Green Grass

Growing demand for beef and dairy products in Germany contributes to the trend towards intensive animal husbandry. Pasture grazing is increasingly superseded by stall husbandry and feeding silage and concentrate. Efficient in terms of product yield, intensive animal husbandry is also a major contributor to climate change and biodiversity loss. Pasture grazing, on the other hand, promotes biodiversity and a wide range of ecosystem services. The goal of the GreenGrass project is to bring cows back to pasture by creating a virtual herding technology that enables sustainable and efficient use of grasslands for livestock grazing. To make grazing attractive for the farmers, consumer support is required, expressed in demand for and willingness to pay a premium for biodiversity-friendly products from animals raised in innovative grazing systems. Convincing targeted communication of the benefits of these products is crucial for consumer motivation to purchase.

The University of Kassel is responsible for the project part that aims at building up consumer acceptance and special appreciation of premium animal products derived from innovative grazing systems. To achieve this goal, existing communication material will be collected, analyzed and used as a foundation for the development of new targeted communication material in different presentation forms. Next, newly designed media will be tested using think aloud protocols to enable further optimization. A new labelling system for differentiation of GreenGrass products will be conceptualized and discussed in focus groups. The results of the qualitative studies are the basis for the measurement of consumers’ willingness to pay for GreenGrass products using in-store survey with choice experiments. Experiment results will then provide a basis for the final step of the research, controlled market tests of selected GreenGrass products in food retail stores. The focus will be placed on the measurement of effectiveness of communication materials on consumer demand and willingness to pay for GreenGrass products. The results of the study will answer the question whether farmers’ expenses arising from the use of innovative grazing systems for biodiversity preservation and restoration measures can be covered through price premiums for GreenGrass products.

• Stampa, E. und Zander, K. (2022): Backing biodiversity? German consumers’ views on a multi-level biodiversity-labeling scheme for beef from grazing-based production systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 370(1), 133471; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133471

• Stampa, E.; Zander, K.; Hamm, U. (2020): Insights into German consumers’ perceptions of virtual fencing in grassland-based beef and dairy systems: Recommendations for communication. Animals, 10(12), 2267; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122267
• Stampa, E.; Schipmann-Schwarze, C; Hamm, U. (2020): Consumer perceptions, preferences, and behavior regarding pasture-raised livestock products: A review. Food Quality and Preference, 82: 103872, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.103872