Why Do Consumers Drink Unpasteurized Milk? A Preliminary Mental Model

This study aimed to identify factors that distinguish pasteurized from unpasteurized milk consumption for the purpose of developing a preliminary mental model of milk preference among consumers. A focus group sample of consumers (n = 81) from rural or urban areas were asked to participate in study groups organized according to residence and milk preference. This is the report of results obtained from a 76-item quantitative survey completed before the focus groups were conducted. Data were analyzed by chi-square, ANOVA, discriminant analysis and hierarchal linear regression. The finding for this preliminary study is that there are four distinct mental models unique to residence and milk preference. Differences among groups were found for the factors political philosophy, anger, food safety knowledge, institutional trust, reliance on media as their information source, and degree of reliance on the influence of referent others. Even in an area of the United States where public availability of unpasteurized milk is controlled by state laws, the drive to obtain and consume unpasteurized milk through alternate means continues as a health, political, and social issue and is somewhat characteristic of specific population subgroups.