What factors may affect the consumer decision

Q1. What factors may affect the consumer decision making process for purchasing beef?

A1. Food consumers consider a variety of factors when determining which type of food to purchase and in what quantities. To begin with, not all consumers accept beef as an acceptable food choice. These consumers, vegetarians, are not likely to be persuaded to purchase beef at all because of religious or moral objections to meat in general, and to red meat in particular.

Leaving aside vegetarians, factors that affect the decision to purchase beef begin with the way in which beef is perceived. Pasta, for example, can be used as a main dish or a side dish; beef is perceived to be relegated to the main dish. In its various forms, beef may be the focal point of the meal, as in a steak or prime rib, or it may be part of a larger dish, such as in the case of a casserole. Beef is also used for smaller meals, as in hot dogs and hamburgers.

Regardless of its eventual use, whether as the focal point of the meal or as part of a larger dish, beef faces severe competition from substitute goods. These include poultry and fish, with chicken accounting for most of the poultry products (although turkey is becoming increasingly popular). Fish and poultry can both be served as main dishes, and poultry producers have made inroads into beef's traditional role in hot dogs and hamburgers through the marketing of turkey dogs, chicken dogs, and ground turkey and ground chicken, which can also be incorporate

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ntribute to heart disease and stroke as a result of the fat and cholesterol associated with it is a major news story. This is something that affects all Americans and the news media can bring its own authority to the story by encouraging changes in eating habits. The information that beef is actually not as bad as first presented is not as significant a news story, except perhaps to the beef industry. From a news standpoint, it is interesting information and is passed along to consumers, but without the fanfare that accompanies the announcement of a major health threat. If consumers return to eating beef, they will not suffer any ill health effects; if they continue to make beef a small part of their diet, the health effects will be the same. This is a significant contrast to the initial story where not cutting back beef intake was considered to pose a significant health risk. In this way, the beef industry lost another valuable "expert" system which influenced consumer decisions about cutting back on consumption, but which did not have the power to reshape thinking about beef once the information was corrected. Attitudes change when the individual perceives that there is a strong reason for changing that attitude. Despite

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