Assessing the importance of health and nutrition related factors on food demand: a variable preference investigation

The importance of health/nutrition related factors and demographics on food consumption is assessed based on consumer demand using a variable preferen ces approach. Results of the models show that diet-disease, individual's ra ce, region of residence, urbanization, education, and perceived importance of taste influence the consumption of various food groups. Economic and pol icy implications of the results are discussed in the paper.