Sustainability and Consumer Willingness to Pay for Legumes: A Laboratory Study with Lentils
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
I miss a discussion on the duration and durability of the proposed information. An immediate response to information is hardly surprising, but the question is perhaps more how long the change can be expected. Consumers are constantly exposed to new information. Such information cannot be controlled or managed, and the long-term effect can always be discussed.
The discussion also lacks reflections on the fact that we operate in an open economy with open global markets. Impacts on domestic production do not necessarily have the same effects on domestic consumption. Assuming that supplies to local markets can be managed through trade regulation and trade barriers, then other trade policy problems may arise. Suggestions for special support to producers are also likely to lead to distortions of competition and problems with trade agreements.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer #1 Comments
We thank the reviewer #1 for her/his thoughtful comments. We did our best to incorporate all of them into the revised version. We are grateful to the reviewer for his insights and we feel that the revised version significantly improved over the original.
All our modifications are indicated in red in the new draft. The few crossed-out parts in red will disappear in the next draft.
Thanks again!
Point 1: “I miss a discussion on the duration and durability of the proposed information. An immediate response to information is hardly surprising, but the question is perhaps more how long the change can be expected. Consumers are constantly exposed to new information. Such information cannot be controlled or managed, and the long-term effect can always be discussed.”
Response 1: This comment is very relevant! I added the following comment in the new draft (section 4 lines 530-536):
“Even if consumers have a positive perception of organically and locally produced lentils, this attitude will not necessarily translate into the systematic purchases of such lentil types. This weakness of purchases can be reinforced by two additional effects. First, the durability of revealed information via recommendations or generic advertising is likely to quickly fade after some time, since consumers are constantly exposed to new information and/or are characterized by an imperfect recall. The proliferation of information drastically reduces the efficiency of any additional recommendation.”
Point 2: “The discussion also lacks reflections on the fact that we operate in an open economy with open global markets. Impacts on domestic production do not necessarily have the same effects on domestic consumption. Assuming that supplies to local markets can be managed through trade regulation and trade barriers, then other trade policy problems may arise. Suggestions for special support to producers are also likely to lead to distortions of competition and problems with trade agreements.”
Response 2: I added the following comments in the new draft (section 4 lines 590-607):
“Mimicking these foreign initiatives and transitioning towards a sustainable agriculture on a large scale in Europe would require long adaptive changes through experimenting and learning by farmers. The policy could start from innovation niches devising sustainable processes able to secure the incomes of farmers taking some risks with the choice of legumes crops, as the mechanism developed by the COCEBI cooperative producing the third packet Organic&Local offered in our experiment (see Figure 1). Figure 2 shows that consumers value the development of decent incomes for famers (see Figure 2 and the impact of the specific messages mentioning the partnership with farmers on WTP).
Considerations of farmers’ incomes could lead to the possible development of new farm subsidies influencing crop diversifications and/or legumes cultivation. However, as Europe operates in an open economy with global markets, public subsidies to farmers would be scrutinized through trade regulation, for knowing if they would be considered as illegitimate trade advantages according to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In other words, a special support to producers is likely to lead to distortions of competition and problems with trade agreements, in particular if this support is only linked to a specific crop like the lentils. However, if a possible public support was only related to crops diversification, this support could be deemed as legitimate from the WTO perspective, since it would be related to environmental targets.”
Thank you
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Review on the manuscript: “Sustainability and consumer willingness to pay for legumes: a laboratory study with lentils.” – Marette, S., Sustainability, 2021.
This paper discusses the effect of informational messages (generic and specific messages) on consumer willingness to pay for lentils bearing different production labels. The two specific messages were related to organic and local production. Providing generic information via official recommendations and further developing legume labeling systems could act synergistically to drive change in consumer choices and agricultural systems.
Major comments.
(1) In the last sentence in the conclusions, it is mentioned that “these strategies could complement regulatory tools such as agronomic R&D, subsidies to farmers, or taxes/subsidies associated with foods sold in supermarkets”. Penalty taxes for supermarkets is a complex issue and has limited relation to the topic of this study: “the effect of informational messages on consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for lentils bearing different production labels”. The first two samples are available in Carrefour, and one of it is organic from France. It is better to leave out this part of the given sentence from the conclusions and the paragraph above the conclusions. Adherence to good manufacturing practices (GMP) and good hygiene practices (GHP) by producers, distributors and retailers is strongly recommended and used in supermarket industry to prevent contamination and bacterial growth. Pulses shall comply with those maximum residue limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity (WHO – FAO, 2007).
Microbial contamination of seeds is associated with contaminated irrigation water and untreated manure used as fertilizer. Wild and farm animals, soil and insects are also sources of human pathogens. Microbial evaluation of the sprouts sold in open conditions at room temperature in Mumbai, India and its suburbs was carried out in the laboratory of the Food Technology Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. Results from this study show that the packaged sprouts stored at low temperature (<8oC) in the supermarkets in Mumbai are of good microbiological quality and free from pathogens (Nagar – Bandekar, 2009). On the other hand, the presence of Salmonella, Serratia, Enterobacter, S. aureus, faecal E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been reported in alfalfa sprouts sold by street vendors in open conditions at ambient temperature (28–35oC) in Mumbai (Viswanathan - Kaur, 2001). These sprouts were found to have poor microbiological quality with high bacterial load and a high percentage of samples were found to be contaminated with pathogens such as Salmonella and coagulase positive S. aureus (Saroj et al., 2006).
Also, mycotoxin, specially aflatoxin contamination is a threatening issue in cereals and legumes. These are harmful naturally produced toxicants and their effect on health is seriously unnoticed in developing countries (Sowley, 2016). Also, aflatoxin contamination in legumes and cereals have been reported to occur above safe levels specified for many countries: Europe (4 ppb), USA (20 ppb) and 20 ppb for Nigeria (Vabi et al., 2018). Pulses shall comply with those maximum mycotoxin limits established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for this commodity (WHO – FAO, 2007).
Soil contamination by heavy metals is a widespread occurrence due to human, agricultural and industrial activities. These activities result in the accumulation of trace metals in agricultural soils, creating a threat to food safety and overall public health (Dary et al., 2010).
(2) The well-known legumes include beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, peanuts and alfalfa. The limitation of this study, worth to mention is that it examined how generic and precise informational messages affected study participants’ willingness-to-pay for only for lentils. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), also called lucerne is cultivated as an important forage crop around the World. Also, alfalfa sprout is a common ingredient in dishes in the South Indian cuisine (Nagar – Bandeka, 2009). The tremendous benefits of alfalfa in crop rotation are also important. There are about 23 million acres of alfalfa in the US. Alfalfa, plus other hay is the most valuable crop in the US, behind only corn and soybeans (Smith, 2010). Increasing diversity in cropping systems helps to balance profitability and environmental concerns and also reduces weed invasion (Finn et al., 2013). A survey of alfalfa acreage in New York State in 2014, determined that over 84% of the alfalfa acreage in Ithaca is planted with a perennial grass, compared to many other regions of the USA where alfalfa is primarily grown in monoculture (Cherney – Cherney, 2014 in Cherney et al., 2019).
(3) In Europe, the importance of legume crop species grown differs widely from one country to another and driven by cultural and environmental influences. In many countries, the consumption of dry legume seeds is residual and many of the legume species are not even known by consumers. This situation raises major questions related to their consumption. The first is how to increase the plant protein consumption and how to make people aware of the relevance of legumes in their diet, and dissipate many of the concerns that they have related to it (Cordis, 2017). One concern is related to the protein they contain and it is worth to mention it in the article. Essential nutrients are hard to obtain in a vegetarian diet, if not carefully planned include protein. Most plant foods, however, are not complete proteins. They only have some of the nine essential amino acids. Soy products are among the few exceptions of a complete vegetable protein. It’s recommended that vegetarians and vegans eat legumes and nuts daily, along with wholegrain cereals and pseudo-cereals, to ensure adequate nutrient intakes (Cordis, 2017). Legumes are among the best plant-based sources of protein (Dahl et al., 2012).
(4) The US Department of Agriculture My Plate Guidelines recommend consuming at least three cups of dry beans and peas per week (Dahl ert al., 2012). The 2019 EAT-Lancet report that outlines a “planetary health diet” recommends 50 grams of legumes (about ¼ cup) in the daily diet (Willett et al., 2019). “I eat lentils - Twice a week or more” in Table 1. sounds a little bit to much. It would be more realistic to ask: “I eat pulses (legumes: beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, peanuts) – three times a week or more”.
(5) On Figure 1. the three packets of lentils (500g) offered to participants the observed prices in stores: 1.3€, organic (bio): 2.1€ and Organic (Bio) & Local (Bourgogne): 2.7€. Don’t you think, that more than double price is realistic? Consumers might think, that why not a crop that more fits to the given environmental conditions is grown instead of organic lentils in that area? Also, they might think about the messaging, that it is like tv-shopping. What’s more, on the second packaging, one can read that it is a private label of Carrefour, a French major international retail chain. So, this product can be considered local, almost like the third one. Also, several French people are probably proud of Carrefour, being successful in many countries.
Minor comments.
(1) It is stated that innovation issues impede the expansion of legume farming in OECD countries, including those in Europe and North America (Morel et al., 2020). But, the study by Morel and his colleagues was based on the analysis of 25 European cases promoting crop diversification. But what about lentils from Canada? EU import of lentils from Canada was 104,7 in 1000t annual average (2014‐2018). Annual production of lentils in the EU (in 1000t) was 77,6 in average (2014‐2018) (Kezeya Sepngang et al., 2020). Canada only began growing lentils in the 1970’s and now there are over 5,000 active lentil farmers in Canada (Lentils.org., 2021). The development and expansion of the pulse industry was closely tied to its profitability, research into new varieties that resist lodging and disease or have a shorter growing season, and the growth of processing facilities according to the Statistics Canada. The majority of pulse variety registrations in Canada have been developed in public breeding programs, funded through private-public-producer check offs in exchange for royalty-free access to the new varieties developed. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and both the University of Saskatchewan (the Crop Development Centre) and the University of Guelph developed the majority of new pulse varieties (Bekkering, 2015).
What do the Canadians know better?
(2) However, in Europe, radical innovation niches that support more sustainable food systems can also be developed by actors within the dominant food system. The Qualisol cooperative which developed large equipment and invested heavily in R&D to encourage lentil-wheat intercropping with guaranteed minimal prices to secure the incomes of farmers did take the related risks (Meynard et al., 2017). The last sample in the study what is local (Gascony) and organic is available in Gascony by the Qualisol cooperative or in Bourgogne by the COCEBI cooperative (boutique-ethiquable.com, accessed 24.02.2021).
Questions.
(1) It is written on the Carrefour bio lentils used in the study that “Origine France” and “Oorsprong Frankrijk” what is “country of origin France” in Dutch translation. There is further information in Dutch language on the packaging. French people can be proud to export this product to Belgium or/and to the Netherlands. Do you think that it is an effective statement and a proof of quality to increase purchase in France?
(2) The first sample is Carrefour Discount Green Lentils 500G, packaged in France. Do you think that it would be more interesting to use a 100% imported sample? There are countries in Europe that can produce lentils, but cheap import is also available. Also, some organic products are also imported, like organic bananas.
References
Cherney, J. H., Smith, S. R., Sheaffer, C. C., Cherney, D. J. R. (2020): Nutritive value and yield of reduced‐lignin alfalfa cultivars in monoculture and in binary mixtures with perennial grass. Agronomy Journal, 112, 1, 1-16.
Cordis, (2017): Final Report Summary - EUROLEGUME (Enhancing of legumes growing in
Europe through sustainable cropping for protein supply for food and feed). https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/613781/reporting/de
Dahl, W. J., Foster, L. M., Tyler, R. T. (2012): Review of the health benefits of peas (Pisum sativum L.). British Journal of Nutrition, 108, 1, 3-10.
Dary, M., Chamber, P. M. A., Palomares, A. J., Pajuelo, E. (2010): “In situ” phytostabilisation of heavy metal polluted soils using Lupinus luteus inoculated with metal resistant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. The Journal of Hazardous Materials, 177, 323-330.
Kezeya Sepngang, B., Muel, F., Smadja, T., Stauss, W., Stute, I., Simmen, M., Mergenthaler (2020): Report on legume markets in the EU. LegValue – H2020 n°727672, Forschungsberichte des Fachbereichs Agrarwirtschaft Soest Nr. 50, Deliverable D3.1 of the EU‐project LegValue, Partners contributing to the deliverable: FH‐SWF (Germany), TERIN (France), PGRO (United Kingdom), TUN (France), ILU (Germany),
LAMMC (Lithuania), ISBN: 978‐3‐940956‐89‐7, http://www.legvalue.eu/media/1511/d31-report-on-legume-markets-in-the-eu.pdf
Meynardm J-M., Jeuffroy, M-H., Le Bail, M., Lefèvre, A-, Magrini, M-B., Michon C. (2017): Designing coupled innovations for the sustainability transition of agrifood systems. Agricultural Systems, 157, Supplement C, 330–339.
Morel, K., Revoyron, E., San Cristobal, M., Baret, P. V. (2020): Innovating within or outside dominant food systems? Different challenges for contrasting crop diversification strategies in Europe. PLoS ONE, 15, 3, e0229910.
Nagar, V., Bandekar, J. R. (2009): Microbiological quality of packaged sprouts from supermarkets in Mumbai, India. International Journal of Food Science Nutrition and Public Health, 2, 2, 165-175.
Saroj, S. D., Shashidhar, R., Dhokane, V., Hajare, S., Sharma, A., Bandekar J.R. (2006): Microbiological evaluation of sprouts marketed in Mumbai, India, and its suburbs. Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 69, No. 10, pp.2515–2518.
Smith, R. (2010): Value of Alfalfa in Rotation. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. Service, Lexington, KY, USA, https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?Article=1049&context=ky_alfalfa
Sowley, E. N. K. (2016): Aflatoxins: a silent threat in developing countries. African Journal of Biotechnology, 15, 35, 1864-1870.
Bekkering, E. (2015): Pulses in Canada. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 96‑325‑X - No. 007, ISSN 0‑662‑35659‑4, Date modified: 2015-11-30, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/96-325-x/2014001/article/14041-eng.htm
Vabi, M. B., Chris, E. O., Ayuba, K., Babu, M. N., Aisha, M. A., Haruna, Sanusi, G. S., Gaya, S., Alabi, O., Adobe, K., Ajeigbe, H. A. (2018): Towards a successful management of aflatoxin contamination in legume and cereal farming systems in northern Nigeria: A case study of the groundnut value chain. African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security, 6 (7). pp. 269-276.
WHO, FAO. (2007): Cereals, Pulses, Legumes and Vegetable Proteins, Codex Alimentarius, First edition. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program, Rome, Italy, ISBN 978-92-5-105842-8
Willett, W., Rockström, J., Loken, B., Springmann, M., Lang, T., Vermeulen, S., et al. (2019): Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet. 2; 393 (10170), 447-492.
Viswanathan, P., Kaur, R. (2001): Prevalence and growth of pathogens on salad vegetables, fruits and sprouts. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 203, 3, 205–213.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer# 2 Comments
We thank the reviewer #2 for her/his thoughtful comments. We did our best to incorporate all of them into the revised version. We are grateful to the reviewer for his insights and we feel that the revised version significantly improved over the original.
All our modifications are indicated in red in the new draft. The few crossed-out parts in red will disappear in the next draft.
Thanks again!
Point 1: “In the last sentence in the conclusions, it is mentioned that “these strategies could complement regulatory tools such as agronomic R&D, subsidies to farmers, or taxes/subsidies associated with foods sold in supermarkets”. Penalty taxes for supermarkets is a complex issue and has limited relation to the topic of this study: “the effect of informational messages on consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for lentils bearing different production labels”. The first two samples are available in Carrefour, and one of it is organic from France. It is better to leave out this part of the given sentence from the conclusions and the paragraph above the conclusions.”
Response 1: I agree and I withdrew these comments in the new draft. Lines 577-580 (section 4) and lines 630-634 (section 5) are now crossed-out. These crossed-out parts in red will disappear in the next draft. I reorganized the new conclusion.
Point 2: “The well-known legumes include beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, peanuts and alfalfa. The limitation of this study, worth to mention is that it examined how generic and precise informational messages affected study participants’ willingness-to-pay for only for lentils. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), also called lucerne is cultivated as an important forage crop around the World. Also, alfalfa sprout is a common ingredient in dishes in the South Indian cuisine (Nagar – Bandeka, 2009). The tremendous benefits of alfalfa in crop rotation are also important. There are about 23 million acres of alfalfa in the US. Alfalfa, plus other hay is the most valuable crop in the US, behind only corn and soybeans (Smith, 2010). Increasing diversity in cropping systems helps to balance profitability and environmental concerns and also reduces weed invasion (Finn et al., 2013). A survey of alfalfa acreage in New York State in 2014, determined that over 84% of the alfalfa acreage in Ithaca is planted with a perennial grass, compared to many other regions of the USA where alfalfa is primarily grown in monoculture (Cherney – Cherney, 2014 in Cherney et al., 2019).”
Response 2: I added the following comments in the new draft (section 1 lines 36-38):
“Moreover, increasing diversity in cropping systems with more legumes helps balance farms profitability and environmental concerns, and it also reduces weeds invasions.”
I added the following comments in the new draft (section 4 lines 536-544):
“Second, generic information could/should also focus on legumes including not only lentils, but also beans, peas, chickpeas, faba beans (…), which would make difficult the translation of such a general information on legumes into a specific purchase of lentils, beans or peas. Revealing information on one broad category of foods, like legumes, could limit a possible significant effect on purchases of each product, like lentils, since this general information could become vague when consumers would face each specific product in supermarkets. The limitation of the present paper is that it examined how generic and precise messages affected participants’ WTP for lentils only, and not for legumes in general.»
I added the following comments in the new draft (section 4 lines 587-589):
“Alternatively, there are also about 23 million acres of alfalfa in the US, with the benefits of alfalfa in crop rotation being important and guaranteeing decent profits for farmers [40].”
Point 3: “In Europe, the importance of legume crop species grown differs widely from one country to another and driven by cultural and environmental influences. In many countries, the consumption of dry legume seeds is residual and many of the legume species are not even known by consumers. This situation raises major questions related to their consumption. The first is how to increase the plant protein consumption and how to make people aware of the relevance of legumes in their diet, and dissipate many of the concerns that they have related to it (Cordis, 2017). One concern is related to the protein they contain and it is worth to mention it in the article. Essential nutrients are hard to obtain in a vegetarian diet, if not carefully planned include protein. Most plant foods, however, are not complete proteins. They only have some of the nine essential amino acids. Soy products are among the few exceptions of a complete vegetable protein. It’s recommended that vegetarians and vegans eat legumes and nuts daily, along with wholegrain cereals and pseudo-cereals, to ensure adequate nutrient intakes (Cordis, 2017). Legumes are among the best plant-based sources of protein (Dahl et al., 2012).”
Response 3: I added the following comments in the new draft (section 1 lines 42-45):
“In Europe, the importance of legume crop species grown is generally limited because of various barriers [6], and the share of legume crops differs widely from one country to another, which is driven by various cultural and environmental influences.”
I added the following comments in the new draft (section 1 lines 51-61):
“In many European countries, the consumption of dry legume seeds including legumes is residual, and many of these species are not even known by consumers [9]. Such a situation raises major questions related to their intakes and the type of proteins they contain. Legumes are among the best plant-based sources of proteins [8]. However, essential nutrients are hard to obtain in a vegetarian diet and most plant foods only partially offer some of the nine essential amino acids. It is recommended that vegetarians and vegans eat legumes and nuts daily, along with wholegrain cereals and pseudo-cereals, to ensure adequate nutrient intakes [10]. This question was not tackled in the revealed messages of this experiment, since no vegetarians and no vegans were recruited in this experiment. Indeed, all our participants declared they were eating animal-based foods (see the next section).”
Point 4: The US Department of Agriculture My Plate Guidelines recommend consuming at least three cups of dry beans and peas per week (Dahl ert al., 2012). The 2019 EAT-Lancet report that outlines a “planetary health diet” recommends 50 grams of legumes (about ¼ cup) in the daily diet (Willett et al., 2019). “I eat lentils - Twice a week or more” in Table 1. sounds a little bit to much. It would be more realistic to ask: “I eat pulses (legumes: beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, peanuts) – three times a week or more”.
Response 4: I agree with this comment, but I did not change table 1, since I did not ask any question about consumptions of pulses, which is an obvious limitation of my questionnaire. I keep this interesting suggestion for a future study. Thank you!
Point 5: “On Figure 1. the three packets of lentils (500g) offered to participants the observed prices in stores: 1.3€, organic (bio): 2.1€ and Organic (Bio) & Local (Bourgogne): 2.7€. Don’t you think, that more than double price is realistic? Consumers might think, that why not a crop that more fits to the given environmental conditions is grown instead of organic lentils in that area? Also, they might think about the messaging, that it is like tv-shopping. What’s more, on the second packaging, one can read that it is a private label of Carrefour, a French major international retail chain. So, this product can be considered local, almost like the third one. Also, several French people are probably proud of Carrefour, being successful in many countries.”
Response 5: In section 2 (lines 177- 196), I added many new elements for replying to this comment:
“Several points can be noticed regarding these products. First, it was indicated that Conventional lentils were packed in France without more details on the packet, implicitly meaning that they were grown abroad and imported in France. Even if the precise origin of the cultivation was not detailed, it is likely that they were coming from Canada. Moreover, the second packet, Organic, was offered by a private label, namely Carrefour, a French major international retail chain. This second packet precisely indicated the French origin of lentils with a logo, which could also characterize this organic product as a “local product”. However, for this paper, we restricted the local denomination to the third packet, Organic&Local, with lentils coming from Bourgogne, the specific region in which this experiment was conducted. In other words, the second packet can be seen as a national product, while the third one appears as a regional product, being a priori “more local” than the national packet.
On figure 1, the average observed prices P in supermarkets at the time of the experiment indicate the diversity of products offered to consumers. These average observed prices P were not revealed to participants for avoiding any influence or anchorage effect in the WTP elicitation. It is interesting to note that this range of observed prices indicated in Figure 1 reflects the product differentiation observed on the French market, when we took into account regular and organic shelves in supermarkets. The various-quality labels lead to important differences in prices. Each participant faced these 3 products on her/his table she/he they entered the lab without any additional information.”
Minor comments.
Point 1: “It is stated that innovation issues impede the expansion of legume farming in OECD countries, including those in Europe and North America (Morel et al., 2020). But, the study by Morel and his colleagues was based on the analysis of 25 European cases promoting crop diversification. But what about lentils from Canada? EU import of lentils from Canada was 104,7 in 1000t annual average (2014‐2018). Annual production of lentils in the EU (in 1000t) was 77,6 in average (2014‐2018) (Kezeya Sepngang et al., 2020). Canada only began growing lentils in the 1970’s and now there are over 5,000 active lentil farmers in Canada (Lentils.org., 2021). The development and expansion of the pulse industry was closely tied to its profitability, research into new varieties that resist lodging and disease or have a shorter growing season, and the growth of processing facilities according to the Statistics Canada. The majority of pulse variety registrations in Canada have been developed in public breeding programs, funded through private-public-producer check offs in exchange for royalty-free access to the new varieties developed. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and both the University of Saskatchewan (the Crop Development Centre) and the University of Guelph developed the majority of new pulse varieties (Bekkering, 2015). What do the Canadians know better?”
Response 1: Canada is very efficient for producing legumes. I gave a few elements in section 4, even if Canad is not the topic of this paper. I added many new elements in section 4 (lines 581-595):
“The European policy makers could follow the example of Canada, being a major producer of lentils [39]. Beyond lentils, the expansion of the Canadian legume industry over the last 30 years was closely related to the attention given to the farmers’ profitability, the research into new varieties that resist diseases, and the growth of processing facilities. The majority of new legume varieties in Canada have been developed via public breeding programs, funded through private-public check-offs paid by farmers in exchange for free access to the new varieties [39]. Alternatively, there are also about 23 million acres of alfalfa in the US, with the benefits of alfalfa in crop rotation being important and guaranteeing decent profits for farmers [40].
Mimicking these foreign initiatives and transitioning towards a sustainable agriculture on a large scale in Europe would require long adaptive changes through experimenting and learning by farmers. The policy could start from innovation niches devising sustainable processes able to secure the incomes of farmers taking some risks with the choice of legumes crops, as the mechanism developed by the COCEBI cooperative producing the third packet Organic&Local offered in our experiment (see Figure 1).”
Point 2: “However, in Europe, radical innovation niches that support more sustainable food systems can also be developed by actors within the dominant food system. The Qualisol cooperative which developed large equipment and invested heavily in R&D to encourage lentil-wheat intercropping with guaranteed minimal prices to secure the incomes of farmers did take the related risks (Meynard et al., 2017). The last sample in the study what is local (Gascony) and organic is available in Gascony by the Qualisol cooperative or in Bourgogne by the COCEBI cooperative (boutique-ethiquable.com, accessed 24.02.2021).”
Response 2: I added the following comments in the draft (lines 590-595):
“Mimicking these foreign initiatives and transitioning towards a sustainable agriculture on a large scale in Europe would require long adaptive changes through experimenting and learning by farmers. The policy could start from innovation niches devising sustainable processes able to secure the incomes of farmers taking some risks with the choice of legumes crops, as the mechanism developed by the COCEBI cooperative producing the third packet Organic&Local offered in our experiment (see Figure 1).”
Questions.
(Q1) It is written on the Carrefour bio lentils used in the study that “Origine France” and “Oorsprong Frankrijk” what is “country of origin France” in Dutch translation. There is further information in Dutch language on the packaging. French people can be proud to export this product to Belgium or/and to the Netherlands. Do you think that it is an effective statement and a proof of quality to increase purchase in France?
Response Q1: With this protocol, it is impossible to precisely reply to this question.
(Q2) The first sample is Carrefour Discount Green Lentils 500G, packaged in France. Do you think that it would be more interesting to use a 100% imported sample? There are countries in Europe that can produce lentils, but cheap import is also available. Also, some organic products are also imported, like organic bananas.
Response Q2: The question of the origin of organic products is important, although it was not the main topic of this paper. In section 2 (lines 177- 181), I added some elements for replying to this comment:
“Several points can be noticed regarding these products. First, it was indicated that Conventional lentils were packed in France without more details on the packet, implicitly meaning that they were grown abroad and imported in France. Even if the precise origin of the cultivation was not detailed, it is likely that they were coming from Canada. Moreover, the second packet, Organic, was offered by a private label, namely Carrefour, a French major international retail chain.”
Thank you
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
I accept the answers. The authors made many relevant changes to the manuscript according to the reviewers' comments and suggestions. All comments have been considered. In the revised version of the manuscript, the Introduction was rewritten, Discussion and Conclusions was more detailed. Overall, the quality of the manuscript has been much improved. Thus, in my opinion, the manuscript could be accepted for the publication in this international scientific journal.
