Feed for thought : factors predicting public support for funding and labelling preferences of alternative aquafeed

• Main Authors: Tan, Wenqi, Lau, Keith Xuan Liang, Chua, Pearlyn Yong Ying, Chan, Joshua Zhen An
• Other Authors: Shirley S. Ho
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147218
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Alternative aquafeed is currently being researched as a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to help bolster aquaculture production, which plays an integral role in supplying global seafood demand. Guided by the cognitive miser model and knowledge deficit model, this study aims to examine factors predicting public support for funding the development of alternative aquafeed and public preference for labelling fish fed with alternative aquafeed. Using data collected from an online survey of 1011 respondents, this study found that heuristics and predispositions – namely, environmental involvement, affect, trust in regulatory bodies, and benefit perception – were more influential than knowledge in shaping the dependent variables. This study also investigated how heuristics serve as perceptual filters, interacting with knowledge when influencing public support for funding and preference for labelling. This indicates that dependent on their predispositions and available heuristic cues, individuals might interpret the same information differently. Most importantly, the findings suggest that labels may serve varying roles and can be an effective way for actors in the food industry to communicate to the consumer.