title: The influence of innovation-adoption characteristics on consumers' trust and purchase intentions of innovative alternative proteins: A comparison between plant-based food, cultured food, and insect-based food

authors: Wang, Ou

subjects: consumers

abstract: Innovation-adoption characteristics encompass the perceived attributes that are associated with the pace at which consumers adopt innovations. This study investigates the impact of innovation-adoption characteristics on consumers' trust and purchase intentions of three categories of innovative alternative protein: cultured food, plant-based food, and insect-based food. Data was collected through web-based surveys conducted in New Zealand (n = 1019) and the United Kingdom (n = 1020). Data analysis involved factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Consumers' trust and purchase intentions of the three categories of innovative alternative protein were found to be significantly influenced by several or all of the following innovation-adoption characteristics: perceived subjective incentive, perceived complexity, perceived relative advantage, perceived risk, and trialability. When examining specific food products, consumers exhibited significantly higher levels of trust and intention to purchase plant-based food products, such as plant-based meat and plant-based milk, in comparison to cultured food products, including cultured fresh meat, cultured processed meat, cultured seafood, and cell-based milk, as well as insect-based food. The study offers novel insights to the existing gap in understanding the impact of innovation-adoption characteristics on consumer adoption of innovative alternative proteins. These findings have the potential to assist stakeholders in the food industry in formulating effective promotional strategies for such products.

text: The influence of innovation-adoption characteristics on consumers' trust and purchase intentions of innovative alternative proteins: A comparison between plant-based food, cultured food, and insect-based food Innovation-adoption characteristics encompass the perceived attributes that are associated with the pace at which consumers adopt innovations. This study investigates the impact of innovation-adoption characteristics on consumers' trust and purchase intentions of three categories of innovative alternative protein: cultured food, plant-based food, and insect-based food. Data was collected through web-based surveys conducted in New Zealand (n = 1019) and the United Kingdom (n = 1020). Data analysis involved factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Consumers' trust and purchase intentions of the three categories of innovative alternative protein were found to be significantly influenced by several or all of the following innovation-adoption characteristics: perceived subjective incentive, perceived complexity, perceived relative advantage, perceived risk, and trialability. When examining specific food products, consumers exhibited significantly higher levels of trust and intention to purchase plant-based food products, such as plant-based meat and plant-based milk, in comparison to cultured food products, including cultured fresh meat, cultured processed meat, cultured seafood, and cell-based milk, as well as insect-based food. The study offers novel insights to the existing gap in understanding the impact of innovation-adoption characteristics on consumer adoption of innovative alternative proteins. These findings have the potential to assist stakeholders in the food industry in formulating effective promotional strategies for such products.

year: 2024

title: Resistance to African black beetle (Heteronychus arator) in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) infected with AR1 endophyte

authors: Ross, Kathryn Mary

subjects: Epichloë festucae var. lolii

abstract: The insect pest, African black beetle (Heteronychus arator (Fabricus, 1775)) is of considerable economic cost to the New Zealand agricultural industry, in regions where the insect is established and regular outbreaks are now occurring. Selection for Epichloë festucae var. lolii (Latch, M.J. Chr. & Samuels) C. W. Bacon & Schardl, stat. nov. et comb. nov. endophyte-perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) associations which do not cause toxicity to livestock and with strong resistance to African black beetle (H. arator), would be of significant value to farmers in regions where this pest is a problem.
Epichloë festucae var. lolii strain AR1 endophyte does not produce ergovaline, the alkaloid known to deter African black beetle (H. arator), yet pastures infected with this endophyte have moderate resistance to adult African black beetle (H. arator). Research into AR1 is of importance, as to date there have been no reports of toxicity in livestock brought about by consumption of from AR1-infected pastures and in the absence of African black beetle (H. arator) this ‘novel’ endophyte can provide highly productive pastures.
AR1 endophyte produces secondary metabolites that are simple indole diterpenes, including paxilline and paxilline-like compounds. The numerous paxilline-like compounds produced by AR1 are detected by a paxilline ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbant assay) and quantified collectively as paxilline immunoreactive equivalents. Earlier work suggested that these paxilline-like compounds could be the bioactive, or linked-marker associated with the bioactive compound(s), that provide some resistance to adult African black beetle (H. arator) feeding.
The overall aim of this research was to determine if increased concentration of paxilline immunoreactivity was associated with a reduction in feeding damage using a series of adult African black beetle (H. arator) feeding trials on closely related AR1-infected perennial ryegrasses (L. perenne).
A negative relationship was established between feeding damage from adult African black beetle (H. arator) and plant pseudostem paxilline immunoreactivity in AR1-infected perennial ryegrass (L. perenne) post exposure to beetles. However, it was not a simple relationship being complicated by: i) paxilline immunoreactivity ￼not reflecting endophyte concentrations; ii) the influence of cultivar on the expression levels of paxilline immunoreactivity; iii) the effect of African black beetle (H. arator) presence on expression levels of paxilline immunoreactivity; and iv) the paxilline ELISA quantifying the complete complex of paxilline-like compounds and not simply those that are bioactive.
The highest concentrations of paxilline immunoreactivity were found in plant undamaged pseudostem and were not strongly correlated with the lower concentrations found in herbage. Therefore undamaged pseudostem is recommended as the section sampled if the entire plant pseudostem was not available. Low levels of feeding from adult African black beetle (H. arator) accentuated plant tiller production. However, the negative effects of high feeding pressure still affected plants four weeks post-exposure to beetles, with reduced paxilline immunoreactivity production and plant tiller numbers. Adult African black beetle (H. arator) were able to compensate the deterrent effects of AR1 once an endophyte-free food source was available.
Results from this research contribute towards further understanding the bioactivity of AR1 endophyte against adult African black beetle (H. arator) and will underpin further research into the chemical basis for this resistance. The paxilline ELISA could potentially be used for screening E. festucae endophyte ryegrass associations that produce unknown compounds which deter African black beetle (H. arator) and which do not cause toxicity to livestock.

text: Resistance to African black beetle (Heteronychus arator) in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) infected with AR1 endophyte The insect pest, African black beetle (Heteronychus arator (Fabricus, 1775)) is of considerable economic cost to the New Zealand agricultural industry, in regions where the insect is established and regular outbreaks are now occurring. Selection for Epichloë festucae var. lolii (Latch, M.J. Chr. & Samuels) C. W. Bacon & Schardl, stat. nov. et comb. nov. endophyte-perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) associations which do not cause toxicity to livestock and with strong resistance to African black beetle (H. arator), would be of significant value to farmers in regions where this pest is a problem.
Epichloë festucae var. lolii strain AR1 endophyte does not produce ergovaline, the alkaloid known to deter African black beetle (H. arator), yet pastures infected with this endophyte have moderate resistance to adult African black beetle (H. arator). Research into AR1 is of importance, as to date there have been no reports of toxicity in livestock brought about by consumption of from AR1-infected pastures and in the absence of African black beetle (H. arator) this ‘novel’ endophyte can provide highly productive pastures.
AR1 endophyte produces secondary metabolites that are simple indole diterpenes, including paxilline and paxilline-like compounds. The numerous paxilline-like compounds produced by AR1 are detected by a paxilline ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbant assay) and quantified collectively as paxilline immunoreactive equivalents. Earlier work suggested that these paxilline-like compounds could be the bioactive, or linked-marker associated with the bioactive compound(s), that provide some resistance to adult African black beetle (H. arator) feeding.
The overall aim of this research was to determine if increased concentration of paxilline immunoreactivity was associated with a reduction in feeding damage using a series of adult African black beetle (H. arator) feeding trials on closely related AR1-infected perennial ryegrasses (L. perenne).
A negative relationship was established between feeding damage from adult African black beetle (H. arator) and plant pseudostem paxilline immunoreactivity in AR1-infected perennial ryegrass (L. perenne) post exposure to beetles. However, it was not a simple relationship being complicated by: i) paxilline immunoreactivity ￼not reflecting endophyte concentrations; ii) the influence of cultivar on the expression levels of paxilline immunoreactivity; iii) the effect of African black beetle (H. arator) presence on expression levels of paxilline immunoreactivity; and iv) the paxilline ELISA quantifying the complete complex of paxilline-like compounds and not simply those that are bioactive.
The highest concentrations of paxilline immunoreactivity were found in plant undamaged pseudostem and were not strongly correlated with the lower concentrations found in herbage. Therefore undamaged pseudostem is recommended as the section sampled if the entire plant pseudostem was not available. Low levels of feeding from adult African black beetle (H. arator) accentuated plant tiller production. However, the negative effects of high feeding pressure still affected plants four weeks post-exposure to beetles, with reduced paxilline immunoreactivity production and plant tiller numbers. Adult African black beetle (H. arator) were able to compensate the deterrent effects of AR1 once an endophyte-free food source was available.
Results from this research contribute towards further understanding the bioactivity of AR1 endophyte against adult African black beetle (H. arator) and will underpin further research into the chemical basis for this resistance. The paxilline ELISA could potentially be used for screening E. festucae endophyte ryegrass associations that produce unknown compounds which deter African black beetle (H. arator) and which do not cause toxicity to livestock.

year: 2016

title: Reducing our prison population: Past failures and new approaches

authors: Tauri, Juan Marcellus

abstract: Earlier this year the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little announced the latest in a long line of reviews, taxpayer-funded summits and inter-agency, ‘wholeof-government’ projects stretching back to the late-1980s, all aimed in some form or other, at making the criminal justice system more ‘safe’ and ‘effective’. Officially launched at a summit held in Porirua in August 2018, the aim of the latest review is to reduce New Zealand’s prison muster by 30% over the next 15 years. And unsurprisingly, given our significant over-representation in prisons, a specific focus of the review is on identifying ways to significantly reduce Māori over-representation in the prison population. This commentary represents a modest offering in response to the current government’s stated aim of making the justice system safer and more effective, and to reduce the prison muster, and it is based on two core arguments, namely that successive governments and the public service have failed to reduce offending and imprisonment and that successful solutions require community empowerment and government/public service accountability.

text: Reducing our prison population: Past failures and new approaches Earlier this year the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little announced the latest in a long line of reviews, taxpayer-funded summits and inter-agency, ‘wholeof-government’ projects stretching back to the late-1980s, all aimed in some form or other, at making the criminal justice system more ‘safe’ and ‘effective’. Officially launched at a summit held in Porirua in August 2018, the aim of the latest review is to reduce New Zealand’s prison muster by 30% over the next 15 years. And unsurprisingly, given our significant over-representation in prisons, a specific focus of the review is on identifying ways to significantly reduce Māori over-representation in the prison population. This commentary represents a modest offering in response to the current government’s stated aim of making the justice system safer and more effective, and to reduce the prison muster, and it is based on two core arguments, namely that successive governments and the public service have failed to reduce offending and imprisonment and that successful solutions require community empowerment and government/public service accountability.

year: 2019