Skip to Main Content

Policy opinions revealed in Consumer Food Insights Report

As the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture reviews the Farm Bill, consumers shared their opinions on food and agriculture policy in a new survey. The third Consumer Food Insights Report from Purdue University offers insights into the popularity of specific policies and how opinions differ depending on a consumer’s income.

Increased funding for research to create crops more resistant to heat drought and flooding, and conservation programs to pay farmers and ranchers to adopt climate-smart practices were the most popular policies included, with more than 80 percent of the consumers in support. In addition, 63 percent of the respondents agreed that climate change will influence food prices.

Food safety and inspection ranked as the most important USDA budget category. 

Consumers ranked food safety and inspection as the most important USDA budget category Consumers ranked food safety and inspection as the most important USDA budget category. The majority of consumers think the Federal Government should spend more in this category. (Purdue University Image/Courtesy of the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability)

The survey-based report out of  Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability assesses food security and spending, consumer satisfaction and values, support of agricultural and food policies and trust in information sources. 

Additional key results from the March survey include:

  • The Sustainable Food Purchasing (SFP) Index remained at 68/100
  • Share of households experiencing very low food security rose to 9.7%
  • Inability to find specific foods at the store decreased to 21%
  • Total food spending increased by 8%
  • 16% of spending on food away from home went to delivery
  • At present, consumer food demand is price insensitive

The March survey added an examination of differences in responses across low, middle and high income brackets. The results showed differences in support of policies like SNAP benefits and a sweetened beverage tax, as well as in self-assessment of sustainable food purchasing.

a new survey by Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability Consumers shared their opinions on food and agriculture policies in a new survey by Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability. A large majority support increased funding for research and conservation, according to the Consumer Food Insights Report. (Purdue University Image/Courtesy of The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability)

“The survey results show that income is a big driver of food preferences and buying behavior,” said Jayson Lusk, the head and Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue, who leads the center. “Lower income consumers spend a larger share of the their income on food, place greater weight on food affordability, are more likely to choose generic over branded products, and are overall less happy with their diets than higher income consumers. As a result, policies that increase the price of food have a disproportionate impact on lower income households.”

Another interesting policy-related result was broad support for the regulation of environmental claims that food companies can make, he said.

“Consumers may be confused by or have difficulty navigating the current food sustainability advertising landscape,” Lusk said. “Seventy percent of respondents supported new regulations on what companies can say about their products.”

The survey results showed large majorities support individual policies that could improve food system outcomes, such as funding more agricultural research or regulating confined animal feeding operations, said Sam Polson, a food and agriculture survey scientist for the center and co-author of the report.

“However, from a policymaking perspective, there is an increasing congressional focus on large omnibus legislation, and the public opinion data on these bills tend to be less clear,” he said. “It is difficult to say that the popularity of a policy like expanding pandemic-related SNAP benefits would hold when attached to other policy objectives.“

"Our results also reaffirm conventional wisdom in policymaking: spending less rarely makes for popular policy. People are much more likely to support the status quo or favor increased federal spending.”

The Sustainable Food Purchasing Index (SFP) value for March remained the same as February at 68/100. The score reflects consumer food purchasing that aligns with a set of key recommendations for healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The index includes six components correlating with different strategies for achieving food system transformation: nutrition, environment, social, economic, security and taste.

Higher income consumers tended to rate the sustainability of their diets as higher than did lower income consumers, particularly on dimensions related to taste, security, economics, and nutrition. By contrast, there were very little difference in high vs. low income on sustainability dimensions related to social and environment, Lusk said. He further discusses the report in his blog.

The Consumer Food Insights Report examined differences in responses across low-, middle- and high-income brackets The Consumer Food Insights Report examined differences in responses across low-, middle- and high-income brackets. The results showed differences in support of policies, as well as in self-assessment of sustainable food purchasing. (Purdue University Image/Courtesy of the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability)
The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability is part of Purdue’s Next Moves in agriculture and food systems, and seeks to use 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 portfolio of online dashboards.

Featured Stories

Sophia Dasaro
Sophia Dasaro - Graduate Ag Research Spotlight

Sophia Dasaro was 8 when she accompanied her mother, who works in human resources for a...

Read More
Professor adjusts equipment in Pilot Plant.
Purdue launches institute to help farmers commercialize new value-added products

A newly formed institute at Purdue University is offering training and development support to...

Read More
Bag of chips
Most surveyed grocery shoppers report noticing shrinkflation

Over three-quarters of surveyed consumers say they have noticed shrinkflation at the grocery...

Read More
Hand-held device with a screen displaying colored thermal camera images
Purdue wildlife and aviation programs collaborate on deer population study

An outbreak of often-fatal epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) afflicted more than 500...

Read More
Veterans learning how to care for bee hives.
From service to soil: veterans find new purpose in agriculture through AgrAbility

In 2022, after serving in the Army for 30 years, Colonel Joe Ricker began exploring his next...

Read More
Memorial Mall: Farmer Sentiment in October
Farmer sentiment in October rebounded ahead of the U.S. election

Farmer sentiment saw an unexpected surge in October ahead of the upcoming U.S. election,...

Read More
To Top