrupamento hierárquico e regressão linear múltipla. Foram extraídos três fatores (F1, F2 e F3), que juntos explicaram 82,61% da variância total. F1 compreendeu uso de grãos, qualidade da dieta, estratégia de melhoramento genético e composição racial do rebanho. F2 compreendeu as características da força de trabalho, tamanho do rebanho e tamanho da fazenda. F3 compreendeu o nível de escolaridade e a qualidade da alimentação. As fazendas foram classificadas em quatro grupos e comparadas em termos de escores dos fatores e variáveis de desempenho. O grupo 1 teve a maior escore médio em F1 (0,715), o grupo 4 em F2 (1,642) e o grupo 2 em F3 (1,116). Os grupos 4 e 1 tiveram a maior produtividade de leite (2043,50 e 399,52 L dia−1, respectivamente) e eficiência de trabalho (418,16 e 148,63 L trabalhador −1 dia−1, respectivamente). O Grupo 4 também teve o maior número médio de vacas por trabalhador (25,52 vacas trabalhador−1). A análise de regressão revelou que a qualidade da dieta, estratégia de criação e composição do rebanho (F1) explicaram a variação na produtividade das vacas. As características da força de trabalho, tamanho do rebanho e tamanho da fazenda (F2) explicaram a variação no número de vacas por trabalhador. A produtividade diária e a eficiência do trabalho foram explicadas por F1 e F2. A qualidade da alimentação e o nível de escolaridade do produtor rural não explicaram a variação em nenhuma das variáveis. Descobrimos que a qualidade do volumoso, a tecnologia de melhoramento genético dos animais e a composição do rebanho são os principais fatores associados à alimentação a base de grãos. Os produtores que alimentam as vacas com volumoso de alta qualidade ao longo do ano e investem em melhoramento genético e estratégias reprodutivas têm maior probabilidade de adotar alto teor de grãos na dieta das vacas e ter alta produtividade.(AU)

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The aim of this study is to investigate the factors influencing consumer willingness to accept the use of insects to feed poultry, cattle, pigs, and fish. To reach this objective, we conducted an online survey with Brazilian consumers. 600 questionnaires were collected. We analyzed data using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. In general, the use of insects to feed poultry, pigs and cattle was not widely accepted. A more widely acceptance was found for the use of insects to feed fish. The results of logistic regressions models show that positive attitudes are associated with a higher probability of accepting the use of insects to feed poultry, pigs, cattle, and fish. Perceived benefits were associated with a higher likelihood of accepting the use of insects to feed fish. However, perceived benefits were also associated with a lower likelihood of accepting the use of insects to feed poultry. Perceived challenges were associated with a higher likelihood of accepting the use of insects to feed poultry. However, perceived challenges were associated with a lower likelihood of accepting the use of insects to feed pigs.

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Brazil, one of the leading countries in livestock production, has not yet developed legislation considering animal welfare issues and most of the actions to improve farm animal welfare (FAW) standards are developed by livestock industries and government focusing in meet the demands of exporting countries. Such actions resulted in FAW protocols and manuals for adoption of best management practices. In this context, farmers' decisions are of particular importance as they may comply with current FAW protocols or even decide to provide better FAW standards than required. A present example of farmers' decisions to provide better FAW standards than required by FAW protocols is in the adoption of environmental enrichment in pig farming. This practice is widely available to pig farmers, however, anecdotal evidence shows that the adoption rate is low. This study uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a framework to identify the socio-psychological factors that influence pig farmers' intention to adopt environmental enrichment on their farms. The TPB hypothesizes that intention is determined by three psychological constructs: attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. These three constructs are derived from behavioral, normative, and control beliefs, respectively. Self-identity was added as an additional construct to explain intention. A survey with 185 farmers was conducted. We used Partial-Least-Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to identify the impact of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and self-identity on farmers' intention to adopt environmental enrichment on their farms. We used MIMIC models to identify the most important beliefs underlying farmers' intention to adopt environmental enrichment in their farms. Results show that the intention of farmers to adopt was mainly determined by their positive perceptions about their own capability to adopt environmental enrichment (perceived behavioral control), followed by their perceptions about the social pressure to adopt it (subjective norms), their positive evaluations of adoption (attitude), and self-identity. The most important behavioral beliefs were 'increase productivity', and 'decrease animals stress'. The most important normative beliefs were 'family', 'neighbor farmers', 'pig buyers', and 'experts'. The most important control belief was 'receive bonus when selling pigs'. These results revealed important implications to design public and private interventions aimed to stimulate the adoption of animal friendly practices.

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The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions of Brazilian citizens about the general conditions of animal welfare in the poultry, beef, and dairy supply chains. To reach this aim, an online survey was conducted. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics and three logistic regression models. Results of descriptive statistics showed that citizens in Brazil had mostly negative perceptions about the conditions of animal welfare in the poultry, beef, and dairy supply chains. Results of the logistic regression models showed that citizens with a background in agricultural/veterinary sciences, and citizens who reported a higher level of knowledge about poultry and dairy supply chains were more likely to perceive the general conditions of animal welfare in these two supply chains as being bad. Citizens who reported previous contact with poultry farms were also more likely to perceive the general conditions of animal welfare in the poultry supply chain as being bad. In addition, the perception that farmers are mainly focused on the economic aspect of farming and less on animal welfare, the perception that animals do not have a good quality of life while housed on farms, and the perception that animals are not adequately transported and slaughtered, negatively impact on perceptions about the general conditions of animal welfare in the poultry, beef, and dairy supply chains.

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