Abstract：
Realizing the market value of grassland resources is of great significance to finding a balance between ecological protection and economic development. As a unique livestock animal that is native to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, the yak plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem stability, ensuring the livelihoods of herdsmen, promoting socio-economic development, and preserving ethnic cultural traditions. However, given its small market share, little is known about the factors that drive Chinese consumer preferences for yak meat. This study aimed to investigate consumer preferences for yak meat by means of an online survey involving a sample of 2999 respondents from five cities in China. The best-worst scaling method was employed to measure the relative importance of different attributes of yak meat by using a purchasing scenario. The results indicated that quality-safety certification, freshness, and production sustainability were regarded as the most preferred attributes, whereas animal welfare, brand, and the purchasing channel were found to be the least preferred. In addition, significant heterogeneity was detected in consumer preferences. Consumers were divided into three classes, namely \'Price Sensitive Consumers,\' \'Environmentally Friendly Consumers,\' and \'Yak Meat Inclined Consumers,\' respectively. Our findings might be helpful for policymakers and yak meat producers to develop targeted strategies to facilitate the sale of yak meat and then restore degraded grasslands.
摘要：
实现草地资源的市场价值对于寻求生态保护与经济发展的平衡具有重要意义。作为一种原产于青藏高原的独特家畜动物,牦牛在维持生态系统稳定方面发挥着重要作用,确保牧民的生计，促进社会经济发展,维护民族文化传统。然而,鉴于其市场份额较小，对推动中国消费者对牦牛肉偏好的因素知之甚少。这项研究旨在通过一项在线调查调查消费者对牦牛肉的偏好，该调查涉及来自中国五个城市的2999名受访者。通过使用购买方案，采用最佳-最差缩放方法来测量牦牛肉不同属性的相对重要性。结果表明，质量安全认证，新鲜度,和生产可持续性被认为是最优选的属性，而动物福利，品牌,采购渠道被发现是最不受欢迎的。此外,在消费者偏好中发现了显著的异质性。消费者分为三类，即价格敏感的消费者，\'\'环境友好的消费者，\'和\'牦牛肉倾斜的消费者，\'分别。我们的发现可能有助于政策制定者和牦牛肉生产者制定有针对性的策略，以促进牦牛肉的销售，然后恢复退化的草原。
