William Hallman

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

In development for almost 20 years, artificial meat (also known as “cell‐based meat,” “cell‐cultured meat,” “cultured meat,” “cultivated meat,” “in vitro meat” and “lab‐grown meat”) is the most striking example of cellular agriculture. This research aims to study Arab consumers' attitudes toward artificial meat, which is a topic of great interest t...

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommend twice-weekly consumption of seafood for health benefits, yet many U.S. consumers have historically fallen short of this target. The economic and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic brought concern about further declines in seafood intake. This study evaluated the influence of COVID-19 on se...

Front-of-package protein labels are frequently added to breakfast cereals, aimed at increasing purchases by consumers who believe they would benefit from eating more protein. However, the overall nutritional compositions of such products are often not significantly better than similar products without protein labels, and may contain more sugar, sod...

To be sold in the United States, meat, poultry, and seafood products made from cultured cells must be labeled with a “common or usual name” to help consumers understand what they are purchasing. The terms “Cultured,” “Cultivated,” “Cell-Cultured,” “Cell-Cultivated,” “Cell-Based” and a control (without a common or usual name) were tested using an on...

The terms “Cultured,” “Cultivated,” “Cell-Cultured,” “Cell-Cultivated,” “Cell-Based” and a control were tested using five criteria to determine the best common or usual name for meat, poultry, and seafood products made directly from the cells of animals. A nationally representative sample of 4385 American consumers (18+) participated in an online e...

Genetically modified (GM) foods have been commercially available in the US for more than two decades, yet Americans know very little about them. With the implementation of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard of 2016, food manufacturers will be required to disclose the presence of GM ingredients in their food products. How food manuf...

Objectives To assess the adherence of popular, commercially available diet and nutrition apps to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Adult Weight Management (AWM) guideline recommendations and to discern associations between the guideline adherence and indicators of the perceived popularity of an app among consumers. Methods A preliminary sear...

Information sharing on social media [i.e., electronic word-of-mouth, (eWOM) and face-to-face word-of-mouth (fWOM)] plays an important role in message dissemination. This study investigates the effectiveness of group norms in motivating eWOM and fWOM. Drawing upon the psychological distance and construal level literature, this study tests the impact...

Poor air quality affects the health and wellbeing of large populations around the globe. Although source controls are the most effective approaches for improving air quality and reducing health risks, individuals can also take actions to reduce their personal exposure by staying indoors, reducing physical activity, altering modes of transportation,...

Using an online experiment with a nationally representative sample of 1200 adult American consumers, two “common or usual names,” “Cell‐Based Seafood” and “Cell‐Cultured Seafood,” were assessed using five criteria. Displayed on packages of frozen Atlantic Salmon, both “Cell‐Based” (60.1%) and “Cell‐Cultured” (58.9%) enabled participants to differen...

Encouraging greater consumption of vegetarian foods could be a strategy to improve plant-based food intake among non-vegetarians. Prior research on vegetarianism has focused mostly on people's motivations to be a vegetarian. However, the factors that motivate non-vegetarians to consume vegetarian meals remain largely unknown. The current research t...

Background Facts Up Front (FUF) nutrition labels are used by food manufacturers to highlight selected nutrition information on the front of the package. Differences in serving sizes between similar products may go unnoticed by consumers, leading to misinterpretations of the nutritional information displayed in the FUF. Objective To examine consume...

Background When harvested or raised within sustainable systems, products of domestic fisheries and aquaculture offer healthy, affordable seafood choices with minimal environmental impact that can help Americans meet dietary guidelines for seafood intake. However, some consumers hesitate to purchase seafood products, associating them with negative e...

Objective Characterize capabilities of nutrition applications (apps) for weight management and associations between features, ratings, and app installations. Design Calorie tracking apps with weight management as a primary outcome were selected from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store using keywords “diet” and “weight loss.” Methods Reviewe...

There have been seven qualified health claims (QHCs) in the marketplace about the relationship between the consumption of green tea and the reduced risk of breast and/or prostate cancers that were written by three stakeholders (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Fleminger, Inc. (tea company), and the Federal Court). This paper evaluates a...

Both hurricanes and nor’easters can be destructive and deadly. The current study investigates whether, when all other features of a storm warning message are held constant, people perceive the risks posed by nor’easters and hurricanes differently and whether these differences affect their attitudes and decisions about taking protective action. We c...

Using an online experiment with a nationally representative sample of 1200 adult American consumers, two “common or usual names,” “Cell-Based Seafood” and “Cell-Cultured Seafood,” were assessed using five criteria. Displayed on packages of frozen Atlantic Salmon, the names were evaluated on their ability to differentiate the novel products from con...

Based on the scholarship of abstract/concrete cognition, mental schema, and the integrated model of behavior change, this study found that using concrete over abstract language increased support for specific genetically modified (GM) applications and GM in general, and improved intentions to purchase products containing genetically modified organis...

An important consideration in the commercialization of cell‐based meat, poultry, and seafood is what common or usual name to use on package labels to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. However, naming these products has been the subject of considerable debate. This study used a 3 × 10 between‐subjects online experiment involv...

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on a small scale (1-billionth of a meter). Nanomaterials have been used extensively in food production and packaging to improve food safety and eating quality. However, consumer knowledge of nanotechnology is low and the public’s perceptions about its use in foods is poorly understood. This study assesse...

Public opinion regarding genetic control of infectious disease vectors such as mosquitoes varies in part because the underlying risk and benefit perceptions about novel gene editing and genetic engineering (GE) techniques are multi-faceted. We designed a survey of the US population (N = 1137) to unpack some of those complexities. Of particular inte...

Background Foods with front-of-package protein labels are rapidly being added to market shelves. Because the nutritional content of these products may not be substantially different from other similar products, it is important to determine if consumers perceive them as being healthier than comparable products without protein claims. Objective To e...

Objectives: The objective of this study is to characterize food products that make front-of-package protein claims. The study will also determine how these protein-labeled products compare nutritionally to similar products without protein claims. Methods: Products with front-of-package protein claims were analyzed using Label Insight, an online...

Qualified health claims (QHC) describe diet–disease relationships and summarize the quality and strength of evidence for a claim. Companies assert that QHCs increase sales and take legal action to ensure claims reflect their interests. Yet, there is no empirical evidence that QHCs influence consumers. Using green tea as a case study, this study inv...

Background Following chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear disasters, medically unexplained symptoms have been observed among unexposed persons. Objectives This study examined belief in exposure in relation to postdisaster symptoms in a volunteer sample of 137 congressional workers after the 2001 anthrax attacks on Capitol Hill. Methods...

This article uses data from an online survey-based experiment to investigate how risk communications and individual differences influence people's responses to approaching hurricane risks. Survey data were collected from 1716 residents of coastal areas of the USA affected by Hurricane Sandy. Respondents were randomly assigned to receive a combinati...

Scholars are divided over whether communicating to the public the existence of scientific consensus on an issue influences public acceptance of the conclusions represented by that consensus. Here, we examine the influence of four messages on perception and acceptance of the scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)...

The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard of 2016 mandates the disclosure of Genetically Modified (GM) ingredients in food products in the US by including text, a symbol, or a digital link such as a Quick Response (QR) code on product labels. Many food manufacturers will use QR codes that connect to a website, because they enable provisio...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the demographic and psychographic characteristics of older green tea consumers in the USA. By understanding this segment’s background, perceptions, and behaviors, health and marketing professionals can tailor messages to reach clients and consumers. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was...

Food sources of vitamin D become increasingly important as the ability of older adults to activate vitamin D produced from sun exposure declines. Household food supplies of homebound older adults receiving home-delivered meals contained modest amounts of vitamin D with key sources being milk, fish and shellfish, eggs and egg substitutes, ready-to-e...

Evacuation before severe coastal storms is a critical tool for keeping coastal residents safe. Effective messaging of evacuations could help save lives, but there is little evidence-based guidance on the advantages or disadvantages of specific messaging. Ideally, evacuation messages would convince those most at risk to evacuate and those who do not...

As science communication scholars, we encourage interdisciplinary efforts such as those by Blancke, Grunewald, and De Jaeger to engage with the public on GMOs and genetic engineering broadly. We extend the advice given by these scholars with tips based on what we know from the science of science communication.

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the disaster emergency food supply in low-income, African-American and Oaxacan-American households in the United States. The project systematically inventoried the food supply in low-income African-American (n = 30) and Oaxacan-American households (n = 30) to determine the number of days that the food supp...

Qualified health claims (QHCs) are found on food and dietary supplement labels and aim to communicate the quality and strength of scientific evidence for a diet-disease relationship. Since the evidence varies for diet-disease relationships, the language to describe the evidence also varies. However, research indicates that consumers misinterpret QH...

New food technologies encounter problems with successfully entering the consumer market due to perceived public perceptions and concerns. Communication of new developments in food processing plays a critical role in public perceptions and adoption of new food technologies. The presentation of science by the media can affect the public perception of...

Nanotechnology holds the potential to create an array of functional foods that appeal to consumers while addressing nutritional and health needs. But like other food technologies, the acceptance of nanotechnology-based functional foods is dependent on factors that lie outside the control of the food industry. Recognizing the role, influence, and dr...

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates qualified health claims (QHCs) on food and dietary supplement labels. QHCs aim to communicate the quality and strength of scientific evidence behind the claim of a diet‐disease relationship. However, research shows that consumers understand QHCs as an indication of the overall healthfulness of a p...

INTRODUCTION The U.S. 2011‐2012 prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure in adults >60 was 21% and 67% respectively. This study examined 2 subsets of 2010 – 2013 MOW recipients in 5 states, who were >60 years and lived alone: with self‐reported current diagnosis of HBP and with self‐reported current diagnosis of diabetes and associated the re...

Hundreds of companies market perishable meats, poultry, game, and seafood (finfish and shellfish) directly to consumers online, with delivery via carriers such as FedEx® and UPS®. While these products are shipped in containers with gel-packs or dry ice, the packages are transported, stored, and delivered by use of the same methods as those used for...

Perceptions of institutions that manage hazards are important because they can affect how the public responds to hazard events. Antecedents of trust judgments have received far more attention than antecedents of attributions of responsibility for hazard events. We build upon a model of retrospective attribution of responsibility to individuals to e...

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has oversight for qualified health claims (QHCs). These claims emerged as the result of a legal dispute about commercial speech rights on dietary supplements and food products. The initial court ruling allowed manufacturers to include diet–disease information on packaging, when supporting evidence d...

New technologies are hitting the marketplace every day. In trying to make sense of these new technologies, consumers perceive a series of risks and benefits of consumption and use those perceptions to form product judgments. One way for managers to mitigate organizational related risk is to understand how consumers perceive consumption-related risk...

In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an enforcement letter for qualified health claims (QHC) about the ingestion of green tea (food and supplement forms) and the reduced risk of breast cancer or prostate cancer. The QHCs for green tea were enforced shortly after the FDA release of the Consumer Health Information for Better Nutri...

Environmental factors and policies influence dietary intake patterns. This study aimed to establish a food policy council (FPC) through community‐based participatory research (CBPR) to influence food‐related policies and alleviate food insecurity. CBPR approach was used to build on the strengths of the community, develop partnerships, obtain fundin...

Food consumption choices are laden with meaning beyond issues of health or nutrition. Unfortunately, these choices are often driven by cultural constructs obtained from popular culture or word of mouth. Because food is ubiquitous, imbedded in our cultural milieu, and absolutely essential to life, it is important to consider the potential variables...

Limited access in urban settings can be a barrier against eating fruits and vegetables (FV). This study examined the potential influence of a farmers market on the food intake patterns of adults in an urban setting. Baseline (pre‐) surveys were conducted among 552 adults before the establishment of the farmers market. Post‐surveys surveys were cond...

Food choice is influenced by consumer attitudes towards food attributes. This U.S.-based study (n = 601) simultaneously compares attitudes towards selected food attributes of organic, locally grown, U.S. grown, and GM-free food in relation to other food attributes. Exploratory factor analysis identifies underlying constructs that determine, togethe...

Majority of Americans, especially minorities, do not consume the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. In addition to individual or family level reasons, limited access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables in urban settings or neighborhoods with low socioeconomic characteristics can be a barrier against healthier food intake behaviors....

This article summarizes many of the sources of stress that often accompany environmental threats, examines both individual and collective strategies for coping with environmental threats and the efficacy of these strategies, and discusses some of the problems with measuring coping strategies and with gauging their success. It describes collective c...

Limited access to affordable fruits and vegetables can be a barrier against healthful eating patterns, and farmers markets can help improve this access. This study, which was conducted during the development of a farmers market, describes the perceived barriers towards eating fruits and vegetables in an urban setting with high proportions of minori...

This paper examines the relationship between risk perceptions, affect and the economic consequences of a bio-security threat against the U.S. food system. The main argument is that there exists a link between risk perceptions and economic behavior. The paper raises conjectures through a utility-theoretic economic model and examines these through tw...

In September 2006, an unprecedented nationwide outbreak of fresh spinach contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 was communicated to the American public through press releases from the Food and Drug Administration. The potential for severe and fatal illness from consuming this spinach required effective communication by media outlets. Television...

We sought to determine the frequency of psychological symptoms and elevated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk among New York City firefighters after the World Trade Center (WTC) attack and whether these measures were associated with Counseling Services Unit (CSU) use or mental health-related medical leave over the first 2.5 years after the...

Introduction Methods Results Discussion and Conclusions Acknowledgment References

The December 2003 discovery of a BSE infected cow in the USA revealed a vulnerability in the safety of the U.S. Food Supply. This study reports on a nationwide risk perception survey conducted in early January 2004. Survey results showed that U.S. consumers for the most part took the discovery in stride. The survey predicted that by the end of 2004...

This study explores the application of risk perceptions as a segmentation tool in the poultry meat market. Principal component analysis is used to examine data from a 2006 survey on a potential avian influenza outbreak in the U.S. The results suggest that the perceived level of safety of poultry meat will drive consumption choices in the case of an...

This study uses data from a 2006 survey on potential AI outbreak in USA to explore application of risk perceptions as a segmentation tool in the poultry meat market. Preliminary results from principal component analysis (PCA) suggest that the poultry meat specific safety level will drive people consumption choices in AI outbreak. Based on the perce...

This study analyzes predictors of South Korean public acceptance of the use of biotechnology to create genetically modified food products. Results indicate that those consumers with above average knowledge of specific outcomes of genetic modification were more likely to approve of the use of plant or animal genetic modification for the creation of...

This article reports results of a survey on consumer perceptions about agroterrorism conducted in October and November of 2004. As part of a more general survey the authors asked respondents who the most likely perpetrator of an agroterrorist attack would be. Of American consumers, 47.52% believed that the most likely attack would come from a state...

Noticing medical symptoms can cause one to search for explanatory labels such as "ate bad food" or even "exposed to anthrax," and perhaps these labels may cause new symptom reports. The present study examined whether there is empirical support for this symptom-label "symmetry rule." We interviewed veterans (N= 362) from the Gulf War Registry in 199...

In September of 2006, the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory warning against the consumption of fresh spinach due to contamination with E. coli 0157:H7. Subsequently, spinach was largely recalled by manufacturers. Spinach is a healthful, nutrient dense food. Generally, low income and African American groups have low quality diets lacki...

Extensive research exists on who does or might purchase organic food products, however little research has addressed either who values organic production methods when deciding what to eat, and correspondingly, who does not purchase organics regularly. This paper reports that values about organic farming often do not translate into corresponding sta...

A clear understanding of consumers’ perception and attitude toward food risk and their behavior to food recall is important in order to develop an effective crisis management program at the firm level as well as at the government level. This study will develop food risk profiles of US consumers based on their perceived food safety risk and attitude...