Are Consumers Willing-to-Pay a Price Premium for Environmentally Friendlier Foods?

This study examines consumers’ valuation for hybrid rice cultivars associated
with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in production and conventionally bred rice cultivars associated with higher GHG emissions in production using nonhypothetical experimental auctions. Further, it estimates the interaction effects of GHG emission, food miles, and origin/locality attributes on valuation for rice. Results suggest that consumers are willing to pay a premium for lower GHG emitting cultivars compared to the relatively higher GHG emitting conventionally bred rice. This premium increases for a low GHG emitting, locally grown and low food miles variety, especially when compared to high GHG emitting, non-locally grown and high food miles variety. However, there is no statistically significant difference in valuation between a low GHG emitting, non-local and high food miles rice variety and a high GHG emitting, local and low food miles rice variety.