Abstract Growing concerns about synthetic inputs have increased interest in organic food, yet consumer preferences may differ across demographics and may be evolving with the emergence of alternative sustainable production methods, such as regenerative agriculture. Using a Best–Worst Scaling approach, this study examines U.S. rice consumers’ preferences for production attributes. Random Parameter Logit results show food safety and price as influential factors, while the marketing channel ranks lowest. Latent Class Analysis identifies four segments: conventional, pragmatic, sustainability-conscious, and low-engagement, revealing substantial heterogeneity. Low-engagement consumers indicate insignificant preference for most attributes. Sustainability-conscious consumers (younger, educated, and higher income) prefer organic and regenerative attributes, while conventional consumers (older) focus on price and domestic origin. Pragmatic consumers (younger and educated), though skeptical of organic claims, show modest interest in regenerative attributes, suggesting potential heterogeneity in how sustainability-related claims are evaluated within younger cohorts.
Han et al. (Thu,) studied this question.