Jeanine Ammann

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Ammann

First Name

Jeanine

ORCID

0000-0001-6242-0148

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Publications1 - 10 of 24

Swiss agriculture can become more sustainable and self-sufficient by shifting from forage to grain legume production
Keller, Beat; Oppliger, Corina; Chassot, Mirjam; et al. (2024)
Communications Earth & Environment
Switzerland’s livestock production causes high environmental costs and depends strongly on feed imports. While plant-based protein demand increases, the local grain legume production is negligible (~ 9000 hectares). Here, we investigated the potential of sustainable legume protein production based on an expert survey followed by a quantitative analysis based on yield, soil, terrain and climate data. Pea, soybean and faba bean showed high potential for Swiss agriculture given adaptions in policy, pricing and breeding. The potential grain legume production area was 107,734 hectares on suitable arable land (Scenario I). Switzerland’s self-sufficiency could be increased by cutting imports and maximizing legume production on 181,479 hectares (Scenario II) in expense of grassland and fodder maize. This would replace approximately 41% of animal protein consumption with plant-based protein, preserving 32% of milk and 24% of meat protein. In conclusion, domestic legume production could be substantially increased while improving human and environmental health.
Data on Swiss citizens' preferences and perceptions of agricultural policy
Ammann, Jeanine; Mack, Gabriele; Irek, Judith; et al. (2024)
Data in Brief
We present representative survey data from 1,542 Swiss citizens. Data were collected across the three largest Swiss language regions (German, French and Italian) in autumn 2022. In the main part of the survey, we collected qualitative and quantitative data on their perception of agricultural policy goals and potential trade-offs. For this, participants were first asked to name the three most important agricultural policy goals. Next, they rated eight pre-defined agricultural policy goals for importance and how much budget they would allocate to the pursuit of each goal if they were to decide about the governmental budget or subsidies. For the goal conflicts, the eight goals were combined into 16 conflicting pairs, where participants were to decide which of the conflicting goals they preferred. Further, we collected information regarding who citizens considered as responsible for achieving agricultural policy goals. The survey was also used to collect personal information about the participating citizens including information such as gender, age, education level, place of residence or whether participant had (previous) work experience in agriculture and how they placed themselves regarding their political orientation on a left-right scale. We further collected behavioural data including diet, that is, meat consumption frequency and shopping behaviour, where we asked participants what attributes were important for them when buying food. At the end of the survey, we used existing and new scales to measure participants’ perception of farmers, meat commitment and their perception regarding animal welfare and environmental protection using the Ecological Welfare Scale. For this study, ethical approval was obtained from ETH Zurich ethical commission (application EK-2022-N-174).
Experimental validation of the food disgust scale using olfactory stimuli
Ammann, Jeanine; Egolf, Aisha; Nuessli Guth, Jeannette; et al. (2023)
Food Quality and Preference
Individual disgust reactions can be elicited through different types of sensory stimuli. Most well-known scales measuring disgust are text-based, thus more cognitive stimuli. This study aimed to validate the food disgust scale using olfactory stimuli related to food. For this, 150 participants were invited to our lab to rate different odours for the level of disgust evoked. Exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring) revealed two factors. The seven more disgusting items loaded on a first factor, whereas the two less disgusting items loaded on a second factor. The seven items loading on Factor 1 had acceptable reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.73, McDonald's Ω = 0.72). Further, Factor Score 1 was significantly correlated with the FDS short, a food disgust sensitivity questionnaire (r = 0.40, p <.001). We conclude that food disgust sensitivity can help predict individuals’ odour perception and our data support the incremental validity of the FDS short. Our study is the first to validate the FDS short using olfactory stimuli. Finally, our study indicates that there is significant potential for the creation of a food disgust odour scale.
Welche Bedeutung haben die agrarpolitischen Ziele für die Schweizer Bevölkerung?
El Benni, Nadja; Finger, Robert; Irek, Judith; et al. (2026)
Agrarforschung Schweiz
Die Ergebnisse aus drei Umfragen zwischen Oktober 2022 und August 2023 zeigen, dass die Schweizer Bevölkerung sowie die Landwirtinnen und Landwirte die vielfältigen Ziele der Agrarpolitik breit unter stützen und staatliche Interventionen zur Förderung einer multifunktionalen Landwirtschaft als legitim erachten. Mehr Umweltschutz und Tierwohl in landwirtschaft licher Produktion werden jedoch nur akzeptiert und umgesetzt, wenn sie nicht zu Ein kommensverlusten für landwirtschaftliche Betriebe führen oder entspre chend ausgeglichen werden. Während es Unterschiede zwischen den Sprach regionen bezüglich der agrarpoli tischen Präferenzen der Bevölkerung gibt, besteht aber kein Stadt-Land-Graben. Zudem verfügt ein grosser Teil der Bevölkerung über ein systemisches Verständnis der Zusammenhänge zwischen Produktion und Kon sum und sieht eine geteilte Verantwortung von Staat, Wirtschaft sowie Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten. Ein ausgewogener Reformansatz, der Umwelt ziele, Ein kommen und Lebensmittelpreise gemeinsam berück sichtigt, kann den gesellschaftlichen Konsens stärken, Polarisierung reduzieren und sollte einen Mix aus ver schiedenen Instrumenten umfassen.
Not so different anymore? Women's and men's disgust sensitivity becomes similar with increasing age
Berthold, Anne; Bearth, Angela; Ammann, Jeanine; et al. (2025)
Physiology & Behavior
Previous research provides ample evidence that women experience more disgust than men. The most prominent explanation for these effects is that women are more careful and sensitive about their health due to the possibility of harming potential offspring. Given that the probability for women to give birth is decreasing after a certain age (i.e., menopause), we assume that differences between men and women might be smaller or even faded away over time. To test this hypothesis, we revisited several data sets (in total N = 28′059) containing information about sex, age, and variables related to disgust. The predicted pattern was found for food disgust sensitivity, food neophobia, health-wise worries about food, and contamination fear. In all presented studies, the scores of younger women were higher compared to those of younger males, but after a certain age, sex differences were less pronounced or even non-existent. We discuss how considering the factor age together with individuals sex helps us to gain more insight in the dynamics of disgust and vulnerability.
Consumer support of policy measures to increase sustainability in food consumption
Ammann, Jeanine; Arbenz, Andreia; Mack, Gabriele; et al. (2025)
Food Policy
The modern global food system is an important driver of climate change. Policy measures are one potential lever for shifting consumption towards more sustainability. Public acceptance can be a major barrier for the implementation of such measures. Thus, a profound understanding of consumers is needed to facilitate policy support. In the present study, we therefore invited 453 participants from German-speaking parts of Switzerland to participate in an online survey in which we tested 15 policy measures for their consumer acceptance. Furthermore, we explored individual predictors that contribute to policy support. Our results show that there is a difference in the support of policy measures depending on the level of intrusiveness, making less intrusive measures more accepted than more intrusive measures. Support also varied depending on the targeted product category. Measures targeting dairy and meat products tended to be less accepted than measures targeting vegetables. Using a regression analysis, we identified behaviour (i.e. meat and dairy consumption) and food sustainability knowledge as an important predictor of policy support. The findings have important implications for policymakers, as they illustrate that personal involvement is a crucial factor in policy support. Taken together, our findings can help inform future food policies to increase consumer support and thereby facilitate sustainable behaviour change.
Consumers' perception of plant-based alternatives and changes over time. A linguistic analysis across three countries and ten years
Runte, Maren; Nuessli Guth, Jeannette; Ammann, Jeanine (2024)
Food Quality and Preference
Aiming to minimise environmental impacts, diets with reduced consumption of animal products have increased strongly in recent years. These changes give rise to innovative developments in the plant-based market. In this study, we aimed to investigate these changes by looking at the linguistic discourse on plant-based alternatives in three countries. We chose the USA as the country with the highest meat consumption and India as the country with the highest percentage of vegetarians. For both countries, we analysed linguistic data from the most read English newspapers over the last two years. As a third country, we chose Switzerland, where a lot of plant-based innovation is currently happening. Additionally, we performed a longitudinal analysis on Swiss data from the last ten years to more closely examine this recent period of plant-based innovation. With that, we focused on consumer perception of plant-based products by analysing the linguistic discourse and thereby contrast the available data from the literature that was mainly obtained through interrogation of consumers. Cross-cultural comparison reveales that in all three countries, there is a distinct focus on meat (alternatives). Dairy alternatives seem to play a minor role in the discourse. In the USA, appearances matter (food stylist), the Indian discourse includes the aspects health ("skin", "hair") and wealth (prices) and the Swiss discourse includes sustainability. Longitudinal analysis of the Swiss discourse over the last ten years revealed that there was an overall increase of the discourse and a connection to the ongoing political debate. Our study suggests that plant-based products are not only part of the sustainable transition but can also be a lifestyle choice. Overall, the study highlights cross-cultural differences and similarities in the language used about plant-based alternatives and discusses some implications.
Assessment and Implications of Food Disgust
Ammann, Jeanine (2019)
The emotion of disgust has a protective function over both mind and body. The present thesis has focused on food disgust, that is, the rejection of food, and pursued three aims. First, the present work has found, developed, and tested reliable measures of food disgust sensitivity. Second, it has identified individual factors that influence food disgust sensitivity, and third, it has investigated and discussed the implications of food disgust sensitivity for human behaviour, including food choice and hygiene. The thesis has used behavioural measures, tasting experiments, and online surveys to pursue these goals. It has confirmed the validity of an existing self-report measure of food disgust using behavioural measures and developed and tested a new, picture-based tool. With this tool, the cross-cultural validity of the construct of food disgust was demonstrated in China and Switzerland. Throughout the present work, findings showed that females have higher food disgust sensitivity than males. Finally, the thesis has demonstrated that food disgust has important implications for food-related behaviours such as food wastage, hygiene behaviour, and food choice. The present work has provided new evidence and interpretations of how disgust sensitivity shapes food choice. Specifically, it has reported a relationship between bitter taste and disgust sensitivity in males but not in females, according to the findings of a tasting experiment. This contrasts with the results of previous studies, and the current work has discussed possible explanations for this. Moreover, this thesis has used virtual reality as a novel approach to induce disgust during research. The findings showed that individuals high in food disgust sensitivity have more trouble distancing themselves from virtual disgust elicitors than individuals low in disgust sensitivity. Finally, the thesis has reported findings from an online survey, which indicated that individuals high in food disgust sensitivity use more restrictive assessment criteria when deciding whether a food item can be consumed than those low in food disgust sensitivity. They have also reported higher frequencies of food hygiene behaviour than participants with low disgust sensitivity. In sum, the present work has validated an existing self-report measure of food disgust and developed a new picture-based tool, which could be a promising measure for research with children or when pictures might be preferred to text. The current work has investigated the influence of sex and culture on disgust sensitivity and assessed how disgust shapes food choice and hygiene behaviour. Above all, it has added to current understandings of disgust and its implications. This is crucial for both researchers and the food industry. The knowledge herein can be used to study and treat eating disorders; help develop interventions to increase people’s acceptance of novel foods, such as insects or artificial meat; to design an action plan to promote food hygiene; and to implement measures to reduce food waste.
Aligning agricultural policy: discrepancies between public and farmer priorities
El Benni, Nadja; Finger, Robert; Ammann, Jeanine; et al. (2025)
Agricultural and Food Economics
Agricultural policy in Europe is the subject of extensive debate due to the unmet agri-environmental goals, despite high levels of support. For example, the public is critical of agriculture’s impact on the environment and animal welfare. At the same time, farmers protest due to low incomes and high bureaucracy. This apparent polarisation may hinder progress in agricultural policy reform, and a more nuanced understanding of the perceptions of both non-farmers and farmers is needed. This study systematically compares non-farmers’ and farmers’ preferences and levels of consensus across a comprehensive set of agricultural policy goals using surveys in Switzerland (N = 1668). We also assess the polarisation among farmers, non-farmers, and the entire population. We find consensus and polarisation in the perception of agricultural policy goals among Swiss farmers and the general public. Both prioritise domestic food production and farmers’ income as main policy goals. However, non-farmers put more emphasis on low food prices and agri-environmental goals than farmers. We find strong divides within the farming population, particularly regarding the need to mitigate climate change. Our analysis provides key insights for policymakers. Firstly, the broad consensus on different agricultural policy goals underlines the legitimacy of focusing on multiple objectives that support the multifunctional role of agriculture. Secondly, farmers are not homogeneous but have differing views, particularly regarding environmental objectives, especially those related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Policies need to take this heterogeneity into account, for example, by more efficient allocation of agri-environmental payments. Thirdly, while farmers and non-farmers generally agree on the importance of securing farmers’ incomes and food production, there are divergent views when it comes to reducing food prices and environmental impacts. Future agricultural policy reforms must find a balance between environmental goals and safeguarding farmers’ incomes, while also ensuring affordable food prices.
A bitter taste in the mouth: The role of 6-n-propylthiouracil taster status and sex in food disgust sensitivity
Ammann, Jeanine; Hartmann, Christina; Siegrist, Michael (2019)
Physiology & Behavior
We investigated the relationship between perceived bitterness, food disgust sensitivity, and sex. Participants completed the 8-item Food Disgust Scale and a 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) taster test and were categorised as PROP non-tasters, medium-tasters, or supertasters. An analysis of variance of between-subject factors sex and PROP taster status was conducted with disgust sensitivity as the dependent variable. We found a significant interaction of sex and PROP taster status on disgust sensitivity and an association between disgust sensitivity and PROP taster status in males but not in females. Our study provided new evidence on sex differences in food disgust and PROP taste sensitivity.

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