European consumer acceptance of circular practices in chicken meat production: Exploring the impact of environmental attitudes and educational level

The food industry requires sustainable solutions to address environmental challenges and resource scarcity. This study examines acceptance of two circular economy practices in the poultry meat industry, analysing consumer attitudes towards sustainability: the use of agro-industrial by-products in animal feed and the development of biodegradable packaging from chicken feathers. This study uses Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate data extracted from 1967 participants from four European countries (Spain, Denmark, UK and Poland). The results highlight the strong correlation between consumer awareness of circular economy concepts and support for the environmental attitudes considered (environmental threat, ecocentric concern and personal conservation behaviour). Consumer acceptance is significantly influenced by environmental attitudes (p < 0.001), openness to new sustainable food technologies (p < 0.001), food waste reduction behaviours (p < 0.01), and circular economy knowledge (p < 0.05). Cross-country differences show that in Denmark and the UK circular economy knowledge is more integrated into consumer acceptance, while the impact is lower in Spain and Poland, which requires adapted strategies. Education also plays a key role, with university-educated consumers showing greater openness to circular innovations. These findings underline the importance of adapting policies and educational efforts to local contexts, offering actionable insights for policymakers and the agro-food industry to promote sustainable food systems through resource-efficient and waste-reducing innovations.