The aim of the present study was (1) to investigate what consumers include within the concept of food sustainability and its link with sustainable consumption, by identifying meaningful consumer typologies from the concept of food sustainability and food choice factors framed by SDG 12, and (2) to know how different farm systems attributes affecting purchase behavior are associated with such typologies. Consumers from two Spanish regions (n = 403) answered a paper questionnaire to know their degree of knowledge of sustainability, and beliefs, behavior, attitudes and preferences towards food sustainability, and the importance given to product characteristics and shopping practices. A principal component analysis was conducted to identify groups with similar answers, to average some of the questions before the final analysis of variance, which includes demographic classes as fixed effects. A cluster analysis using the most representative questions identified two clusters. cluster 1 (68.4%) responded to more sustainability-related attributes, and cluster 2 (31.5%) presented a less-expanded concept of sustainability. The origin of the product and quality certification (local, organic) was important for food purchase practices. The place of residence and gender differences of the consumers were the most influential factors. In the conjoint study, regarding the purchase of Iberian pork, cluster 1 remained unwilling to sacrifice outdoor systems and local breed at the expense of the price, in the case of the Iberian pig production. The most important demographic differentiator was the region of residence of the consumer. In conclusion, consumers are not aware of the wider aspects included in the sustainability concept. Moreover, the concept of sustainability elicits different meanings to the segments of the consumers identified.

Diversity in the dry land mixed system and viability of dairy sheep farming

Milk coagulation, especially in small ruminant species, is often hard to evaluate, as coagulation traits are normally considered individually and several factors related to udder health might distort yield calculation. Due to the lack of studies about these factors, our objective was to determine milk coagulation efficiency (CE) and its determinants using a deterministic technical efficiency approach, an ordinary least square regression model, and ANOVA. Milk from 300 Manchega ewes was collected and analyzed for composition, milk coagulation properties, and hygienic quality. The study results indicate that the estimated CE in Manchega ewes was 0.69, implying an important proportion of the animals produce poorly coagulating milk. The results of the ordinary least square regression model and ANOVA revealed that the main factor causing inefficiency was the initial pH of milk. Crude protein, casein and plasmin activity had moderate effects on CE, and, finally, other factors such as freezing point depression, somatic cell count, colony-forming units, and fat concentration had minor effects.

This study explores the relationships between composition, hygienic quality, and color values of milk to evaluate whether colorimetry could be used as a valid predictor of the quality of raw milk and its coagulation. For this purpose, we performed analyses in 1,200 individual samples of Manchega sheep milk from 4 flocks from the region of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Based on the measured variables, we determined the differences and similarities between coagulating and noncoagulating samples using discriminant analysis techniques. The variables with a higher discriminant ability were lactose content, somatic cell score, pH, and the color values lightness (L*) and red/green value (a*). The model based on color values showed a predictive ability similar to that found in the model based on milk composition and hygienic quality. Canonical correlation analysis allowed us to explore the relationships between both sets of variables. Canonical correlations for the first and second pair of canonical values were 0.794 and 0.438, respectively. Both values were significant and represented 92.82% of the observed variability. The correlation structure showed that color values had a strong correlation with fat and protein content and with total solids, and they had a weak correlation with lactose content and somatic cell score. The 2 first combinations of standardized canonical variability could be considered a predictable measure of the composition and, to a lesser extent, the hygiene of milk. Measurement of color values could be a rapid and effective means of supplementing standard analyses when determining the coagulation ability of Manchega sheep milk.