Measuring perceived performance of the food system and consumer food-related welfare

The paper explores the use of multi-item summated scales for the measuremen t of the perceived performance of the food system and of an index to measur e consumer food-related welfare. Scales are developed that encompass a rang e of factors that influence the welfare consumers derive from food, includi ng-food safety convenience, ethnical issues, health and nutrition, taste an d rest. These scales are applied to a national sample of food consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom. On the basis of the survey result s, there is evidence that the scales are both reliable and valid measures o f the received performance of the food system in both countries. Art index of consumer-food-related welfare is developed that weights the various perf ormance measures according to respondents' measure of importance. Survey re spondents judge that the food system Lr not performing particularly well in either country. Although more work is required on the use of summated mult i-item scales for this purpose, the results suggests that this is a potenti ally useful approach that provides relevant information on the impact of di fferent elements of the food system on consumer welfare.