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As improving nutritional quality and sustainability can raise production costs, understanding willingness to pay is crucial. This study shows that taste and price are the strongest drivers of UK cheese purchases. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for Scottish cheddar, though a “British” label generates higher perceived value. Sustainability claims, especially “Carbon Neutral”, and nutrition messaging such as “High in Protein”, further increase willingness to pay and strengthen product appeal. These findings suggest that using targeted ecolabels and health claims could help Scottish
Does producing higher-quality food lead to a price premium in the market? We analysed the impact that a Protected Geographical (PGI) label had on the price and sales of Orkney cheddar, which gained its PGI status in 2013. A PGI label identifies a product as originating in a specific place, region or country, and has a known quality, reputation of other characteristic attributable to that specific location. Using data from 2006–2023, we examined sales and pricing to measure policy impact. While Orkney cheddar is priced above other cheddars, it’s unclear if the PGI itself has boosted profits.
Environmental enrichment is about adding features to simple/unfurnished environments used to house intensively managed farm animals. To be effective, enrichments should have positive effects on animal welfare. This briefing provides a summary of current legal and farm assurance standards for enrichment in the UK and an analysis of these standards in terms of delivering effective enrichment. Project page
Animal welfare relies on both the prevention of suffering and the facilitation of positive experiences. A growing body of academic literature considers the concept of ‘animal agency’ to be a key organising principle of positive welfare - over and above having good things, positive welfare is about doing them. Exercising agency is to lead an active life, applying effort, competence and choice in fulfilling one’s own needs and wishes. Through expression of agency, animals flourish, actively creating well-being for themselves rather than passively consuming it. This policy brief considers
Building on our previous blog, which explored antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in agri-food systems, this piece highlights new research from The James Hutton Institute on AMR across water environments. Understanding AMR in Scotland’s Rivers: A Multi-Scale Approach Rivers play a vital role in the movement of AMR across ecosystems. Human and agricultural activities, such as the discharge of treated and untreated sewage, application of livestock manure, slurry, anaerobic digestate, and faecal deposition on grazing land, introduce resistant bacteria and genes into watercourses. Once present, AMR can
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health risk. It stops treatments (such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics) from working and therefore reduces our ability to combat infections. Although AMR occurs naturally, the overuse and misuse of antimicrobial drugs (for example, the use of the antibiotic, colistin, as a growth promoter in meat production) has accelerated AMR to the point where clinical cases of infection with resistant microorganisms have drastically risen. It has been referred to as ‘ the silent pandemic [that] could have consequences far more
An opportunity for an individual researcher, or small team of researchers, is available in the form of a new Fellowship, funded by SEFARI Gateway, Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Scottish Development International (SDI), and working in collaboration with HIE on behalf of Life Sciences Scotland Industry Leadership AAA sub-group. The fellowship will generate a report into the current composition, size and value of the AAA sector in Scotland, and a further report exploring the opportunities and barriers to growth of the Scottish AAA sector in a global context. The fellowship is larger
We are delighted to share with you the latest copy of the ELPEG Bulletin. The bulletins are produced every six months and summarise the biodiversity research that is happening within the Strategic Research Programme. The bulletins aim to provide a policy relevant summary of the research. The October 2025 bulletin can be accessed here.
SEFARI PhD Showcase Throughout the SEFARI PhD Showcase conversations flowed easily as people caught up with each other, explored posters, and shared ideas spanning everything from organoids (miniature, simplified versions of organs) to tree disease, soil stewardship, and food insecurity across the globe. What stood out most to me was the energy and curiosity in the room. Questions were thoughtful, never adversarial and asked with a genuine interest and shared desire to learn. It reminded me of what I loved about doing my PhD, a rare opportunity to immerse yourself fully in a subject, take