Influence of age, gender, and willingness to adopt former foodstuffs on the perception of Italian farm animal veterinarians.

Autor:	Diaz Vicuna E; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Srikanthithasan K; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Odore R; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Massaglia S; Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Merlino VM; Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Giorgino A; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Ozella L; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Schiavone A; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Massacci FR; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Umbria e delle Marche 'Togo Rosati', Perugia, Italy., Mota-Gutierrez J; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy., Forte C; Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Torino, Turin, Italy.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Frontiers in veterinary science [Front Vet Sci] 2024 Jun 06; Vol. 11, pp. 1396807. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 06 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI:	10.3389/fvets.2024.1396807
Abstrakt:	Background: Veterinarians play an essential role in improving animal care, as they are often viewed as trusted advisors, particularly in relation to disease control and management; however, little is known about veterinarians' perceptions and attitudes toward alternative feeds. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of age, gender, and willingness to adopt on the attitudes of livestock veterinarians toward the use of alternative feeds in farm animals. Methods: A total of 136 active veterinarians completed the online survey, distributed through the main veterinary associations in Italy. The questionnaire contained items on dietary recommendation, awareness, benefit and safety perceptions, and a willingness to adopt former foodstuffs (FFs), complemented with socio-demographic questions. Results: Almost 90% of the population reported a willingness to adopt FFs as feed. Men and women did not share the same perceptions of the nutritional composition of FFs, while the importance of product availability was found to be a key factor driving the age difference. Participants willing to adopt FFs as feed linked positive attitudes to attributes such as digestibility, energy intake, and positive social implications. Conclusion: Our findings provide a basic background on the current use of the FFs in Italy and suggest the need for the development of educational programs and marketing strategies to enhance the acceptability of FFs in farm animals to ultimately promote the transition toward more sustainable animal production. This study has limitations, including the number of recorded responses and reliance on national estimates. Future research is needed to investigate the perceptions of farmers and animal nutritionist from different countries. This could provide a more detailed picture of the current situation in Europe about the potential of using FFs in farm animals' feed, thus further contributing toward a greener and safer livestock production sector. Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision. (Copyright © 2024 Diaz Vicuna, Srikanthithasan, Odore, Massaglia, Merlino, Giorgino, Ozella, Schiavone, Massacci, Mota-Gutierrez and Forte.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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