Information matters for intermediate systems: How arguments shape citizens' acceptance of cow-calf contact and alternative calf rearing systems

The organic dairy sector depends on consumer trust in higher animal welfare standards, yet early cow-calf separation remains standard practice, creating an expectation-reality gap. This study examines how advantage arguments for four calf rearing systems (individual housing, early group housing, foster cow rearing, and dam rearing) influence citizens' acceptance. An online survey with 779 German citizens provided standardized information and visual depictions of each system. Acceptance was measured after initial presentation, after a comparative overview of all four rearing systems, and after arguments were presented; argument persuasiveness, pairwise decisions, and preference rankings were also assessed. Dam rearing consistently achieved the highest acceptance and individual housing the lowest; this relative ranking remained stable across all three measurement points. Arguments significantly increased acceptance only for group housing; foster cow rearing recovered to its initial level after declining following the comparative overview. In pairwise decisions, respondents preferred group housing over individual housing, foster cow rearing over group housing, and dam rearing over foster cow rearing. Despite foster cow arguments receiving the highest persuasiveness rating, 73.0% chose dam rearing in the foster cow–dam rearing comparison. Thus, perceived argument persuasiveness did not necessarily translate into system choice. Overall, arguments affected acceptance mainly for the intermediate systems, suggesting that information may have greater scope to influence evaluations where preferences are less clear-cut, while the relative preference ranking remained stable. For the organic dairy sector, the findings suggest that intermediate systems should be communicated on their own terms rather than primarily in comparison with dam rearing.