Consumers’ Health and Environmental Attitudes and Local Food Purchases

There has been increasing interest in the health and environmental benefits of the growth of local food, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, local food and labels have many implications and attributes, such as organic, non-GMO, and reduced-chemical production. Therefore, consumers’ purchase decisions and willingness to pay for local labels with sustainable attributes are heterogeneous. This study uses a consumer survey in Missouri to examine how differences and differentiations in health and environmental attitudes affect consumers’ willingness to pay for local food. A discrete choice experiment and a structural equation model (SEM) were employed to measure how personal attitudes affect consumer’s willingness to pay for local labels (typical label and state-grown). Results show that supportive attitudes toward local farms and farmers positively affect consumer preferences for locally labeled produce, but the premiums will be lower if they are more concerned about GMOs and pesticide residue in food. No evidence was found for the effects of general environmental attitudes on willingness to pay for local food.