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Research Article
Birds select conventional over organic wheat when given free choice
Article first published online: 19 MAY 2010
DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.4025
Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry
Issue
1097-0010/asset/cover.gif?v=1&s=b47620dd25eabc179c6838560a664c2310e44227 "Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture")
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Volume 90, Issue 11, pages 1861–1869, 30 August 2010
Additional Information
How to Cite
McKenzie, A. J. and Whittingham, M. J. (2010), Birds select conventional over organic wheat when given free choice. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 90: 1861–1869. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.4025
Publication History
- Issue published online: 5 JUL 2010
- Article first published online: 19 MAY 2010
- Manuscript Revised: 25 MAR 2010
- Manuscript Accepted: 25 MAR 2010
- Manuscript Received: 18 FEB 2010
Funded by
- BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship
- NERC
- British Trust for Ornithology
Keywords:
- organic food;
- farmland;
- consumer perceptions;
- diet selection;
- protein selection
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Global demand for organic produce is increasing by €4 billion annually. One key reason why consumers buy organic food is because they consider it to be better for human and animal health. Reviews comparing organic and conventional food have stated that organic food is preferred by birds and mammals in choice tests.
RESULTS: This study shows the opposite result—that captive birds in the laboratory and wild garden birds both consumed more conventional than organic wheat when given free choice. There was a lag in preference formation during which time birds learnt to distinguish between the two food types, which is likely to explain why the present results differ from those of previous studies. A further experiment confirmed that, of 16 potential causal factors, detection by birds of consistently higher levels of protein in conventional seeds (a common difference between many organic and conventional foodstuffs) is the likely mechanism behind this pattern.
CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the current dogma that organic food is preferred to conventional food may not always be true, which is of considerable importance for consumer perceptions of organically grown food. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry